Posted by Dave on December 12, 1999 at 19:21:53:
In Reply to: Vit. C and ichthyosis posted by Massimo on December 08, 1999 at 13:30:42:
I'm glad that you found a personal "solution" to your Icthyosis and it seems to validate my method of trying to control the symtoms of my sons Icthyosis from the "inside" through nutrition. I'm just starting to try pycnogenol's or OPC's for my son and I haven't got any results to report as yesterday was the first day for giving him some. Vitamin C is a good antioxidant and this may be why you are having such good results with it. I have heard that too much acidity in the body is not good as your body will strive too maintain a PH level somewhere close to neutral. (neither acidic or alkali). Here is some info on OPC's that everyone may find helpful. It's a bit long but has a lot on good info I believe.
Anti-Aging Antioxidant Miracle:
OPCs
The Free Radical Impact
"In 1954, the free radical theory of aging was first described by Dr.
Denham Harman, who declared that a 'single common process, modifiable by
genetic and environmental factors, was responsible for aging and death
of all living things.' He identified this process saying, 'Aging is
caused by free radical reactions, which may be caused by the
environment, from disease and intrinsic reactions within the aging
process.' Dr. Harman's conclusion, written more than forty years ago,
sums up much of what we finally agree upon today." (1)
"The use of antioxidants, chemical compounds that neutralize the
damaging effects of the cellular by-products called free radicals, has
been recognized for years. But when I learned about the long-range
benefits of the antioxidant Pycnogenol (Masquelier's OPC invention), I
realized a whole new chapter in Vitality Medicine was about to be
written, based in part on this extraordinary pine bark based extract
that can prevent or reduce the risk of chronic diseases... Extending
years of optimal health is extremely important because living a
competitive, fulfilling existence can have side effects long with great
rewards." (2)
Fifty times more potent than Vitamin E
"Proanthocyanidins are very powerful free radical scavengers that
protect all us from many damaging elements in our environment. These
elements (free radicals) work against our immune system, our link to a
vast number of degenerative diseases, and accelerated aging. The
proanthocyanidins are the most potent of all the antioxidant
protectorant nutrients, being as much as fifty times more potent than
vitamin E and twenty times more potent than vitamin C. The
Proanthocyanidins have been studied extensively and have
found to be nontoxic. They are a group of bioflavonoids known to be
valuable nutrients supporting good health of tissues that are provided
with abundant blood supply through capillaries. Capillary integrity is
improved dramatically by the proanthocyanidins. They tend to affix
themselves both on the inside and outside of the cell membranes,
especially the cells of blood vessels and connective tissues that are
associated with the skin and joints that contain collagen, protecting
them from free radical damage...
"Diseases Positively Affected by OPCs: Here is a list of diseases
positively affected by OPCs: Allergies, Atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's,
Bruising, Cancer, Diabetes, High blood cholesterol, High blood pressure,
Inflammation, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Stroke, Varicose
veins, and Viral infections." (1)
Oral Cosmetic
for "Better and Younger Skin"
"We are interested in preventing the diseases of age and even slowing
the aging process itself. One of the effects of aging that concerns many
people is the change in skin texture and appearance. Aging causes the
skin to become thinner and more transparent. The subcutaneous layer
loses fat and the skin sags. And, unfortunately, elastic skin fibers
lose their resilience.
"Well-nourished, healthy skin is radiant and youthful. Pycnogenol is an
important part of optimally nourishing your skin. Pycnogenol is not an
essential nutrient for skin, but it does offer important protection and
revitalization. Pycnogenol will not make old skin new, but it will
improve the elasticity and appearance of your skin...
"Pycnogenol reactivates damaged collagen and elastin and protects them
against further attack by free radicals and degrading enzymes... binds
to collagen fibers and realigns them to a more youthful, undamaged form.
This protective action of Pycnogenol helps to prevent the early facial
wrinkles that occur due to skin elasticity.
