Most people can control cholesterol levels through lifestyle changes, but if you’ve had no luck, you still don’t need to turn to those drugs. One new study shows how a perfectly natural treatment used for centuries beat a common statin.

It’s called red yeast rice. It was actually banned once because it contains a natural version of a common statin (no wonder it works so well). But it’s also more effective, safer and comes with a lower risk of side effects than Big Pharma’s synthetic alternatives.

Researchers looked at 43 adults who had tried statins, but stopped taking them because of that infamous muscle pain — one of the main side effects of these drugs. Some were given 2400mg of red yeast rice a day for 12 weeks, while the patients who drew the short straw got the drug pravastatin for the same period.

Those who took red yeast rice saw a 30 percent drop in LDL cholesterol levels (that’s the bad stuff), while those on the drug saw a 27 percent drop, according to the study published in the American Journal of Cardiology.

But the good news doesn’t stop there: 9 percent of those on meds had to stop due to those notorious muscle problems… versus just 5 percent in the red yeast rice group.

No wonder Big Pharma’s been trying to replicate this stuff for years!

Too bad they can’t sell the real thing. Well, they can — but they’re not interested. That’s because you can’t patent a natural substance — and if you can’t patent it, you can’t make a big profit off it.

But they have pulled a few tricks to try to keep this natural competitor out of your store… including that ban I mentioned earlier.

Get this — Big Pharma’s FDA pals considered red yeast rice “contaminated” with a drug since it contains a natural version of a statin. That’s a little like saying tomatoes have been contaminated with red.

Just remember: the real key to cholesterol control isn’t in a pill, no matter what Big Pharma tells you. It’s in your lifestyle. If you commit to a better diet and steady exercise, you’ll see the kind of changes that’ll keep you off the drug train for good.