Table of Contents

Disclaimer

Foreword

Part I – The French Paradox: Living Longer Through Red Wine

Regular red wine consumption prolongs your life

Red wine contains considerable quantities of OPCs

Part II – OPCs: The Discovery of a Wonderful Remedy

A glance back in history: rescue from death through scurvy

On the track of vitamin C

The discovery of OPCs

For better understanding: OPCs – a few biochemical notes

The significance of OPCs for humans

The range of OPCs’ efficacy

How can the various effects of OPCs on the entire organism be explained?

“Healthy diet”?

OPCs extraction

Qualitative features

OPCs’ bioavailability to the body

OPCs and vitamin C - an unbeatable team

Are OPCs vitamin P?

OPCs – protection for all blood and lymph vessels

Application, side effects and dosage

Some facts about OPCs

Part III – OPCs for a Long Life in Good Health

Free radicals – a modern danger

OPCs – the strongest antioxidants presently known

Specialist for the connective tissue

Why OPCs are effective in treating the most varied diseases

OPCs: an anti-aging vitamin

Can OPCs prolong our lives?

Part IV – The Targeted Application of OPCs

Protection from cardiovascular diseases

Factors for cardiovascular diseases

Using OPCs to combat arteriosclerosis

Risk factor cholesterol

OPCs and vitamin C: don’t give cholesterol a chance

How to repair kilometres of cracked blood vessels?

Circulatory disorders – OPCs provide prevention and relief

OPCs for the prevention of varicose veins

Help for haemorrhoids

OPCs provide relief for “bad legs”

Swollen legs

Haemorrhage

Treating circulatory disorders in hands and feet with OPCs

Using OPCs to fight lack of concentration and learning disorders

Preventing the degeneration of brain cells

Alzheimer’s disease

Improved vision through OPCs

Retinopathy

Night blindness and fatigue due to computer monitor work

Accelerated healing processes

Preventing sports injuries

More rapid healing of fractures

Fewer oedemas following surgery

Fewer oedemas following surgery for breast cancer

Help with joint and bone problems

Inflammation and allergies

How inflammation develops

How allergies are triggered

Help with inflammatory disorders

Relief for all kinds of allergies

The targeted use of OPCs in the presence of skin problems

Neurodermatitis

Eczema

Acne

Using OPCs for sunburn and damage due to radiation

Hormonal disorders: relieving premenstrual syndrome through OPCs

PMS – many women suffer from this disorder

Headache

Enhancing the body’s immune system through OPCs

Tumour formation

Part V – Beauty from the Inside: Winning the Battle against Wrinkles through OPCs

One to two capsules of OPCs per day - and the skin remains young and supple

Slowing down the aging process

Triple protection against aging

OPCs – internal and external cosmetics

Part VI – OPCs for Animals

Professor’s Masquelier’s Speech in Baltimore

Literature

Annotations

Foreword

Nowadays a trend can be observed which at first glance may seem paradoxical: although human life expectancy has dramatically increased during the last one hundred years and medicine has recorded unprecedented technical progress, the subject of health is gaining increasing importance for many people. Instead of blindly relying on these grand achievements, people are taking control of their own health care, obtaining information about alternative healing methods and displaying a great interest in a “healthy diet” as well as nutritional supplements. The market is booming.

Upon closer examination, we find that this development is not all that paradoxical. In statistical terms, our life expectancy has lengthened impressively, but, unfortunately, the period of time during which we enjoy good health has not increased proportionately. Symptoms of wear and exhaustion, especially in connection with a gradually degenerating immune system, manifest themselves in the course of time and severely impair our quality of life. What good is a long life expectancy if you spend half the time suffering pain and exhaustion or if you have to forego all pleasures! Our high-tech medicine is – with some luck – able to “repair” the worst cases, but physical breakdown, surgery and rehabilitation are linked to dramatic turning points in the affected person’s life: in all probability, life after such an event is no longer what it used to be; in most cases it is impossible to continue as “before”.

