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Antioxidant Power for Healthy Skin |
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Collagen is to skin like the foundation is to your house. If the foundation is strong and healthy, the skin will be firm and smooth.
by Sondra Miles
Pycnogenol® has received much
attention in the last several years
as an internal supplement but its
amazing benefits do not end
there. Topical application in concentrations
high enough to facilitate change
yields a vast array of skin care benefits:
- Protects vitamin C’s power to stimulate collagen growth
- Provides a natural sunscreen and inhibits UVB radiation damage
- Is 50 times more powerful than vitamin E as a free-radical scavenger, protecting skin from oxidative assault
- Helps reduce inflammation.
North American Indians have long used a
tea brewed from the pine tree that helped
maintain health. In fact, it was this tea,
which a Quebec Indian gave to the explorer
Cartier in 1543, that saved many of his men
from scurvy. What the Indians did not know
was that this tea contained vitamin C and
flavonoids, which enhanced vitamin C’s
activity.
In 1966 Professor Jacques Masquilier
began researching an extract from the bark
of Pinus Maritime (Maritime pine from the
coast of France). In 1987 Dr. Masquilier
patented Pycnogenol for “preventing and
fighting the harmful effects of free radicals.”
Pycnogenol contains approximately 40 natural
ingredients including proanthocyanidins,
organic acids and other biologically
active ingredients.
Pycnogenol’s main claim to fame is its
super antioxidant activity. Oxidants or
free radicals, when left unchecked, wreak
havoc on all your body systems. They are
implicated in over 60 diseases and damage
cells which make up organs, connective
and nervous tissue and vessels. They are
basically responsible for many of the
degenerative problems that we see in the
aging process. Free radicals are formed at
sites of inflammation and further add to
the tissue damage. Like vitamins C and E,
Pycnogenol is a free radical scavenger,
effectively neutralizing oxidants and
helping to prevent damage. However,
because of its very complex chemical
makeup, research shows it is 50 times
more powerful than vitamin E and 20
times more powerful than vitamin C.
Pycnogenol’s antioxidant activity is
directly related to several of its benefits,
which are so important for healthy skin.
Pycnogenol helps strengthen capillaries,
arteries and veins, as well as enhancing blood
circulation. This improved blood flow to the
skin encourages healthy growth and smoothness.
Pycnogenol’s ability to strengthen the
circulatory system is the basis for its antiinflammatory
effect. Enhanced capillary
resistance, reduced capillary permeability
and improved circulation reduce inflammatory
puffiness that we see so commonly
under the eyes. While Pycnogenol can’t
shrink under eye fat pads, it will help reduce
puffiness due to water retention or poor
circulation.
One of the most exciting benefits
Pycnogenol has is its ability to work with
vitamin C in stimulating collagen growth.
Collagen is to skin like the foundation is to
your house. If the foundation is strong and
healthy, the skin will be firm and smooth.
Pycnogenol’s ability to scavenge free radicals
seems to clear the path for vitamin C to
encourage collagen growth.
While there is no substitute as far as a
healthy skin is concerned, Pycnogenol seems
to be nature’s prescription for great looking
skin.
Sondra Miles has a degree in Brain and Cognitive Studies from MIT. She writes frequently on health issues for various publications.
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