"One could even consider Pycnogenol to be an oral cosmetic to help keep
skin smooth and elastic. Actually, it was dermatological and
phlebological disorders that started Dr. Jacques Masquelier of Bordeaux
University on the road to researching Pycnogenol. He treated 45 patients
having eczema, ulcerated varicose veins and related disorders.
"When collagen fibers are soaked in water for 24 hours with a weight
attached, their strength can be measured relative to the length that the
fiber is stretched. When Pycnogenol is added to the water, the collagen
fibers decrease in strength proportional to the amount of Pycnogenol
added. The decrease represents an increase in collagen strength. The
weight of the collagen fibers also increases after incubation in the
Pycnogenol solution...Pycnogenol's protection of these proteins also
means better and younger skin." (3)
Her skin radiated a newfound youthfulness...
"Pycnogenol has had a positive dermatological impact on my patients.
When Rosalie came to see me she was certainly healthy on the inside but
the packaging looked wrong to her. At forty-three, a high-level buyer
for a fashionable New York store, she was worried and distressed about
her face.
"'I know these are called laugh lines. Frankly, nothing is that funny,'
she said with a pained smile. Her brow was deeply furrowed, and deep
lines radiated down from the corners of her eyes and on both sides of
her mouth. Tiny red blotches crisscrossed her cheeks, still faintly
visible under the heavy makeup she wore. 'What did I do to get this way?
I know people older than I am who barely have a line on their faces. Why
are my wrinkles so bad?' she asked. 'I've got to do something about this
- now. My job is all about appearances. I represent my store, and they
expect a youthful-looking staff to be their 'front' people. I just can't
look worn-out; the younger I look the longer I'll keep my job, and the
sooner I'll move up in the organization.'
Rosalie confessed that she had two bad habits, both of which had very
negative effects on her skin. The first was that she was a
two-pack-a-day smoker, the second that she had been a sun seeker all her
life.
"Exposure to the sun's ultraviolet B (UVB) rays creates wrinkles. The
same rays that force your skin to tan also break down collagen and
elastin, the structural 'cement' that holds skin cells together.
Researchers at the University of Michigan have established that just a
few minutes of exposure to UVB rays are enough to cause skin cells to
make enzymes that break down collagen and elastin, causing skin to
wrinkle and sag.
"Rosalie knew that smoking was dangerous, but she didn't know just how
adversely it affected skin. Smoking thickens and fragments elastin, the
long, smooth fibers that give healthy skin its resilience. It also
constricts blood vessels that supply oxygen to the skin, drying it out.
And it interferes with the body's ability to protect itself against free
radicals triggered by tobacco smoke. Rosalie ultimately decided to
undergo laser skin resurfacing to vaporize her wrinkles, which I thought
was one good solution for her. However, since exposure to UVB rays would
continue and she hadn't stopped smoking, I recommended a regular course
of Pycnogenol to strengthen and protect her collagen. 'It's been
suggested that Pycnogenol coats collagen so that it can't be broken down
further by free radicals. Think of it as your "cosmetic pill,"' I told
her. "When she came to see me several months later Rosalie was,
literally, a new woman. Taut and glowing from the laser work and
Pycnogenol use, her skin radiated a newfound youthfulness. 'I can't
overstate how great I feel - my looks match my life. But I have to tell
you - I'm convinced that Pycnogenol has been healing my whole body, from
the inside out. And I have a confession to make: I'm still smoking.'
"Pycnogenol and Smoking: Rosalie hit upon an important point about
Pycnogenol, especially as it pertained to her smoking. Ronald R. Watson,
Ph.D., a research professor in the Department of Family and Community
Medicine at the University of Arizona Medical School of Medicine,
recently found that Pycnogenol can provide a significant protective
effect for smokers.
"In his unpublished research, which was duplicated by scientists in
Germany in a much larger published study, Watson tested Pycnogenol on
subjects who smoked. Two hours later, he took a blood sample. He knew
that smoking caused red cells to clump, blocking arteries and
contributing to heart disease. However, the smokers who took Pycnogenol
exhibited a fast-acting antiplatlet effect, similar to aspirin.
