What if I told you most bergamot supplements were not made from bergamot?
That sounds unbelievable, right? But it’s true and not shocking, given the craziness in the supplement industry.
Bergamot, a citrus fruit that thrives in the stunning Calabria region of Italy, is a key ingredient in many supplements. Its unique properties make it popular for those looking to support healthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
A lot of bergamot supplements are not made from bergamot
Many companies display a picture of a bumpy green fruit on their bottles and pages for bergamot supplements.
Guess what? That green fruit is not bergamot. It is a Makrut lime, also known as a kaffir or Thai lime. Makrut is a Thai word used interchangeably for the bergamot orange and kaffir lime. A translation error has caused many companies to sell makrut lime pills but label them as bergamot. Makrut limes do not have the same benefits or research that bergamot does, so in the end, the supplement companies get a much cheaper raw material, but the consumer looking for the benefits of bergamot gets the short end of the stick.
This is a bergamot orange. When ripe, it is yellow and round, like an orange. It is never a lumpy lime.
In not-so-shocking news, most of these wrongly labeled supplements contain ingredients manufactured and grown in China. Many claim to be from Italy, even though they lie about it. They often cover up the origin with the use of transhipping. This is where the material gets routed through another country and labeled as being from the country it is being routed through.
It’s like buying a bag of produce labeled oranges, but apples are in the bag when you get home. You would rightly be mad at that and should be upset if you buy mislabeled supplements.
Once you move past all the makrut lime supplements sold as bergamot, there are many necessary quality control steps to check for to ensure you are getting a good bergamot supplement.
Bergamot Supplements Quality Control
A bergamot supplement should be tested for adulteration, ensuring it is bergamot, not makrut lime or other citrus fruits. It is common practice to cut bergamot with other citrus fruits because limited amounts are produced, which significantly cuts the cost of making it. These other fruits do not provide the same benefits, though. That’s why specialized testing is needed to check for the presence of adulteration, not the standard testing. Only 22,000 tons of bergamot are produced in the Calabria region each year, so adulteration is a massive problem due to the low amounts produced.
In other cases, terpenes or fractions of essential oils are added to mimic the profile of bergamot to help trick standard testing methods. Please be aware that bergamot essential oil is not the same as bergamot extract, and you should never ingest essential oils, despite companies' claims that oils are safe for ingestion or deceptive claims of oils being “therapeutic grade.”
Bergamot supplements should also be tested for heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, and fungal and bacterial contamination.
Since real bergamot extract is expensive, companies often use lower amounts to cut costs. To get the benefits, you need to take at least 1200 mg per day of properly concentrated bergamot extract. 300 mg or 500 mg is not going to be enough. Always take bergamot before a meal.
You want to look for products standardized to at least 40% Bergamot Polyphenolic Fraction (BPF, which is comprised of Neohesperidin, Naringin, Neoeriocitrin, Brutieridin, and Melitidin), not just products showing flavonoid or polyphenol content. Total polyphenol content does not tell you much about bergamot because not all flavonoids or polyphenols have the same benefits. BPF only occurs in bergamot in significant quantities, whereas flavonoids and polyphenols of varying types occur in all citrus fruit. BPF content is one good marker for knowing you are getting real bergamot. If a company lists over 50% BPF content, be aware this is a sign it is most likely adulterated, as it is nearly impossible to get a BPF content of 50%.
Farm-To-Table Bergamot Supplements- Sourcing And Manufacturing
The next thing to look for is knowing the source. You want companies that buy directly from farmers in Calabria, Italy, where the best bergamot fruit is grown. Look for bergamot products that are approved by the International Bergamot Academy of Reggio Calabria to show they are authentic bergamot from Calabria.
Finding a good bergamot supplement
It took a while to find a bergamot supplement that checked all of our boxes. So many of them were mislabeled or adulterated, making it a nightmare.
Thankfully, after a lot of research and detective work, we found one that met all of our criteria.
The hand-picked fruit comes from farms in the Calabria region.
The fruit is grown organically without synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, or fungicides.
The extract is standardized to 47% BPF.
Proper testing is done for adulteration.
It is extracted without using solvents like acetone, hexane, and ethylene dichloride.
It is approved by the International Bergamot Academy of Reggio Calabria
It is a much more effective and safer choice than red yeast rice, which is often contaminated with toxins, like puberulic acid, that have made many people sick.
Bergamot is an excellent supplement for cardiovascular health, but as with other supplements, it only works if it’s made properly and taken consistently.
Bergamot Supplement Support
We know this is a lot of information, so if you have questions, don’t know where to start, or need support, we are always available to help. Drop us an email anytime at info@rooted-nutrition.com, or book a free call, and we will be happy to help you on your health journey!