Topics from: http://www.concentric.net/~Debwalt/gsx/

What Are These Extracts?

        If you're here then you have probably been hearing all sorts of talk about grape seed and pine barks extracts and their positive effect on the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis. If this isn't the first place you looked, then you most likely have been hit with a barrage of terms such as grape seed extract (GSX), free radicals, antioxidants, isotonic-capable, oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPC), bioflavonoids, ®Pycnogenol and a host of others.

        Take heart, I'm here to cut through the medical terminology and make it as simple as possible to understand. The following sections will attempt to put all the hype and jargon into plain terms easily understood by the non-medical reader. For those who are, I have provided plenty of links to places where the information is more technical. The reports, abstracts and studies can be reprinted and brought to your health care providers whom, of course, you should consult before undertaking any health care regime.

That said, read on. This is as simple as it gets.

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What Are "Free Radicals"?

        The human body is comprised of millions of molecules which are the basic building blocks of the elements in life. Orbiting each molecule are electrons that help hold the molecules together. Electrons are usually associated in pairs. When there is an odd number of electrons in orbit, the molecule tends to become unstable and reactive. A molecule in this state is referred to as a free radical. Free radicals seek to replace the lost electron by randomly attacking nearby molecules, pulling out desired electrons and transforming good cells into more free radicals.

        Free radicals are found in every facet of life. They are formed in the outside environment and are produced internally by the body. Air pollution, tobacco smoke, excessive radiation, various chemical reactions, toxic waste, pesticides, and herbicides are only some of the environmental sources of free radicals.

        Our bodies also produce free radicals. The process of breathing forms free radicals in a reaction process that produces the energy necessary for living cells to survive. The immune system also produces free radicals. When bacteria invade our bodies, the immune system produces free radicals to help breakdown and overcome the infection. It is vital to control the amount of free radicals present to protect healthy tissue from damage.

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How Do Free Radicals Harm Our Bodies?

        Free radicals can be damaging to the body because of the chain reaction they produce, referred to as oxidative stress. One free radical can damage a million or more molecules within this chain reaction. Oxidation is literally decay.

        We see the effects in our environment: the rusting of metal, rotting of meat, browning of apples or the brittling of old rubber. Oxidation in our body by free radicals is thought to be responsible for premature aging, wrinkling of skin, hardening of arteries, stiffening of joints, formation of cataracts, the initiation of cancer and much more.

        When a free radical comes in contact with a stable molecule, it robs an electron from that molecule. The process continues, passing from one molecule to the next until it is either contained or cellular damage results because of that change. This damage, often in the cell walls, causes our cells to die prematurely. The acceleration of cell destruction not only speeds up the aging process, but prevents a cell from recognizing it's neighboring cells. What results is a frenzied cell production that causes the growth of either benign or cancerous tumors.

        When a free radical regains the electron that it lost, the cell does not regain it's original form and function. The process is like an injury. A burn may eventually heal, but the affected area will contain scar tissue that never lets the body be restored to its original condition. We are constantly exposed to massive quantities of free radicals via natural acts ranging from breathing to absorbing chemical additives in our foods.

        While the human body is usually capable of controlling free radicals produced internally, our ability to effectively fight free radical damage is compromised by our inadequate nutritional choices or diets that contain limited antioxidants.

        Free radicals have been reported to contribute to many health problems including cancer, heart trouble, and arthritis. It is now believed to have some bearing on the auto-immune diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

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What Can Be done To Control Free Radicals?

        Antioxidants are believed to be the answer to controlling free radicals and antioxidant supplementation is necessary if we are unable to reduce our exposure to free radicals, but wish to counter their effect. Many antioxidants are free radical scavengers which do not regenerate free radicals during a reaction. This is accomplished by the combination of antioxidant compounds and oxygen which break free radical chains to stop the damage. Our body acquires natural antioxidants in the form of vitamins A, C, and E, beta carotene, and selenium. In addition to these, antioxidant supplements such as the OPCs (grape seed extract, pine bark extract, GSX, pycnogenol, etc.) can be taken to stop free radical damage.

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What Are Antioxidant Supplements?

