Ingredient Spotlight: Bergavit Bergamot Extract

Written by Dr. Heather Shenkman, for 1MD Nutrition

1MD Nutrition’s CholestMD® is a broad-spectrum cholesterol health supplement featuring Bergavit® bergamot extract. Keep reading to discover why this clinically-studied bergamot orange fruit extract was chosen and why I recommend CholestMD®.

What Is Bergamot?

Bergamot is a fruit with very special compounds that have unique health benefits, especially for the cardiovascular system. It is a kind of citrus fruit that comes from the Citrus bergamia plant, an evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean. It has a long history of use for culinary and herbal preparations. The fruit looks like a lime but is a similar size to oranges. The zest, juice, and oils contain compounds that are beneficial for health and have been used to help maintain heart health in traditional Italian folk medicine. Today it is cultivated to be used not only for flavoring cookies, syrups, and cocktails, but also for the various ways it can boost heart health and more.

Health Benefits of Bergamot

There are a lot of lifestyle changes that support heart health and it is important to seek out the most effective methods that keep your heart strong and healthy. Healthy food choices are essential for getting the nutrients your body needs to function at optimal levels. Unfortunately, the typical American diet mostly contains high amounts of processed foods, red meat, high-fat dairy products, and high-sugar foods. Too much of all of these can increase cholesterol which is not good for your heart.

Bergamot is a great option for people looking to keep their cholesterol levels in check. Bergamot is rich in beneficial plant compounds known as polyphenols, including the flavonoids neoeriocitrin, neohesperidin, and naringin. These flavonoids lower cholesterol by disrupting liver enzymes that are responsible for making LDL cholesterol. It may sound too good to be true, but there is scientific evidence to back up what traditional Italian folk medicine practitioners have long known.

A recent study with bergamot extract showed that it helped lower LDL cholesterol while boosting healthy levels of HDL cholesterol (aka “good” cholesterol). LDL is a kind of cholesterol that moves through your body and when there is too much, negative consequences can occur. By helping to reduce the levels of LDL, bergamot helps to lower the levels of cholesterol in your blood, to keep your arteries strong and circulation healthy.

In addition to benefiting blood lipid levels, the flavonoids in bergamot strengthen vascular endothelium health and can prevent blood sugar spikes. When you look at all this, it is clear that bergamot helps your heart and related body systems. This, combined with healthy cholesterol maintenance as part of a healthful routine, can support healthy weight management and overall heart health.

In addition to keeping your heart healthy, bergamot can help promote overall health by:

• Supporting gut health, nutrient absorption, and regular bowel movements
• Helping to reduce anxiety and stress while boosting your mood
• Helping to reduce joint pain associated with exercise
• Strengthening immune system responses against infections and illness

Bergavit® vs. Generic Bergamot Extracts

As more people discover the health benefits of bergamot, and widespread interest increases, more bergamot supplements are becoming available. Although there are many bergamot extracts out there, they are not all created equal. For optimal cholesterol support, you want to choose a bergamot extract supported by clinical studies.

Bergavit®, by BIONAP, is obtained by extracting the main flavonoids from the juice of bergamot fruits. The active compounds are tested for potency and to ensure they are present in effective amounts in the final product. Each serving contains 150 mg of pure flavonoids, making it a potent extract for cholesterol support.

Keeping your heart healthy depends on many factors, including not just how much cholesterol is in your blood but what kind. Dietary choices are very important to keep cholesterol at healthy levels, but there are other factors that play a role in the way cholesterol is processed in the body. The liver produces 80% of the cholesterol in your body, and Bergavit® is clinically-studied to ensure that cholesterol levels are appropriately balanced.

The flavonoids of Bergavit® are so potent that they help reduce LDL concentrations by up to 67%. In addition, Bergavit® helps boost healthy HDL cholesterol levels, so that more cholesterol is absorbed and removed from the body, to support long term heart and circulatory health.

The patented, potent form of bergamot extract helps keep cholesterol in check so that arteries stay strong, blood pressure is healthy, and long-term heart health is maintained.

Why I Recommend CholestMD®

I was drawn to cardiology because so many heart conditions in the world are avoidable. I truly believe in the power of natural and preventative healing methods which has been a prime focus of my medical career. I have a strong appreciation for the benefit that a healthy lifestyle provides for cardiovascular conditions. When it comes to being proactive about heart health, managing your cholesterol is essential.

My strong desire to help others promote cholesterol health through a more integrative approach brought me to partner with 1MD Nutrition®. Their formulations are made only from the purest, clinically-researched ingredients to offer superior health supplements.

CholestMD® includes clinically-studied Bergavit®, which contains an effective dose of bergamot flavonoids for optimal cholesterol support. In keeping with 1MD Nutrition’s commitment to responsible sourcing, Bergavit® is also developed with a vertically integrated supply chain that respects the Mediterranean environment.

The potency of Bergavit® allows CholestMD® to deliver broad-spectrum support for healthy HDL and LDL cholesterol levels and is formulated with other herbs and nutrients known to benefit cardiovascular health. CholestMD® also includes clinically effective dosages of:

• Niacin, a B vitamin that supports vascular health by lowering lipid levels
• Olive leaf extract, with its high oleuropein content, supports healthy HDL and LDL cholesterol levels.
• Garlic bulb extract, which helps maintain healthy blood lipid levels to improve arterial blood flow.

These ingredients complement the cholesterol-supporting activity of Bergavit®, bergamot fruit extract, allowing CholestMD® to provide comprehensive cholesterol support. This is a premier formula designed to boost heart health and is a powerful addition to a heart-healthy diet and lifestyle. I recommend CholestMD® to anyone looking to manage their cholesterol, boost circulatory health, and promote long-term health.