"This means that Pycnogenol may offer smokers, and those who come in
contact with secondhand smoke, some protection against heart disease.
However, be aware that neither Dr. Watson nor I am advocating the
continuation of smoking... Smoking kills. If you are a smoker, you are
paving way to a possible heart attack as well as a number of loathsome
diseases... and there is one simple way to avoid them: Stop smoking."
(2)
"Nutritionists are excited as research reveals an expanded understanding
of the versatility of the complex of nutrients in Pycnogenol. The 'super
protector nutrient' is actually more than a single nutrient. Pycnogenol
(pronounced pick-nah-geh-nol) is a complex of powerful antioxidant
nutrients that are patented for the use to scavenge free radicals. The
derivation of the name 'Pycnogenol' has to do with the fact that many
complex compounds are formed from simple units. Translated, this means
that this specific mixture of nutrients can help you live better longer,
stay healthier and appear more youthful. Pycnogenol can help protect you
from approximately eighty diseases, including...
Reduces risk of:
Heart Disease
Cancer
Accelerated aging
Arthritis
Oxidative stress and
More than 70 other radical-related diseases
Strengthens blood vessels &
Maintains proper capillary permeability
Reduces capillary fragility
Reduces bruising
Strengthens capillaries, veins and arteries
Reduces the severity of sports injuries
Reduces varicose veins
Reduces edema and swelling of the legs
Treats chronic venous insufficiency
Reduces the risk of phlebitis
Skin Health
Improves skin elasticity
Improves skin smoothness
Effective against psoriasis
Protects against sun damage
Allergies
Very effective against hay fever
Inflammation
Fights inflammation
Improves joint flexibility
Reduces the pain due to swollen joints
Diabetes
Reduces diabetic retinopathy
Immune system
Enhances immune response
Reduces frequency and severity of colds
Ophthalmology
Reduces retinopathies
Help prevent capillary bleeding, floaters
Gastrointestinal
Acts against stomach ulcers and inflammation
Red blood cells
Improves red-blood-cell membrane flexibility (5)
So Many Different
and Seemingly Unrelated
Diseases?
"Still, this information will be new to many, including health
professionals. We mentioned that the pace of antioxidant research is
quickening, but it hasn't been an easy accomplishment. In the 1970s,
whenever one of your authors described the health benefits of
antioxidants, medical professionals would scoff at the idea that so many
conditions could be alleviated or prevented with antioxidants. The
health professionals did not understand how free radicals attacked the
body to cause or be involved with nearly eighty diseases. Nor did they
understand how antioxidant nutrients protected against free-radical
damage. Without this knowledge, it was impossible for them to understand
how antioxidants protected us from so many different diseases. Thus the
typical reaction was disbelief and ridicule. Fortunately, through the
years many research reports appeared in medical as well as scientific
journals. Now cardiologists, oncologists and many other medical
specialists and health professionals understand how one group of
nutrients can protect us against so many different - and seemingly
unrelated - diseases." (5)
What Do OPCs Do?
Method of Action
"'Pyc' is especially good at neutralizing the hydroxyl radical, the
superoxide radical, singlet oxygen, and the dangerous chemical
peroxynitrate... What makes peroxynitrate so dangerous is that it reacts
with anything: fats, proteins, DNA, membrane, et cetra. It doesn't
really matter what - peroxynitrate reacts! Excessive nitric oxide
production is associated with arthritis, diabetes, stroke, septic shock,
chronic inflammation, and atherosclerosis. The damage it does can easily
lead to gene mutations, which replicate themselves as the beginnings of
cancer...
"The good news is that Pycnogenol is great at neutralizing
peroxynitrate. It also reduces the amount of superoxide available that
makes peroxynitrate and it helps to regulate the nitric oxide production
so that it stays in balance. That means your immune system works better,
your joints hurt less, and your blood flows better, all because of
Pycnogenol... Other antioxidants may help, but presently researchers
have only noticed OPCs working on this problem...
