碧萝芷Pycnogenol.doc

碧蘿芷Pycnogenol(可降低罹患心血管疾病的機率 Pycnogenol(1 to reduce risk factors of cardio-vascular diseases P. Rohdewald 1Pycnogenol(, French maritime pine bark extract, (Horphag Research Sales Ltd.) When the tube is blocked, the pump does not work. This simple message means one has to care for his blood vessels to avoid malfunction of the heart. It should be common knowledge that a healthy life style protects against cardiovascular diseases, starting with exercising, healthy nutrition, not smoking, coping with stress. Unfortunately, there is a large gap between knowing, understanding and doing something healthy, because it is so hard to change life-style. For those not able or not willing to switch to another way of life, there is the possibility to reduce risk factors for cardio-vascular diseases. Pycnogenol(, the special extract from the bark of the French maritime pine, is an ideal daily supplement because of its manifold actions. A prerequisite for a healthy heart is a healthy vascular system. For regular blood flow, blood vessels should be elastic and free from deposits, especially from calcification. Red blood cells should be elastic and should travel freely, not clumping together. Diameter of the blood vessels should be normal, so that blood pressure is also normal. Pycnogenol(, as a natural extract, containing many useful substances produced from the pine tree, helps to keep normal all these preconditions for a healthy vascular system. Starting with the red blood cells, Pycnogenol( increases the fluidity of the outer layer of the blood cells, so that they can squeeze more easily through capillaries (Sironova et al., 2004). Simultaneously, Pycnogenol( protects the lipids in the red blood cell against peroxidation because of its ability to inactivate free radicals (Sironova et al., 2004). Even when the red blood cells are more elastic, other blood cells have to be protected too. Clumps of blood platelets, adhering to the blood vessel wall, can block the blood flow, forming