Citrus Bergamot Health Benefits & Side Effects

Bergamot is a citrus fruit grown exclusively in the Southern Italian coastal region. Bergamot oil is extracted from the fruit peels has an aromatic odor. The oil is usually used in flavoring scenting perfumes, Earl Grey tea, and aromatherapy to reduce anxiety. The citrus bergamot lowers blood sugar levels, cholesterol, and reduces fatty liver deposits.

The citrus fruit bergamot extract successfully reduced cholesterol levels in recent studies. The supplement let research participants cut back on statin dosages also. In four human trials, the sour citrus fruit bergamot infusion, widely used as a flavoring in Earl Grey tea, has been shown to decrease cholesterol levels. Bergamot was credited with increasing good cholesterol, eliminating fatty deposits in the liver, and lowering glucose levels.

In one of the research, published in 2013 in the International Journal of Cardiology, 77 patients took 1,000 mg daily of bergamot infusion over one month. The cholesterol of the participants fell to 191 from an average of 278 mg per deciliter of blood. The study researchers also reported that incorporating bergamot let them cut half of the subjects’ dose of this cholesterol drug rosuvastatin without reducing its effectiveness.

What was the secret ingredient? Bergamot contains powerful antioxidants known as flavonoids. Earl Grey tea doesn’t pack a powerful enough punch to influence cholesterol; the research reviewed the extract’s use in pill or capsule form.

May help avoid statin side effects

Statins, a popular household of tubal drugs, can have major side effects, such as muscle pain and fatigue. By comparison, heartburn has been the only side effect noted in the first bergamot studies. When it could become recommended as a complement to statins, larger-scale studies are essential to fully establish the supplement’s safety with the capacity for a decrease statin dose. Bergamot extract has to be handled with particular care, as exposure to direct sunlight can leave the infusion toxic. As with other dietary supplements, it’s wise to discuss it with a doctor.

Many people cannot tolerate medications to reduce their cholesterol, and want different options to reduce their cardiovascular risk. Few know about a different heart-healthy nutrient that may help, Citrus Bergamot. Sardinia, Italy, is the 2nd biggest island in the Mediterranean and one of those blue zones inhabiting many centenarians. Here the citrus bergamot fruit grows abundantly and is a known staple of the Sardinian diet. Sardinians are thought to drink one glass of bergamot juice every day. Sardinians have a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and cholesterol. The bergamot’s polyphenols help reduce oxidized LDL and decrease HMG-CoA reductase while raising HDL and particle size. Additionally, bergamot does not deplete CoQ10 as statins do. Find out more about how to treat and prevent heart disease in addition to more about nutrients such as Citrus Bergamot that may improve cardiometabolic wellbeing.

There is currently little evidence to recommend Citrus Bergamot for lowering the risk of stroke or heart attack. What is proven is the benefits of adding more fiber to your diet, getting the recommended amount of exercise, and making changes to your diet and lifestyle. Your physician may also suggest the right changes for you to help lower your risk for heart disease and stroke.

Bergamot essential oil is full of bergamot polyphenols. Polyphenols have powerful antioxidant effects. Other wholesome foods like green tea, berries, red wine, etc., also derive their antioxidant effects. Polyphenols help defend the body against cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, bone loss, and other health ailments.

Contrary to the bergamot peel used in Earl Grey tea, bergamot juice includes many distinctive polyphenols giving it more powerful medicinal properties. Upon extraction, concentration, and standardization into pills, bergamot supplement has remarkable effects on the body. It increases protective HDL cholesterol, reduces triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, controls blood glucose within healthy limits, enhances arterial function and overall cardiovascular health.

– Lowers Low-Density Lipoproteins in the body

Intake of bergamot essential oil lowers low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the body. Bergamot works as efficiently as cholesterol-lowering statin drugs. But, bergamot lowers cholesterol naturally and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in the body. This, along with the fact that it has no side effects, makes it a better choice than a statin. HDL ejects cholesterol from the arteries to the liver. Thus, the existence of a low level of HDL in the body is a risk factor associated with more likelihood of getting cardiovascular disease.

