Moving forward with my efforts to identify non-Statin ways to lower my cholesterol I experimented with using Bergamot 500 mg twice a day. This was a component of what I did when I finally got my LDL-P to under 1500 and small LDL-P to under 600:
Did My Anti-Cholesterol Gameplan Work? YES
Most recently I’ve been testing the effects of various dosages of Berberine, here are links to my most recent posts:
- Cholesterol Update September 2016 – My only intervention was eating Whole 30
- Cholesterol Update with Berberine, January 2017 – Taking 500 mg of Berberine twice a day
- Cholesterol Update after Increasing the Dose of Berberine, February 2017 – Taking 500 mg of Berberine three times a day
Next, I wanted to see what using Bergamot alone would do to my cholesterol. The brand of Bergamot I used was:
Jarrow Formulas Citrus Bergamot
Which goes for the reasonably priced $45.00 for two bottles containing 60 capsules each of 500 mg.
I chose this brand simply because it was more affordable than the original brand I went with, HP LifeScience Citrus Bergamot which goes for $34.95 per bottle of 60 capsules containing 500 mg each.
The dosage I went with was 500 mg twice a day, which is what I used in my original Anti Cholesterol Game Plan.
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Results
And for context:
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Any Changes?
LDL-P: Dropped modestly to 1756 from 1822
Small LDL-P: Dropped over 30% to 407 from 589. Most importantly this brings things into the normal range (< 527) which is the first time this has happened!
LDL-C: Surprisingly this actually ticked up to 155 from 140.
Triglycerides: Relatively unchanged at 64
HDL-C: Essentially unchanged at 53
Total Cholesterol: Ticked up to 221.
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Final Thoughts
The big take away from all this is the further decrease in my small LDL-P which is now in the normal range of < 527! If you look at my historical data, this has never happened before which is exciting! This is literally new territory for my physiology.
Since I’ve been testing only in two week intervals, it’s difficult to differentiate between changes due to the after effects of residual Berberine in my system vs changes due to Bergamot alone, but nonetheless, I’m optimistic of these results.
Now if only I can get the LDL-P under control…
Up next, let’s see what happens when I combine Berberine AND Bergamot.
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Did you keep up with the fiber, probiotics and dental health with this?
Yes with the dental health in general (latest dental check up went well). No on the fiber and probiotics. That is an upcoming experiment in itself.
On my ongoing (30months)Ketogenic Food Intake Plan (diet if you like) my cholesterol has dropped from 120-150 to below 100. I eat less than 800 cal/day, get 70-80% of my calories from fat, and intake less than 20gm/day of carbohydrate. I have lost approx 20lbs.; now down to 198lbs. I take 10mg of Atorvastatin, not to control cholesterol, but because my doctor.says recent studies say it promotes a healthier heart with less likelihood of a heart attack. I am 73yrs.old and have extreme insulin resistance.
Wow! How do you eat less than 800 cal/day? Do you not feel hunger anymore?
Do you know if you currently have insulin resistance still?
Just to clarify, you were only taking only the bergomot, no berberine? Thanks for your time.
Yes. Only Bergamot during this trial.
Hi! I have read your very helpful posts, thank you! My cholestrol levels (including trigs) also went significantly up after in keto for 3 months. Total reached to 260 (similar to yours). I am pretty sure this was a result of satured fats. 3 years ago I switched from american diet to med. diet with lots of olive oil, eggs and whole food. My chol levels slightly went down (no big change though, still around 200), while my HDL went up and Trigs went down. After keto and saturated fats all bad markers went up.
Your case might be different, but I think you moved too quickly from simply cutting down the saturated fat experiment. I see that your Trigs went significantly down after cutting down saturated fats. Your Trig/HDL ratio was 1.15 which is pretty good (and much accurate marker of your general health). I haven’t seen one single source that says olive oil, avocado, nuts etc. are bad for your cholesterol. I wouldn’t cut any of these.
Hi! I have read your very helpful posts, thank you! My cholestrol levels (including trigs) also went significantly up after in keto for 3 months. Total reached to 270 (similar to yours). I am pretty sure this was a result of satured fats. 3 years ago I switched from american diet to med. diet with lots of olive oil, eggs and whole food. My chol levels slightly went down (no big change though, still around 200), while my HDL went up and Trigs went down. After keto and saturated fats all bad markers went up.
Your case might be different, but I think you moved too quickly from simply cutting down the saturated fat experiment. I see that your Trigs went significantly down after cutting down saturated fats. Your Trig/HDL ratio was 1.15 which is pretty good (and much accurate marker of your general health). I haven’t seen one single source that says olive oil, avocado, nuts etc. are bad for your cholesterol. I wouldn’t cut any of these.
Good observation. I don’t eat nuts mainly because they’re so calorically dense, but like to have avocado/guac regularly when I eat mexican food, and like olive oil as dressing for my salad.