In view of this unpleasant notion – which unfortunately is grim reality for many people – we had better take preventive action, look for nutrients, vitamins and wholesome lifestyles in order to minimize health risks.

The search for the fountain of youth is a subject that is as old as the history of mankind: are there any substances that will keep us young and healthy for a long time?

This may sound rather audacious, but I nevertheless dare claim that they may indeed have been discovered, substances offered by nature which can spare us disease and ailing, even premature aging our whole life long …

“OPCs” is the abbreviation for oligomeric proanthocyanidins. These are natural substances existing in numerous plants … and in red wine. Their healing effects have been known for centuries, but the actual substances to which these effects are attributable have only been discovered and systematically explored in the twentieth century. Multi-faceted tests conducted according to strict scientific criteria have revealed amazing details: OPCs are the strongest antioxidants presently known, 18 times stronger than vitamin C and 40 to 50 times stronger than vitamin E! They have tremendous vasculo-protective properties, and are thus an important factor in the struggle against cardiovascular diseases, arteriosclerosis, heart attack and stroke. They lower the cholesterol level. Their collagen-enhancing properties result in numerous health benefits. They protect the skin – as well as all other body tissue – against rapid aging and wrinkle formation and they help to preserve a youthful appearance much longer.

Inflammation, allergic reactions, tooth decay, failing vision, lack of concentration and age-related cerebral disorders ... the list is extensive. I can only recommend that you form your own opinion: obtain information about OPCs and take them.

And rest assured that reputable scientists, pre-eminently Professor Jack Masquelier, have been investigating this substance, for more than 60 years. In France it has been used as the basis for three vasoprotective drugs prescribed by physicians since 1950.

Masquelier was the pioneer in this field. His research has been systematically documented by Bert Schwitters, the renowned author of numerous books and articles on health and nutrition topics. In his books OPCs in Practice and A Lifetime Devoted to OPCs and Pycnogenols, all research results have been collected and presented in a manner which even a layperson can easily understand: a comprehensive presentation of all the scientific literature on OPCs. I am grateful to Bert Schwitters. He granted me access to essential information. And I am deeply grateful to Professor Masquelier himself, an outstanding scientist and wonderful teacher, who answered my questions with the utmost patience.

Now let us embark on a thrilling voyage to the substances that may revolutionize our health: OPCs for living longer in good health.

Anne Simons

Part I – The French Paradox: Living Longer Through Red Wine

Regular red wine consumption prolongs your life

In 1979, the Welsh researcher A.S. St. Leger published an article in the renowned medical journal The Lancet, describing the connection between the mortality rate in industrialized countries and wine consumption. He came to the amazing conclusion that those countries did best where the most red wine was consumed – Italy and, ranking first, France. And this despite the fact that the French eat a fairly fatty diet and are heavy smokers. This paradox has come to be known as the “French Paradox”.

Results achieved by the large-scale Copenhagen study in 1995 were even more precise. In a comprehensive series of tests, Danish researchers concluded that regular wine consumption was the best protection against cardiac death and other fatal diseases. The risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke was reportedly reduced by sixty percent in the case of wine drinkers.

The French Paradox was also confirmed by a ten-year study called MONICA, which was commissioned by the World Health Organization to systematically compare the incidence of coronary heart disease on an international level starting in 1985. Countries such as France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland, where wine was consumed in relatively large quantities, showed the lowest mortality rate for coronary heart disease.

Is there an explanation for the French Paradox? Is alcohol genuinely healthy or is the decisive, relevant impact on our health due to other factors? As a matter of fact, alcohol as such has a “blood-diluting” effect with beneficial consequences for the risk of infarction. It inhibits aggregation, i.e. the “clotting” of blood platelets (thrombocytes) and thus reduces the likelihood of thrombosis. But this effect lasts only for a short period subsequent to alcohol intake. Then the so-called “rebound effect” manifests itself, a reversal that occurs about 18 hours after alcohol consumption. The blood platelets become even more coagulable, resulting in an increased risk of blood clotting.

