Many of you are
already familiar with Pycnogenol (4Life
Research's Choice Prime and PBGS). This
natural antioxidant contains a variety of polyphenols with anti-inflammatory effects that have
been shown to benefit the cardiovascular system by
promoting proper blood flow.
Diabetics may benefit
from this because they often suffer from poor
circulation. But new research confirms that
Pycnogenol also offers
diabetics another important
advantage.
Researchers at the
Chinese Medical Science Research Institute in
Beijing devised a double-blind, placebo-controlled
study of nearly 80 patients with
type 2 diabetes.
Half of the subjects received 100 mg of Pycnogenol
daily while continuing to take the standard
anti-diabetic treatments they had been prescribed by
their doctors. The other half of the group received
a placebo.
After just 12 weeks,
the Beijing team found that
subjects in the Pycnogenol group had significantly lowered their
plasma glucose levels compared to those in the
placebo group. In addition, the Pycnogenol subjects
experienced improved endothelial function. When this
function is healthy, hardening of the arteries is
prevented by keeping the inner diameter of blood
vessels open and flexible. Plaque buildup is also
inhibited.
More from Beijing
The Beijing study
results closely follow the results of another study.
As reported in the
journal Diabetes Care, researchers affiliated with
the same research institute in Beijing examined the
effects of Pycnogenol on 30 subjects with
type 2
diabetes. Along with a program of exercise and diet
modification, each subject received daily Pycnogenol
doses of 50, 100, 200 and 300 mg in three-week
intervals. Compared with data collected at the
outset of the study, subjects significantly lowered
their fasting glucose levels with doses of 100 to
300 mg.
More extensive
research is needed to confirm the effectiveness of
Pycnogenol in managing
type 2 diabetes, but these
two studies illustrate how this
natural antioxidant
may be an important addition to the health regimens
of type 2 diabetics - especially considering the
many ways that Pycnogenol also supports the heart.
But again, this is
not new news. Comparing Pycnogenol's powerful
antioxidant qualities with two of the antioxidant
all-starts; glutathione and coenzyme Q10, William
Campbell Douglass, II, M.D., says that
Pycnogenol
might compete with aspirin as the "wonder drug" of
the 21st Century.
Sources
"Antidiabetic Effect
of Pycnogenol French Maritime Pine Bark Extract
in
Patients with Diabetes Type II" Life Sciences, Vol.
75, No. 21, 10/8/04, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov "Pycnogenol
Lowers Blood Sugar Levels in Type 2 Diabetics" NutraIngredients.com, 10/25/04, nutraingredients.com
"French Maritime Pine Bark Extract Pycnogenol
Dose -
Dependently Lowers Glucose in Type 2 Diabetic
Patients" Diabetes Care, Vol. 27, 2004, care.diabetesjournals.org
