Alcohol & OPCs 🍷

There is clear scientific evidence that alcohol does have a beneficial cardiovascular effect. 

There are many studies that discuss the positive health effects of alcohol, countless others demonstrate the negative effects of alcohol.  The problem is many of these studies do not differentiate between different types of alcohol, which makes it hard to come to a clear conclusion.  

We do know that alcohol inhibits the aggregation (sticking together) of blood platelets. Lowering the aggregation tendency of blood platelets by almost 70%.  By doing this alcohol inhibits the clotting of the blood.  Because of alcohols "blood thinning" effect it reduces the risk of thrombosis, embolism and infarction.  

Even with this being said, by no means can you or should you consume excessive amounts of alcohol in order to prevent heart disease. 

The alcohol-induced "blood thinning" effect only lasts for a short period of time following intake and about 18 hours after you get the "rebound effect" where blood platelets "rebound" with an abnormal tendency to coagulate (or stick together).  They actually become even more coagulate then prior to drinking alcohol, and the risk for blood clotting, infarction and embolism increase way beyond the levels prior to the first sip. The rebound effect has been associated with increased risks of thrombosis, stroke and sudden death, especially in binge drinkers. 

Although reasonable drinking can not be compared to binge drinking, it is important to remember that even moderate amounts of alcohol may have a downside for your health.  

The rebound effect has been the subject of various scientific studies. However, in one particular group, the French farmers, who mainly drink red wine, researchers could not find a rebound effect.  

Could it be that they avoid the rebound effect because of the protective properties of red wine, specifically because of its nonalcoholic ingredients such as OPCs?

Dr. Serge Reaud at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research decided to investigate this further.  He wanted to determine the possible cross-relationships of alcohol, OPCs, wine, and platelet aggregation.  

Through the unique experiment, Renuad identified OPCs as the "red wine solid" that were able to produce by itself all of the cardiovascular benefits attributed to red wine (but without the alcohol part!).  

For a long time OPCs were thought to only have vascular benefits (similar to red wine), but now we know the antioxidant effect of isolated OPCs and red wine doesn't just have cardiovascular benefits.  

The risk of free radical oxidation exists in all the cells in our body.  OPCs counteract this and can help prevent premature aging. 

So in summary. you can get the cardiovascular benefits of red wine, by simply using OPCs as a dietary supplement (and you don't have to worry about the rebound effect or the less than fun hangover associated with alcohol!) 

Our OPCXtra is packed with 6 powerful plant based sources of OPCs:  pine bark extract, red wine extract, grape seed extract, bilberry extract, green tea extract and citrus bioflavonoids.