If you’re a tea drinker, you’re no doubt familiar with Earl Grey. Its distinctive aroma and subtle flavor make it one of the most popular teas in the world. Earl Grey’s characteristic fragrance comes from bergamot (Citrus bergamia), a type of orange that grows in the Calabria region of southern Italy. The essential aromatic oil in bergamot peel is also used in perfumes and prized in aromatherapy for its ability to reduce anxiety.
But what really piqued my interest in this relatively rare citrus fruit is compelling research on bergamot polyphenols. Polyphenols are natural compounds best known for their antioxidant effects. The benefits of red wine, tea, berries, soy, isoflavones, cocoa, and other “super foods” are due in large part to their high content of polyphenols, which protect against cardiovascular disease, cancer, bone loss, diabetes, and other degenerative disorders.
It turns out that bergamot juice (as opposed to the peel used in Earl Grey tea) contains exceptionally large amounts of several unique polyphenols. And when that juice is extracted, concentrated, and standardized in tablet form, it dramatically lowers triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, raises protective HDL, helps control blood sugar, and improves overall arterial function and cardiovascular health.
Lowers Lipids
Bergamot lowers LDL cholesterol almost as effectively as the wildly popular cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, but it also raises HDL—something statins cannot do. This is important because unlike LDL, which builds up in the plaque deposited in diseased arteries, HDL escorts cholesterol out of the arteries to the liver. Therefore, a low HDL level is an independent risk factor for heart disease.
In a placebo-controlled clinical trial, Italian researchers gave either 500 mg or 1,000 mg of bergamot extract daily to study volunteers with high cholesterol levels. After one month, the average LDL in the two groups fell by 37 and 39 percent, respectively, HDL increased by 38 and 43 percent, and triglycerides, another cardiovascular risk factor, declined by 38 and 42 percent. These are impressive results for any intervention, let alone a nutritional supplement.
To learn more about treating high cholesterol naturally or to order bergamot, call (800) 810-6655.
