Vitabase Pycnogenol

 

Pycnogenol®: A Nutritional Breakthrough of the Late Twentieth Century

Pycnogenol® (pronounced pick-nodge-en-all) is the brand name of an extract taken from the bark of the maritime pine, which grows along the Atlantic Coast of southwest France. The extract is rich in antioxidants, and physicians in Europe have used it in Europe for over thirty years to deal with a broad range of health conditions. 

 

It has also been the subject of numerous controlled scientific studies and is now being hailed as one of the nutritional breakthroughs of the late 20th century. Professor Ronald Watson of the University of Arizona stated, “Here's a completely natural substance with remarkable activity, producing effects within minutes. It may have important health implications for an aging population.” 

 

Pycnogenol® has recently been granted GRAS status in the United States. This means it is now affirmed for use in various foods and beverages. It is currently available in hundreds of dietary supplements, multivitamins, and health products.

 

Contains Some of the Most Powerful Antioxidants

The remarkable health properties of Pycnogenol® are due to its being a rich source of compounds known as oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs or PCOs). These powerful antioxidants are important because of their role in removing damaging free radicals from the body. 

 

OPCs have greater antioxidant properties than customary sources such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene. The OPCs in Pycnogenol® are very similar to those found in grape seeds and are 20 times more potent than vitamin C and 50 times stronger than vitamin E. 

 

It is a well-known fact that free-radical damage is a major cause of aging and degenerative disease. The body obtains antioxidants from many of the whole foods we eat as part of a normal healthy diet. 

 

Unfortunately, few people in the West eat enough of these foods. In addition, their bodies must cope with an overload of free radicals from environmental sources such as smoking and pollution. For this reason, the taking of an antioxidant-rich supplement like Pycnogenol® is vital for many people. Speaking at a Washington, DC, conference, Professor Ronald Watson stated that a single, small dose of Pycnogenol® was as effective as a much-larger amount of aspirin. “Further, Pycnogenol® did not increase bleeding, while aspirin did,” he said.