        The best source of antioxidant supplements are oligomeric proanthocyanidins or (OPC) which are bioflavonoids found in fruits, vegetables and certain tree barks. This is where the grape seed, pine bark, red wine extract and other antioxidants come into play. Often referred to as ®pycnogenols (a name given to the OPCs by Professor Masquelier and now trade marked), these bioflavonoids are 20 time more powerful as antioxidants or free radical scavengers than vitamin E. OPCs function as helpers to influence body immune responses to inflammation, allergy and infection. There are more than 20,00 different chemical structures that make up bioflavonoids, of which OPCs are considered the most potent.

        The extracts from these natural items as well as the other bioflavonoids, destroy free radicals by stabilizing the cells. With fewer free radicals damaging the cell membrane, healthy cells are able to live longer and the aging process decelerates. OPCs are the most powerful free radical stabilizers on the market today.

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What Are Some Of The Benefit's Of Taking OPC?

* Helps to slow aging *Improves skin elasticity and smoothness *Strengthens capillaries, arteries, and veins *Improves circulation and enhances cell vitality *Reduces capillary fragility *Reduces risk of phlebitis. *Reduces varicose veins *Reduces edema and swelling of the legs *Reduces diabetic retinopathy *Reduces fatigue *Improves vision acuity *Helps improve sluggish memory *Reduces the effects of stress *Improves joint flexibility and fights inflammation in arthritis and sports injuries

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Are OPCs Safe?

        OPCs have been used in Europe under medical supervision for over thirty years with no reports of adverse effects. Over one million people utilize these valuable bioflavonoids daily. OPCs have been tested time and time again for safety by conventional, scientific methods at leading research centers worldwideincluding the Pasteur Institute. OPC has been found to be non-toxic, non-antigenic, non-teratogenic, non-mutagenic and non-carcinogenic.

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The History Of OPC

        In 1534, French expert Jacques Cartier was leading an expedition up the St. Lawrence River. Trapped by bad weather, Cartier and his crew were forced to survive on a ration of salted meat and biscuits. Cartier's Crew began to suffer from a severe deficiency of Vitamin C called scurvy. Many crew members died before a friendly Native American saved the day. He told them to make a tea from the bark and needles of the pine tree to cure their malady. They complied and as a result, Cartier and many crew members survived.

        Some 400 years later, Professor Jacques Masquelier of the University of Bordeaux France, read a book by Cartier detailing the expedition. Masquelier concludes that pine bark not only contained some vitamin C, but obviously was a good source of bioflavonoids whose effects are similar to that of vitamin C. Further study and research revealed that the pine bark contained an entire complex of proanthocyanidin complexes found not only in the pine bark but in a variety of plants, including grape seeds, cranberries, peanuts, lemon tree bark and citrus peels. Masquelier termed the active ingredients of the pine bark ®pycnogenols, which today are considered and referred to in the scientific community as oligomeric proanthocyanidins complexes or OPCs.

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Finding OPC

        There are a number of companies marketing OPC throughout the world. The important things to keep in mind and to watch for when deciding which brand to purchase are the cost, the milligrams per dose, the extracts contained, the inert ingredients and the speed at which the OPC is absorbed into the body.

        OPC may be purchased in a number of different places including health food stores, vitamin companies, and independent distributors. While there appears to be a difference of opinion on the number of milligrams of OPC the body needs daily, 1 mg per pound of body weight seems to be the accepted norm however, many who are fighting off disease take 3 mg per pound of body weight. Costs vary with the products so it pays to shop around. A bargain is not a bargain if a tablet or capsule contains only 10 mg of OPC and 15 or 16 tablets a day is needed for the recommended dosage. Grape seed extract has the highest concentration of active ingredients with pine bark extract running a close second. Isotonic-capable OPC (delivered in a liquid base) are preferred because of the fast, high absorption rate. Nutrients delivered in the isotonic fashion are absorbed by the body in approximately 5 minutes as opposed to the 40 minutes to 4 hour absorption rate of tablets. Antioxidants breakdown in the body rapidly so it is important to get them into the blood stream as quickly as possible.

