Tag: superfood

Bergamot Against Cholesterol

3.3.2019

CALABRIAN BERGAMOT AS MEDICINE

The bergamot is nowadays included in the international anti-cholesterol guidelines. The green gold of Calabria can be used in the treatment of patients intolerant to statins or with metabolic syndrome (“statins”, also known as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, are a class of lipid-lowering medications. They reduce cardiovascular disease and mortality in those who are at high risk of cardiovascular disease).

Bergamot enters fully among the list of lipid-lowering nutraceuticals, both in national and international guidelines. Among the different factors, its reduction of total cholesterol and LDL-c (low density lipoprotein cholesterol) levels is an important help for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, the main cause of worldwide death and disability in developed countries.

A different approach

An increase of cholesterol causes many diseases and is a general health problem, with a great economic impact: the expenditure of the Italian National Health Service for hypocholesterolemic therapies amounts to over a billion a year, while it reaches 15 billion euro for the management of cardiovascular diseases.

Based on statistics of Italian Institute ISTAT, population aging is expected to increase the likelihood of their incidence and prevalence in the near future; just think that the increase in chronic patients has led Italian healthcare spending to grow faster than the national health fund.

DRINKING JUICE AS PREVENTION

Inside this scenario, the nutritional supplement of Bergamot juice emerges as an excellent candidate to be included in a strategic framework of primary prevention, combining bergamot juice consumption with tools such as proper nutrition and sporting activity, inside the well known paradigm shift of prevention of diseases, instead of only a posteriori medical treatments.

The juice offers a wide spectrum beneficial for patients because it guarantees the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle and health conditions that prevent the establishment of chronic invalidating events.

As nutraceutical the bergamot is now included in the cardiometabolic area among the lipid-lowering factors, thanks to the contribution and work of a large panel of experts. In a recent scientific article, titled “Lipid lowering nutraceuticals in clinical practice: position paper from an international lipid expert panel” there are clinical studies on bergamot, which highlights its lipid-lowering effects in reducing the levels of sdLDL (cholesterol in small and dense lipoproteins) and TG (The Triglyceride) with a significant increase in HDL-c levels (the so-called good cholesterol).

Research and Nature

Some other studies have also been interested in evaluating the administration of bergamot derivatives in association with statins; the positive results showed significant efficacy in terms of reduction of LDL and TG levels. The absence of side effects has also promoted the bergamot as a valid substitute in those conditions of intolerance to statins, or in association with the latter to reach the therapeutic target, avoiding the typical side effects such as myalgia .

CONCLUSIONS

Therefore it is suggested the possibility of resorting to bergamot in the treatment of hypercholesterolemic and / or hypertriglycemic patients, intolerant to statins or with metabolic syndrome.

Drink this magnificent juice and Best wishes!

Caviar Lemon: trendy and stellar

9.02.2019

A real new entry of Calabrian cuisine is the exotic “Limone Caviale” (Caviar Lemon), cultivated in our land, become a trendy food from the stellar price.

Calabria is not new to the presence of exotic fruits, ended up becoming identifying products thanks to a long history and the unattainable quality guaranteed to them by the land and by its particular microclimates.

A PERFECT LAND FOR NEW EXOTIC PLANTATIONS

Plants such as Cedar, Bergamot, Calabrian lime, some typical varieties of oranges and mandarins, the Annona Cherimola, are now part of the Calabrian agricultural landscape, as for centuries, even if their ancient exotic origin has been forgot.

Trendy and stellar like Russian Caviar

Over time, the arrival of new species has not ceased, such as the recent planting of “Goji” in the Piana di Sibari, where the famous “health berries” have seen their nutritional quality improve to the point of becoming the best in the world. “Goji” is the well known (Lycium barbarum, or Ningxia goji) chinese berry, native to Asia, which has been long used in traditional Asian cuisine. The fruits has recently become common in the West as health foods or alternative medicine remedies.

Another exotic plantation in Calabria: Goji

And in this same area, already known for the excellent quality of its citrus fruit, has recently made its debut “Limone Caviale” (Caviar Lemon), a new variety of citrus, surprising for its characteristics and price. The price is simply stellar!

This is also called the Finger Lime (Microcitrus australasica, Limone Caviale or Caviar Lemon), literally a “Finger Lemon” because of the almost cylindrical shape of the fruit, more commonly called “Caviar Lemon” or “Citrus Caviar”, name suggested by the pulp composed of a myriad of spheroidal vesicles of juice, which are broken by chewing and that resemble the caviar in an incredible way.

White, red, pink, green, with an intense or more nuanced color, the small soft spheres of the Finger lime are intriguing with their intense spicy aroma to the creative minds of the chefs, ready to use them in the most imaginative dishes, where taste and aesthetic impact go hand in hand.

A cornucopia of colors

In short, it is the raw material for starred cuisine or luxury vegan, as also reveals the price per kilo, which revolves around 200 euros and makes it a fruit to be measured carefully, as if it were real Russian caviar.

MEDITERRANEAN FEATURES OT THE LIME

Calabria, given the already consolidated citrus vocation of the Piana di Sibari, is an excellent candidate to achieve the best results in this new cuisine culture. This decidedly bizarre fruit, Finger Lime, comes from a small and thorny shrub from the eastern subtropical coastal area of ​​Australia, to be exact from the areas of Queensland and New South Wales, two lands characterized by an almost Mediterranean climate.

The fruits, with a characteristic oblong shape of 5-10 cm, sometimes slightly curved, have a smooth or slightly wrinkled skin with colors that, even in the pulp, go from green to brown, to reddish, to blue. It is not strange saying that this citrus is that with the widest color variation, among all other species present in Calabria.

The plant is continuously re-flowering, which guarantees a continuous fructification throughout the year.

TASTES OF THE FRUIT

As for the taste of the pulp, it is described as a mix between bergamot, grapefruit and lime, with notes of pink pepper, while the peel, usable grated in the kitchen and in pastry, gives a pleasant bitter note.

Caught in its environment

More than for natural consumption, Finger lime is in fact particularly suitable for gastronomic preparations, to which it confers taste and beauty without renouncing significant nutritional values: in fact it boasts antiseptic properties, promotes digestion, is refreshing, diuretic and provides good quantities of vitamin C, B6, folic acid and potassium.

In short, “Limone Caviale” is a a fruit of great versatility, capable of seducing even the most demanding gourmets.