French Maritime Pine Bark

Antioxidant

Posted by Rob (Manhattan, Ny) on 01/03/2011

High concentrations of nitrates are found in beets, as well as in celery, cabbage, leafy green vegetables like spinach and some lettuce. When you eat high-nitrate foods, good bacteria in the mouth turn nitrate into nitrite. Nitrites can help open up the blood vessels in the body, increasing blood flow and oxygen specifically to places that are lacking oxygen. Also, Pycnogenol increases nitric oxide. Do a search on beet juice and nitric oxide, as well as Pycnogenol & NO.. (these two are my favorites)

Tinnitus

Posted by Richard (Los Angeles, California) on 12/21/2010

I couldn't believe this. New french study shows this works, I've been on this for a week. No change so far. The study said 4 weeks got relieve for participants. Hope this works for me and everyone who suffers from insatiable ringing. It's available online and in stores everywhere. Best wishes.

http://ihealthbulletin.com/blog/2010/10/20/pycnogenol-naturally-relieves-tinnitus/

Arthritis

Posted by Tom (Regina, Sk) on 10/14/2010

I will attempt to reply here on the RA disease portion, since any immune imbalance that can be corrected will also likely help the other problems. First, RA is classed as an autoimmune disease, where the body's own antibodies are found to be attacking "self" cells and tissues.

Here is a overall basic diagram of the entire human immune system, showing the TH1 and TH2 sub-branches over on the left:
http://books.nap.edu/books/0309057973/xhtml/images/p20007cc6g432001.jpg

First question is when does the immune system not perform at good efficiency and balance, and the answer is 'when the terrain (body and all tissues) are ACIDIC'! So the very condition that allows diseases to invade prevents proper optimal functioning of immunity. That must be made right, back to an alkaline state, otherwise many remedies just won't take.

Best, simplest and cheapest remedy by far for restoring a high= alkaline pH is given by Ted here, under BICARBONATE FORMULA:
https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/lemons.html#BICARBONATEFORMULA

On to some RA remedies:
French Maritime Pine bark extract aka Pycnogenol, or GSE instead:
http://www.thehealthierlife.co.uk/natural-health-articles/arthritis/pycnogenol-help-sufferers-knee-osteoarthritis-01022.html

When I asked him to elaborate, he told me that he'd never used grape seed extract (GSE) to treat arthritis because he'd never heard of using either GSE or Pycnogenol for arthritis symptoms. Dr. Spreen: 'My comment was due to the fact that, 1) Pycnogenol is expensive, and 2) grape seed extract (much cheaper and more ubiquitous) has been found to supply the same active ingredients. Both are famous for their antioxidant properties. '

Both contain about 40 similar compounds classed as OPCs, by the way as the active ingredients. Dr. Spreen noted that he would recommend 200mg per day of GSE, ...

Next possible nutrient to try for the RA is "ORGANIC GERMANIUM, aka Ge-132":
http://www.orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1987/pdf/1987-v02n02-p083.pdf
Note this article is from 1987! It's been quite well researched in Japan. It is very widely available on the net health stores and locally.

Third possibility is plant sterols/sterolins, available generically. Based on the biological activities described above, most studies to date have investigated the ability of plant sterols to control inflammation or induce a shift from a predominantly humoral immune response to a more protective cellular response (i. E. TH2 to TH1 shift)

These supplements take time, 1 to 3 months, and as shown may give only a percentage improvement. There's also possibility #4 niacinamide, widely available and cheap. There is a post under 'Trigger Finger' from OCT 5 on it for arthritis. Dosage is in there, too:

https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/trigger_finger.html#GF_47032

Eye Health

Posted by Rob (Manhattan, Ny) on 08/06/2010

Look into Pycnogenol and Resveratrol... Pycnogenol (bark extract) can help with micro-circulation to the eyes.. It is well researched & plenty of info. On the web & this on eye health & Resveratrol from Weil's blog...
http://www.drweilblog.com/home/2010/7/11/resveratrol-for-eye-health.html

Vasculitis

Posted by Anniesummer (Denver, Co) on 10/25/2009

I also suffer from a form of vasculitis called Cryoglobulinemia. Rash on lower legs, numbness of feet, Raynaud's in hands. The biggest help to my symptoms, especially the rash, has been a supplement called Pycnogenol, which is an extract of french maritime pine bark. I read of the studies that showed great success in strengthening cell walls in a book called The Inflammation Syndrome by Jack Challam. I take 100 mg 2xdaily. I noticed a difference in about 2-3 weeks, and now rarely suffer from the rash (and it was pretty bad at times).

I hope this helps. The other things I take are fish oil and vitamin E, which are all good for the circulation. And dont forget how important exercise is. I read a while back about a study where vessels that had been severed in mice rerouted themselves and restored the blood flow to normal levels with regular workouts on the treadmill. So keep moving!

Circulation

Posted by Maureen (Buffalo Grove, IL) on 01/29/2007
★★★★★

I've suffered with poor circulation of the legs for a few years now. Standing for short periods of time left my legs feeling tired and achy. My legs had a heavy feeling when walking, too. Worse, any pressure applied to my ankle area resulted in pain. My doctor put his hands around them to see if I was retaining fluid and I could have cried from the pain. After doing research online, I started taking 900 mgs of horse chestnut and 350 mgs of pycnogenol each day. It's been only four weeks, but the difference has been amazing. My legs feel lighter, no more pain near the ankles, no more fatigue when standing for long periods. There have been medical studies on this, which is why I decided to try it myself. I highly recommend taking these supplements at these doses each day for improved circulation of the legs.

Hemorrhoids

Posted by Dennis (Marshall, OK) on 02/19/2007
★★★★★

I read on internet that taking horse chestnut orally will cure hemorrhoids, so I'm taking that right now and I think that it's working. Horse chestnut is also good for chronic venous insufficiency or swelling of the legs which was the main reason I was taking it in the first place. The swelling in my left leg is slowly subsiding but I think it's working for that also. Horse chestnut is good for also coughs, arthritis, and some other things I can't remember at this time. Pycnogenol is suppose to be better for hemorrhoids than horse chestnut, but I don't know, I'm just trying the horse chestnut for now, and if I'm not satisfied with the results, I will try pycnogenol instead, in which it's supposed to work better for leg swelling

French Maritime Pine Bark
Health Benefits

French Maritime Pine Bark