"Researchers found out that... even when the immune system was barely
working, Pycnogenol brought it back. Research in this direction may be
very significant for those interested in the AIDS virus." (19)
The Supernutrient that Fights Aging and Disease
"At an annual meeting of the scientists researching the patented
product, several studies were presented to substantiate claims that
Pycnogenol combats aging and heart disease. David F. Fitzpatrick,
associate professor of pharmacology and therapeutics at the University
of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa, reported that the
supplement can prevent damage to blood vessels and a decrease in blood
clotting, both of which are linked to heart disease. Another study found
that Pycnogenol's unique combination of natural vitamin-like compounds
known as flavonoids, inhibits excessive metabolizing of nitric oxide, a
process that has been linked to inflammation, arthritis, and
Alzheimer's. What's more, research conducted on mice at the University
of Arizona at Tucson showed that Pycnogenol stimulated immune activity
and delayed such age-related changes as hair loss and skin damage...
studies have shown that Pycnogenol is nontoxic and has no known drug
interactions." (7)
"Since OPC is an antioxidant, research shows it fights cholesterol by
discouraging deposits from forming on artery walls. OPC's
anti-inflammatory activity may help relieve inflammatory conditions,
including arthritis, allergies, bronchitis, and asthma. OPC also
corrects dangerous blood clotting tendencies that trigger heart attacks
and strokes. Dr. Ronald Watson, a researcher at the University of
Arizona, recently confirmed that OPC (Pycnogenol) normalizes platelet
aggregation -- blood stickiness leading to hazardous blood clots. He
showed that when people smoked, their platelets clumped together in a
tendency to form clots. But about twenty minutes after taking OPC, their
platelets returned to normal.
"A surprising use of OPC has arisen among people suffering from that
bewildering disorder in concentration and attention known as attention
deficit disorder (ADD), or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD). It is said to have begun quite accidentally when people with ADD
took OPC for another purpose, such as allergies, and noticed an
improvement in concentration and mental focus, classic symptoms of
attention deficit. Others started using it. Word spread, and the ADD
remedy has achieved high visibility on the Internet and at natural
products trade shows.
"The use of OPC for this purpose has not been widely studied but a
preliminary study by Marion Sigurdson, Ph.D., a psychologist in Tulsa,
Oklahoma, who specializes in treating attention deficit disorder, has
found striking benefits from OPC. Using a blend of pine bark and grape
seed (Dr. Masquelier's OPC product), Dr. Sigurdson found that it worked
just as well as the commonly prescribed stimulant medications, including
Ritalin, on thirty children and adults diagnosed with ADD. The subjects
were given a battery of computerized and behavior tests to judge their
attention, concentration, and other important factors in ADD under
various circumstances: when they were either on or off their usual
stimulant medications, or on the OPC alone. When they were off their
medications, their ADD deteriorated. On their medications, they were
much improved. But when they took daily doses of the OPC grape seed-pine
bark mixture, their scores and behavior were just as improved as when
they took stimulant drugs.
In other words, the OPC equaled the drugs in most subjects.
.. (Many of the subjects also had other positive effects: decreased
heart beat, disappearance of tennis elbow, relief of acne, improved
sleep and mood.)
"Scientifically, how could this possibly be true? How could mundane
grape seed and pine bark chemicals have a profound influence on the
brain comparable to that of a powerful pharmaceutical drug? According to
Marcia Zimmerman, a California consultant who specializes in research on
OPCs, there is some underpinning in the scientific literature,
suggesting possible mechanisms of action. A fascinating way OPCs might
affect brain cells, as shown by studies in cell cultures, she says, is
by regulating enzymes that help control two crucial neurotransmitters --
dopamine and norepinephrine, chemicals that carry messages among brain
cells and are involved in 'excitatory' responses. OPCs also help deliver
nutrients to the brain, such as zinc, manganese, selenium, and copper,
that are helpful in ADHD, according to recent research. Additionally,
OPCs' remarkable antioxidant activity may help stabilize brain cells and
improve their functioning by neutralizing damage from free radicals."
