Bark with Bite

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" HSI - Jenny Thompson " <HSIResearch

 

Subject:Bark with Bite

Tue, 09 Nov 2004 08:51:51 -0500

 

Bark with Bite

 

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

 

November 09, 2004

 

 

 

Dear Reader,

 

If you can't take a trip to the provinces of France, you can bring a

little bit of the provinces to you with Pycnogenol, a pine tree

extract taken from the bark of trees that grow in the French

maritime forest of Les Landes.

 

Many of you are already familiar with Pycnogenol from Members

Alerts and e-Alerts. 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.

 

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Glucose control

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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.

 

In the journal Life Science, the Beijing researchers report that

Pycnogenol was " well tolerated, " although both the Pycnogenol

group and the placebo group described " mild and transient "

unwanted effects. Pycnogenol has a somewhat astringent taste,

which may cause minor stomach upset when not taken with meals.

But so far no serious side effects have been associated with

Pycnogenol.

 

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More from Beijing

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The Beijing study results closely follow the results of another

study I told you about in the e-Alert " Down on the PhARMA "

(5/3/04).

 

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 news to longtime HSI members. In the July

1998 Members Alert, we compared Pycnogenol's powerful

antioxidant qualities to two of the antioxidant all-stars: glutathione

and coenzyme Q10. In May 2002, William Campbell Douglass, II,

M.D., told Daily Dose readers how Pycnogenol might compete

with aspirin as the " wonder drug " of the 21st Century.

 

You can find more information – including links to additional

research – at pycnogenol.com. You can't purchase Pycnogenol

through that site, but links to several vendors are provided. If you

have type 2 diabetes or are at high risk of heart disease, talk to

your doctor or health care professional about Pycnogenol.

 

**************************************************************

 

....and another thing

 

Last week the Wall Street Journal reported that executives for

Merck – the manufacturer that pulled Vioxx from the market in

September – spent years trying to conceal the safety concerns of

their best selling drug.

 

That's not a surprise for e-Alert readers, of course. I first told you

about the suspicious history of Vioxx weeks ago. But at least one

HSI member found out about Vioxx dangers the hard way. Her

name is Kathleen, and she writes:

 

" My husband spent 6 days in the hospital with a severe attack of

pancreatitis. Very painful and very serious considering he has a

great deal of heart problems and had half his bladder removed due

to cancer. Follow up chemo and radiation etc.

 

" The doctors were baffled about his pancreas but we insisted that

the side effects listed with the Vioxx mentioned stomach

pain. They did some looking on the hospital computer and came

back later in the day and said 'Yes, it does list pancreatitis as one

of the things to watch for.' Later his urologist came in and said he

has patients with kidneys shutting down who were taking Vioxx. "

 

My thanks to Kathleen for her warning, and our best wishes go to

her husband who might have avoided the unnecessary assault on

his pancreas if: A) His doctors had been a little more on the ball,

and B) If Merck executives had done the right thing and removed

their drug from the market years ago when they knew it would be

dangerous to use.

 

To Your Good Health,

 

Jenny Thompson

Health Sciences Institute

 

**************************************************************

 

 

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

 

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