AIM Proancynol ® In Australia - antioxidants
AIM Proancynol®
A decaffeinated blend of green tea, pine bark and grape seed extracts,
this combination is a powerful antioxidant with free radical scavenging
herbs.
Benefits
• Protects and maintains the health of capillaries
• Assists in the maintenance of peripheral circulation
• Assists well-being
Free radicals and antioxidants
Free radicals are highly reactive forms of oxygen that damage cells
throughout the body. Their effects can be seen everywhere--from wrinkled
skin to several forms of cancer and heart disease. As your body creates
energy at the cellular level, oxygen is metabolized, changing its
structure. In this process, the oxygen molecule loses one electron,
turning it into a free radical. Losing one electron makes the oxygen
molecule highly reactive, sending it on a search for a new electron that
it can steal.
Free radicals also occur as a necessary result of detoxifying rancid
fats and chemicals, such as drugs, petrochemicals in smog, food
additives, and preservatives.
When free radicals steal electrons from a molecule in a cell wall, a
chain reaction is triggered that creates a new free radical.
Antioxidants are unique molecules that are able to neutralise free
radicals before they do their damage. They stop the damage caused by
free radicals by giving up an electron and returning the oxygen atom to
its stable molecular configuration.
The antioxidant constituents in pine bark, grape seed, and green tea
extracts are polyphenols- are more specifically, a combination of
catechins and oligomers of proanthocyanidins, or OPCs.
Catechins
The catechins in green tea are four similar molecules: epicatechin
(EC), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin gallate (ECG) and
epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Each of these molecules is an
increasingly potent anti-oxidant. EC cannot neutralise as many free
radical as EGC, which in turn cannot neutralise as many free radicals as
ECG, which cannot neutralise as many free radicals as EGCG.
Green tea contains about 15 to 30 percent of its weight as
polyphenols. Abot half of the polyphenols are EGCG.
Green Tea is rich in other flavonoids as well. The study published in
the British Medical journel "The Lancet" notes that tea
contains the highest rate of flavonoids compared to fruits and
vegetables. (Lancet 342, no. 8878 (1993)).
Evan the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has published articles on
green tea. The March 1996 of the FDA Consumer states that "...
recent studies do show some evidence that polyphenols - chemicals in tea
with antioxidant and other biochemical properties...," The
article goes on to say that "The Food and Drug Administration has
not done any reviews of possible beneficial effects of tea." (FDA
Consumer 30, no. 2 (1996)).
OPCs
When individual catechins join together, they become OPCs. Grape seed
and pine bark are the traditional sources of OPCs, although they are
present throughout the plant world.
OPCs are effective because, upon ingestion, they sacrifice themselves
in order to neutralise free radicals within the body. OPCs also spare
other antioxidants. Several substances, including vitamins C and E and
the mineral selenium, may help decrease free radicals. But our bodies
need these vitamins and minerals for other vital functions. Because OPCs
are such effective antioxidants, they spare vitamins E and C from having
to act as antioxidants, allowing these nutrients to perform their other
functions in the body.
Proancynol: Combining all for a greater whole
AIM has combined green tea, pine bark, and grape seed extract to
offer you a product. Proancynol consists of 15 percent pine bark
extract, 15 percent grape seed extract, and 70 percent green tea
extract. This ensures that Proancynol has the highest level of EGCG,
while maintaining a balanced profile of Catechins plus OPCs. And of
course to obtain the extracts, AIM uses only a water and alcohol
extraction process; no harmful or toxic solvents are used.
How to use Proancynol
- Adults, take to capsules per day.
- Best taken on an empty stomach.
- Shelf life is 3 years, sealed. Store in a cool, dry place below 30
C. Do not refrigerate.
Q&A
How many cups of green tea equals one 2-capsule serving of
Proancynol?
One 2-capsule serving would take about 15 cups of green tea. This is
dependent upon how long you seep the tea.
Are the grapes, pine bark, and tea used to make Proancynol
organically grown?
No. There are not any pine trees in the world that are organically
grown, and very few grapes that are, as well. In this instance, how the
plants are grown does not affect the product received by the consumer.
Because these are very pure extracts, nearing pharmaceutical grade, any
impurities that were present in the grape seeds, pine bark, or green tea
are not present in the finished product.
Are the grape seeds from red or white grapes?
The grape seeds used in Proancynol come from both red and white
grapes. In terms of active ingredients, both sources are equally
valuable. Although it is true that red grapes (not their seeds) contain
more OPCs than green grapes, both types of seeds have the same OPC
content.
Does the green tea contain caffeine?
Most green teas do contain caffeine. However, the green tea used in
Proancynol is decaffeinated using a water-filtration decaffeination
process.
Green tea and black tea
Green and black teas come from the same plant: Camellia sinensis.
What makes the color, texture, fragrance, and antioxidant content
different is the degree of processing. Green tea is the least processed.
The leaves are chopped and rolled and then immediately steamed or
heated. This keeps more of the important OPCs in place; up to as much as
30 percent of the tea leaves' weight.
Black tea is also chopped and rolled, but then the leaves are exposed
to air for several hours. This causes the tea to oxidize, which gives it
its black color and destroys many of the OPCs. However, black tea has
its own antioxidants, known as theoflavins and thearubigins. These are
just beginning to be studied.
Suggested Reading
Bland, Jeffrey. "Oxidants and antioxidants in clinical medicine:
Past, present, and future potential."Journal of Nutritional &
Environmental Medicine. Vol. 5, No. 3, 1995.
"Can green tea offset some of the effects of smoking?"
(Adapted from Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, June
1995.) Nutrition Research Newsletter. July-August 1995.
Hoffman, Richard M., and Harinder S. Garewal. "Antioxidants and
the prevention of coronary heart disease." Archives of Internal
Medicine. Vol. 155, February 13, 1995.
Imai, K., and K. Nakachi. "Cross sectional study of effects of
drinking green tea on cardiovascular and liver diseases." British
Medical Journal. March 18, 1995.
Passwater, Richard A., Ph.D., and Chilthan Kandaswami, Ph.D.
Pycnogenol: The Super Protector Nutrient. New Canaan, CT: Keats
Publishing, Inc. 1994.
Schwitters, Bert (with Jack Masquelier). OPC in Practice. Rome: Alfa
Omega. 1993. |