(8)
"Medical studies conducted at the University of Illinois demonstrate the
antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of OPCs ... They have the
ability to inhibit all three phases of the cancer process: initiation,
promotion and progression."(9)
"Scientists at the University of Arizona recently discovered that
Pycnogenol helps build resistance to cancer by as much as 40 to 50
percent by boosting the body's first line of cancer defense, known as
natural killer cells."
(16)
"Dr. Packer has focused much of his attention on the relationship
between Pycnogenol and nitrous oxide (NO), a free radical produced in
the body. Within the body, NO is a double-edged immunity sword, made by
the body to regulate the muscle tone of blood vessels and employed as a
weapon to kill pathogens, micro-organisms that cause disease. The body's
overproduction of NO, on the other hand, can result in chronic, damaging
inflammation, the root cause of 1 in 3 cancers. Pycnogenol, says Dr.
Packer, has a 'biphasic effect on NO.' It both quenches NO when this
substance threatens to become a damaging free radical and it inhibits a
gene that might otherwise foster enzymes that could lead to NO
overproduction." (13)
"Preliminary studies have also shown that Pycnogenol is also effective
against Alzheimer's disease. Cell culture studies have shown that
Pycnogenol can inhibit beta-amyloid accumulation also called
amyloid-beta-protein, a peptide that accumulates in the form of plaques
in the central nervous system. These plaques are a characteristic
feature of Alzheimer's disease. Beta-amyloid is directly toxic to nerve
cells causing a breakdown of membranes.
"Dr. D. Schubert of the Salk Institute of Biological Sciences of San
Diego accumulated brain cell cultures taken from Alzheimer's patients to
which beta-amyloid had been added. In those cultures, Pycnogenol
prevented the toxic protein present in Alzheimer's patients from
accumulating.
"Somewhat more impressive are reports from patients having Newman-Pick's
disease, an ailment closely related to Alzheimer's. These patients
reported significant improvement following Pycnogenol supplementation."
(14)
Free Radical Antagonist and Vitamin C Potentiator
TRIPLE ACTION ANTIOXIDANT:
(1) "reduces free-radical-caused tissue damage many times more
effectively than vitamin E, potentiates the health-giving effects of
vitamin C, and protects brain and nerve tissue with its nearly unique
ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier.
(2) "It also reduces inflammation and improves circulation, both
relieving the distresses of arthritis, diabetes and stroke and promoting
prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer.
(3) And its ability to bond to collagen promotes renewed youthfulness,
flexibility and body integrity -- even allowing it to function as an
"oral cosmetic." (12)
"In 1947 the renowned French chemist Jack Masquelier, professor emeritus
of medicine at the University of Bordeaux, isolated the first OPC, a
colorless substance, from the red skin of the peanut. He tells how he
gave it to the wife of the dean of his faculty, who had severe edema
from pregnancy; her swollen legs got so tired she could barely walk.
"'Well, the dean's wife was cured in forty-eight hours,' says Dr.
Masquelier. 'So there had to be something special about my extract.' In
1950 the peanut-skin OPC became the first vasculo-protective medicine,
known as Resivit and sold in France. About a quarter of a century later
another drug based on Dr. Masquelier's grape seed OPC, called Endotelon,
made its debut in France. By 1979 Masquelier had also christened his
brainchild "pycnogenols," a generic word describing in Greek its
multi-faceted chemistry... Dr. Masquelier has also detected OPC in
virtually all plants, red wine, and the peanut kernel itself. The
current concentrated commercial sources are grape seeds and the bark of
the French maritime pine tree. Dr. Masquelier also says OPC primarily
accounts for the antioxidant, artery-protecting activity of red wine and
tea." (8)
Masquelier's invention is NOT a drug and is now readily available in the
U.S. without a prescription (more on that in a moment). Moreover, it is
far less costly than traditional drug therapy. It is as safe to use as
vitamin C. However, as an antioxidant supplement, Masquelier's Original
OPCs is actually 20 times more powerful than vitamin C, and 50 times
more powerful than vitamin E.