Two study volunteers with elevated cholesterol levels were given 500 mg and 1000 mg of bergamot extract daily in a placebo-controlled clinical trial by Italian researchers. After one month, the average LDL cholesterol levels in both groups decreased by 24 and 36 percent, respectively. The levels of HDL cholesterol, on the other hand, increased by 22 and 40 percent, respectively. Last, triglycerides dropped by 30 and 39 percent, respectively. These were the typical results for all of the members of the two groups.

– Improves Arterial Health

Bergamot supplements improve cardiovascular wellness by lowering the LDL cholesterol concentration in the body. Furthermore, bergamot essential oil includes polyphenols bruteridine and meperidine, active antioxidants that protect the body cells and vascular endothelium against free radical damage.

Healthy endothelium is vital for the appropriate vasoconstriction, consequently blood pressure, blood clotting, the formation of new blood vessels, and controlling inflammations. Since bergamot supplement is full of polyphenols, it’s important to suppress inflammation, improve arterial responsiveness, and prevent plaque formation.

– Heal mouth ulcers faster

Since bergamot is full of antioxidants, it aids in quenching free radicals in the body that result in bacterial effects like cold sores, chickenpox, shingles, herpes, and mouth ulcers. To experience these therapeutic effects, employ bergamot essential oil onto the affected area until it heals.

– Reduce Stress

Studies have revealed that utilizing bergamot oil in aromatherapy preparations helps to ease tension and anxiety levels in patients before operation. Alternately, bergamot supplements help relieve depression.

– Powerful Metabolic Syndrome Treatment

Bergamot supplement functions as a safe and effective metabolic syndrome therapy. It enhances different aspects of this condition. In addition, bergamot oil has positive effects on the reduction of cardiovascular risk factors and initiates protein kinase regulated by AMP (AMPK). AMPK is the central energy regulator of the body, thereby promoting the metabolism of glucose and fatty acids. Furthermore, activating AMPK enhances cells’ glucose absorption, improves insulin sensitivity, stimulates the burning of fatty acids, thus weight control, and inhibits the liver’s capacity to synthesize glucose. Because of this, you may use bergamot supplements to lower blood sugar naturally. In clinical tests, ingestion of 500-1000 milligrams of bergamot daily will reduce blood glucose by about 22 percent. This is much better than what is done by other diabetes medications out there. Furthermore, these supplements reveal high efficacy in weight loss.

– Doesn’t Deplete CoQ10 Stores: Some statin drugs reduce cholesterol in the body by blocking HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme used in coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) synthesis, an antioxidant responsible for the processing of energy in cells. This makes these statin drugs have many negative side effects. Although they reduce cholesterol, they deplete Q10 levels in the body, thus draining the body’s antioxidant reserves. The FDA also needs statin drug manufacturers to alert consumers about their prescription because of these adverse side effects. Health complications such as memory loss, liver toxicity, muscle weakness, confusion, type 2 diabetes, nausea, exercise pain, heart failure, muscle soreness, and death are related to statin medications.

– Relieving bacterial infections

As recovered from the Journal of Applied Microbiology’s April 2009 issue, bergamot oil provides favorable effects in combating against Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis bacteria, which were found resistant to other antibiotics like vancomycin. By fighting these Enterococcus species, bergamot oil shows excellent ability to fight against plenty of diseases they cause like meningitis, endocarditis, bacteremia, and urinary tract infections (UTI).

– Fight skin bacterial infections

Bergamot oil comprises potent antifungal properties for the treatment of skin infections caused by candida strain fungus.

To reap the suggested advantages of bergamot oil, follow the advice of your doctor. It is suggested to have a pill of 500 – 1000 mg standardized bergamot supplement once or twice per day before meals. For 60 -90 days, taking bergamot supplements twice a day has shown the best results so far. Bergamot oil is healthy and has no known side effects that are harmful.