Red Wine Extract: Lowering High Cholesterol and Improving Heart Health
Stacey Chillemi researched a variety of herbs, supplements, and food remedies that have been used for centuries to help lower cholesterol and improve blood circulation. Here’s one herbal that showed promising results.
Red Wine Extract is said to be very beneficial in supporting cardiovascular health by strengthening blood vessels, increasing blood circulation, lowering cholesterol and reducing platelet aggregation (clots) in the blood. It is also considered one of the most powerful antioxidants known to exist that helps to combat free radical damage and enhance immunity.
With regard to good coronary health, Red Wine Extract from Grapeseed has become a popular supplement for preventing heart disease and arteriosclerosis. Numerous studies now say that the level of antioxidants may be a more significant factor than cholesterol levels in determining the risk of developing heart disease.
The powerful antioxidants in Red Wine Extract are said to help prevent the oxidation of cholesterol that ultimately leads to the process of arteriosclerosis, and the high flavonoid content in Red Wine Extract appears capable of significantly reducing the risk of heart attack or stroke. Red Wine Extract is said to help reduce platelet aggregation (clotting) in the blood, thereby also reducing the risk of arteriosclerosis, stroke and heart attacks. Moreover, it appears to raise the levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs or “good” cholesterol) in the blood, while decreasing the low-density lipoproteins (LDL, or “bad” cholesterol) and thereby help to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
The HDL is said to help clear the “bad” cholesterol from the arterial walls and help eliminate it from the body. This action also helps to promote better circulation of blood throughout the body, especially to the heart.
For good vascular health, Red Wine Extract is considered the best herbal supplement that will maintain the health of capillaries, through which the blood delivers nutrients to individual cells and carries away waste products.
Red Wine Extract is also said to improve peripheral blood circulation, resulting in less pain and swelling in arms, ankles, legs, and fewer nighttime cramps. Use of Red Wine Extract is thought to relieve numbness and tingling, as well as varicose veins. When the walls of small blood vessels weaken, the fluids they transport leak out, causing swelling, and OPCs strengthen capillary walls by blocking the degradation of the two proteins that give them strength and elasticity, collagen and elastin. This action stops edema and swelling.
Red Wine Extract is believed to significantly improve blood circulation, which benefits both cardiac and cerebral function. Furthermore, because OPCs are able to cross the blood-brain barrier, they can protect the brain and spinal nerves against free radical damage. Recent studies indicate that Red Wine Extract’s compounds (OPCs) may also be helpful in inhibiting Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and possibly improving cognitive and brain function (particularly in women).
As one of the finest antioxidants found in nature, Red Wine Extract from Grapeseed supports the immune system and works to combat free radical damage to cells and tissue and defend the body against serious malignant disease and infection. This herbal supplement contains an important source of nature’s most potent antioxidants, tannin compounds called proanthocyanidins (also called OPCs for oligomeric procyanidins or PCOs for procyanidolic oligomers) that provide a high degree of antioxidant capacity, which fight free radical damage in the body.
These compounds allow the body’s cells to absorb vitamin C, which is helpful in protecting cells from the free radicals that can bind to and destroy cellular compounds. Such qualities are believed to be helpful in building the immune system and fighting invasive material and other infections.
They are classified as flavonols, and the way in which these versatile healing compounds are distinct from flavonoids is their simple chemical structure, which allows them to be readily absorbed into the bloodstream. They work actively against fat-soluble and water-soluble oxidants, thus protecting the cells from damage. OPCs may also be derived from Pine Bark (the original source) and are present in Pomegranate, Hops, various flowers, fruits, berries, nuts, and beans. Clinical tests suggest that OPCs may be as much as fifty times more potent than vitamin E and twenty times more potent than vitamin C in terms of bioavailable antioxidant activity. Studies have shown that Red Wine Extract not only enhances the development of normal cells but may also inhibit abnormal cell growth.
Macular degeneration may be slowed by the use of Red Wine Extract, and it may reduce myopia and improve vision that is stressed by computer screens or glare.
Red Wine Extract’s OPCs are said to promote tissue regeneration, strengthen and repair connective tissue, enhance collagen production, revitalize aging skin and promote tissue elasticity, all of which helps to reduce the tendency to bruise easily and increases the healing of injuries.
Test tube research has shown that the polyphenols in Red Wine Extract inhibit the growth of the Streptococcus mutans bacteria that causes tooth decay.
Red Wine Extract is said to reduce histamine production, thus moderating allergic and inflammatory responses, and this action has helped many allergy sufferers.
Precautions
Do not take Red Wine Extract if you have anemia or if you are taking blood-thinning medication (aspirin, Coumadin, etc.). Since the tannin content of Grapeseed is high, it may counter the effects of iron supplements and should be taken at a different time. Always consult your doctor first.
