THE ULTIMATE ANTIOXIDANT - PROANTHOCYANIDINS

A little background information:

In 1554, the French explorer, Jacques Cartier, led an expedition up the St. Lawrence River. They were trapped by winter and had to live on rations with no fruits or vegetables. Several developed scurvy and died. Then a native Indian taught them to prepare tea from pine bark and needles, and as they drank it, they recovered and survived the winter.

In 1757, a doctor began giving British sailors lemon juice to prevent scurvy.

In 1928, the Hungarian scientist, Szent Gyorgyi, isolated vitamin C from citrus and other sources. It helped prevent scurvy, but results were not consistent. He later isolated bioflavonoids which he called vitamin P. He blended the two together and called the mixture "citrin". It was more reliable, but results were still inconsistent.

Then in 1947, Prof. Dr. Jack Masquelier, working at the University of Bordeaux in France, isolated proanthocyanidins from the skins of peanuts. He named the mixture with a name that was derived from the Greek "pycno" meaning to thicken or condense, "gen" meaning to generate and "ol" from their chemical name: Oligomeric ProanthoCyanidins (OPC's). "Oligo" is from the Greek, meaning "a few" and "Pro" means "before" or "produces", and "anthoCyanins" are the red compounds that OPC's turn into when fruit ripens. OPC's are found in most plants and in red wines, flowers, leaves, fruits, berries, nuts, sorghum, beans and hops with high concentrations in skins, barks, and seeds. The most efficient sources are grape seed and French maritime pine bark.

OK, why OPC's? Free Radicals and Antioxidants:

Oxygen is essential for life, but can be very damaging to our cells when in its super reactive "free radical" form. Free radicals evolve from faulty metabolism, unhealthy diets, environmental pollution, tobacco smoke, stress, certain chemicals and drugs, radiation and other sources. They work against our immune system, attack all cells and stimulate aging and the development of all degenerative diseases. Normally our cells are shielded from free radical damage by protective enzymes and antioxidant nutrients. The antioxidants react with free radicals, protecting our bodies against disease and degeneration. Scientists call this "free radical scavenging."

OPC's are probably the most versatile nutrients ever discovered. They are highly bioavailable and active in the body as tremendous free radical scavenging antioxidants. They help protect against all degenerative conditions, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, allergies and aging by neutralizing or changing free radicals into harmless substances. OPC's are known to cross the blood/brain barrier and improve oxygenation of brain tissue, which may be helpful in preventing attention deficit syndrome. One of the greatest values of OPC's is their ability to preserve and protect collagen and its production and help maintain healthy capillaries. Collagen is an important structural constituent of our blood vessels, skin and connective tissues including ligaments, tendons and others.

As potent antioxidants, the OPC's in Proanthenols are the most valuable anti-aging nutrients found - more powerful than the well known antioxidants: Vitamins C and E. OPC's have been shown to be 50 times more potent than Vitamin E and 20 times more potent than Vitamin C. In fact, if OPC's are taken along with Vitamin C or E, they have been shown to enhance the effectiveness of these vitamins.

Can we obtain OPC's from our diet? A healthy diet rich in whole raw fruits and vegetables contains proanthocyanidins. Unfortunately, most people discard the parts of foods (stems, seeds, skins, etc.) that contain the most of them. Also, most herbs contain representative amounts of them. Red wine is actually the richest food source of OPC's. In fact, one of the reasons, Dr. Masquelier started researching was that the French who eat food notoriously high in fat, generally have a relatively low incidence of cardio-vascular disease. Guess what, the French drink a lot of red wine!

Some Testimonials about OPCs:

"I'm 29 years old. I suffered severely from allergies - I've been taking allergy shots every two weeks since I was sixteen years old. I started taking OPC-85, and by the fourth day I was completely relieved from my allergies for the first time in my life. I've not taken an allergy shot in over eight months." - C.T., Maryland, June 96 Members Monthly

"I am 85 years old. Since 1948, I have been suffering with the pain, soreness, stiffness and swelling of many joints of my body. Diets and medications helped very little. Two months ago, I began taking Proanthenols tablets. Now, I am almost free of all these discomforts. From this personal experience, I do highly praise and recommend the use of Proanthenols by anyone who has arthritis." - M.C., Alabama, October 96, Members Monthly

"It is now time to share all of my wonderful results since I've been taking Proanthenols for a year. For the last 7+ years my knees were very painful, I'm sure due to the vigorous exercises I had put them through. Today, they are virtually pain-free. Any allergy problems I had in the past are, for the most part, history. Rarely do I have a headache, my periodontal problems no longer exist, my skin tone is so improved, I feel an overall lightness in my being and it goes on and on.

My 87 year old mom is so much healthier and energetic after taking Proanthenols for the last year. Now my 87 year old dad is taking OPC's. If space permitted, I could go on and on with testimonials from family and friends taking" OPC's. - J.M., California, December 96 Members Monthly

"I tried Proanthenols and I've noticed an improvement of my migraine headache after two weeks of taking it. The pain lessened to approximately 30%, and the severity of the attacks gradually decreased." - A.T., California, December 96 Members Monthly

We hope you found this health information informative and helpful. We thank our associates and friends for their contribution to our Newsletter. For a subscription to our Monthly General Health Newsletter (sent by e-mail), send you request to: News Request

Be Healthy!

The Culbreths

Please note: the information contained herein has been compiled from various sources. The above statements have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. We make no claims, either expressed or implied, that any treatments mentioned in this newsletter will cure disease, replace prescription medication, or supersede sound medical advice.