        Of all the different brands of OPC on the market, my personal recommendation is a product, which because of the company's strict copyright policy for distributors, I am not permitted to mention by name, however I can direct you to their website for further information. A new window will open.

        When I tried this particular OPC product, I was so impressed with the immediate results, that I got in touch with the distribution company, Market America Inc., and became a distributor so as to take advantage of the wholesale pricing for my own personal use and the others taking it in our MS support group. As I mentioned before, I have Multiple Sclerosis and have been battling it for the past ten years. Like many of my fellow MSers, I learned to compensate for the paralysis, however the fatigue was a killer. (I needed a nap to recover the energy it took to get up from a nap.) A friend of mine had been taking this particular OPC product for quite a while and was getting wonderful results. Every meeting she bored us to tears telling us how wonderful it is and kept asking when I was going to give it a try.

        Being the skeptic that I am and having been "sucked into" different hypes on previous occasions, I put it off until I started hearing so many good things about OPCs, grape seed and pine bark extracts in the MS news groups and IRC channels. As I researched it a little further, I ran across Tim Stout's report, became intrigued and called my friend who had two bottles to me the next day. Within the hour of my first dose, I was on the phone, eating crow and thanking her. I was vitalized! That afternoon was the first in 10 years that I didn't need a nap. It's nineteen months later as of this writing and I still haven't had to take one and I feel great! Some of the effects I attribute to the OPC product are a lessening of numbness, more energy, better circulation and no more vision problems.

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Advantages of this OPC Product

       This particular OPC product contains a combination of OPC sources that include grape seed, red wine, and pine bark extracts. The grape seed extract is the superior source of OPC, containing 92% of active ingredients over pine bark's 84% of active OPC ingredient.' The red wine extract contains flavonoids from the skin of red grapes which also provide leucocyanidins. Leucocyanidins are bioflavonoids with powerful antioxidant properties crucial to their role in supporting the circulatory system. Together this combination of OPC is superior to any other on the market in active ingredients and isotonic capability. Over 96% of the active ingredients of this OPC product are delivered into the blood stream within 5 minutes. That means that the OPC and other active ingredients will be delivered in the highest concentration to the small intestine, where the body provides the best opportunity for absorption. I know of no other OPC product which can make this claim.

        Each serving (cap full) of this OPC product contains 75 milligrams of oligomeric proanthocyanidins, 25 milligrams of bilberry extract and 25 milligrams of bioflavonoids in an isotonic-capable solution. This OPC product has a pleasant natural grape flavor, is a vegetarian product and mixes instantly when added to water. This product should be taken on an empty stomach for fastest, most effective delivery of the active ingredients.

        To start using this OPC product for preventive health care and its benefit as an antioxidant and free radical scavenger, take 3 milligrams per pound of body weight for the first seven days. (These should be spread throughout the day and taken on an empty stomach.) Then decrease it to an average daily dose of 1 milligram per pound of body weight per day. For example, if you weigh 125 lbs, you would take three level cap fulls or 375 mg of this OPC product daily for seven days, then decrease to one serving or 125 mg per day. Any small overage will not be of any negative consequence, since this OPC product is non-toxic.

        Note: If you are using this OPC product for a specific purpose such as counteracting years of free radical damage or fighting a disease, take 1 dose of OPC per 50 pounds of body weight for 21 days before decreasing to 1 dose per day.

        'Percentages established by Dr. Marie-Claude Dumon, University of Bordeaux, France

        This OPC product is a vegetarian product and contains no wheat, soy, yeast, glutens, artificial flavor or colors, starch, salt, preservatives or milk.

        Of course, you should consult with your health care professional before making any changes in your diet or health maintenance program.

       If you or a loved one has MS and is always tired, sore, or experiencing any of the other symptoms common to MS, you have to give this OPC product a try for 90 days. Is it worth 85 cents a day to feel better? I think so. Is there a reason why so many people with MS love this OPC product? YES! Is anyone getting cured? Of course not, but symptoms are being relieved, people have more energy and they are Feeling Better! Can you give me one good reason why You shouldn't be one of them?

       Perhaps one of the most convincing arguments for this OPC product is the price. Check out the table below and "do the math".