A Special Report From J. Robert Lemon, R.Ph., President and Cofounder of Life Plus International.

-OPC's-

WHAT THEY ARE-WHAT THEY ARE NOT

OPC (Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins) consist of two, three or four flavan-3-ol molecules bonded together. Two of them together constitute a "dimer," while three or four of them bonded together are called "trimers" and "tetramers." Collectively, they are known as "oligomers." This word comes from the Greek root word "oligo" meaning "a few." These unique naturally occurring compounds are highly active biologically. This bio-activity in the body gives OPC's their unparalleled ability to support human health.

OPC's are classed with the broad group of naturally occurring antioxidant substances in plants known as polyphenols. In recent years OPC's have become known by the public to occur in grape seeds and pine bark. These two sources are the most common commercial sources from which OPC's are extracted. Berkem Laboratories in southern France is the most knowledgeable and most experienced company in the world to make the extraction of OPC's from any source, Berkem Laboratories in Southern France. They worked closely with Dr. Jack Masquelier for many years, perfecting the commercial extraction based on his scientific protocols. Berkem has perfected their extraction technique over several decades. The resultant product is the purest, most consistently reliable OPC in the world-the standard all others are compared to. This extract in used exclusively in Proanthenols Bio-Complex and all Life Plus products that contain OPC's.

Unfortunately the terms "grape seed extract" and "pine bark extract" have become generally used by companies marketing their products. This has created confusion regarding just what OPC is. One thing for sure "grape seed or pine bark" extracts are not OPC. Actually the commercially available "grape seed and pine bark extracts" are worlds apart from the composition of OPC, and so are their health-supporting benefits. Grape seed and pine bark extracts contain a broad range of chemicals and different polyphenols. Some of them are not even bioavailable. On the other hand, OPC is a standardized, singular, non-toxic, specific polyphenol complex, which is proven to be 100% bioavailable and 100% residue free. Yet, commercially available "grape seed extract" used in most products is only the material produced from the first step in the highly sophisticated extraction process used by Berkem to produce the high quality OPC, which is used in all Proanthenols Bio-Complex products by Life Plus.

The health-supporting benefits of the unique OPC originally identified and isolated by Professor Dr. Jack Masquelier in the 1940's in his research laboratory at the University of Bordeaux have been proven by numerous clinical studies over the past thirty years. Yet most "grape seed extracts" have been introduced since 1995. Even though some of these crude extracts may exhibit some unspecified antioxidant activity, they have not proven to be able to deliver the diverse range of health-supporting benefits of real OPC's. The value of generic "grape seed extracts" is pure speculation-not science. What is important to remember is that it is the OPC that is important-not whether it came from grape seed, pine bark or any other source. As a matter of fact Dr. Masquelier originally found OPC in the red skins of peanuts. Since then he has identified OPC in literally hundreds of plants.

To obtain the benefits of Vitamin C, you would buy a quality Vitamin C supplement-not "orange juice extract." The same holds for OPC. If you want the benefits of OPC, you buy authentic OPC, not "grape seed extract." Vitamin C is a specifically beneficial nutrient produced by exacting methods. The same is true of the OPC produced by Berkem Laboratories. The process of extracting OPC is highly specialized and proprietary and results in a pure, potent, biologically active and bioavailable substance that is worlds apart from grape seed or pine bark extract.

Think of grape seed extract like you would crude oil. The crude oil is extracted from the earth just like grape seed extract is extracted from the seeds, still in its crude state. Like grape seed extract, the crude oil contains many things. f you put it in you gas tank, it won't even make your car run. However, when you refine it and extract the fraction that makes up gasoline, and put it in you car, it will run as it was designed to. Just as crude oil is the starting point for producing high-octane gasoline, grape seed extract is the starting point for producing high quality OPC. When you purchase Life Plus Proanthenols Bio-Complex, Forever Young or any other product containing OPC, you can rely on obtaining only the best, clinically proven real OPC originally isolated by Dr. Masquelier and refined and produced by Berkem Laboratories.

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