The only exception is red wine: although it is an alcoholic beverage, there is no danger of the rebound effect. On the contrary, when a moderate amount of red wine is regularly consumed, the blood contains less fibrinogen, the blood-clotting fibrous substances. Clots that have already formed are furthermore dissolved. This is an important factor in the prevention of heart attacks and strokes.

In contrast to other types of alcohol, the rebound effect does not manifest itself with red wine. What does red wine have that other alcoholic beverages don’t?

It was not by chance that the French scientist Jack Masquelier finally succeeded in making the path-breaking discovery of these sought-after substances known as OPCs, which provide red wine with its health-supporting and life-prolonging properties. After all, Masquelier’s homeland is the Bordelais, the region where the most delicious Bordeaux wines are produced.

OPCs are natural vegetable substances existing in a variety of fruit, in tree bark, skins and seeds, including grape seeds.

The history of the discovery of OPCs will be presented in more detail in the following chapter. Only this much shall be revealed at this point: it proves how frequently major discoveries are based on chance. The discovery of OPCs, the substances that I will discuss here, however, has one peculiarity, which renders them hard for the researcher to detect: they are colourless.

Red wine contains considerable quantities of OPCs

Wine is made from grapes, whose skins and especially seeds, like other fruit, contain large quantities of OPCs. But why does only red wine contain OPCs and not white wine, which is made from grapes as well?

This mystery is solved when you compare the methods by which the two types of wine are produced. White wine is made from the juice of grapes. The grapes are pressed and the juice is collected and fermented until it turns into white wine. The seeds and skins are removed immediately after pressing.

In the case of red wine, on the other hand, the seeds and skins are fermented in the juice for a period of two to three weeks. During this time, the red pigments contained in the skins of the red grapes and the OPCs found primarily in the seeds can gradually dissolve in the wine. They lend the wine its red colour and enrich it with the substances that are responsible for the protective effect of red wine. Thus it becomes understandable why white wine is 20 to 50 times less rich in OPCs than red wine: in white wine, OPCs do not have the opportunity to pass from the seeds and skins into the juice, since they are discarded immediately after pressing.

The various protective effects of red wine can certainly be attributed to its phenolic substances, to OPCs. Moderate, regular consumption of red wine lowers the cholesterol level, has an antioxidant effect, stimulates the secretion of gastric juices, protects the teeth against caries, prevents inflammation, has an antibacterial effect, protects the heart and circulation and prolongs life.

Are those who do not drink any red wine condemned to malnutrition because they are likely to ingest insufficient quantities of OPCs?

Fortunately, this question can be negated, because a protected production method has been developed to harvest OPCs from pine bark and grape seeds. They are available in high concentration capsules or tablets.

Important Notice : The substance referred to in this book as OPCs exists in the same form in nature; it is produced in high concentration, through a patented process by Professor Masquelier. As there are less effective ways to obtain OPCs, I urgently advise you to acquire a product that conforms to the high quality standard according to Masquelier’s patent. Research is based on this substance.

Multiple reactions: Manfred K. 62, Poessneck^[1]

I was always convinced that my diet was balanced and healthy. But then, ten years ago, I started taking OPCs (100 mg daily) as well as a compound of minerals, vitamins, and trace elements. My body’s strong positive reaction revealed that I had obviously suffered from a deficiency before. I would never have thought it possible that these nutrients, which I have taken on an empty stomach every day since, could have such an extraordinarily favourable effect on my body.

Just three days after I started taking them, my bowel movements normalized. Now I hardly ever have flatulence. After about two weeks, I noticed I was physically much more able, especially in my sporting activities, like dancing, cycling, Nordic walking, swimming and winter sports. I hardly ever need my ten-minute afternoon nap, and I sleep well without waking up in the night. As to my libido, I am going through my second adolescence. My blood values have improved considerably, bleeding stops sooner although I am on blood thinners, and wounds heal faster now.

I am also free from pain now. Due to my profession – I am a master painter – I suffered from periods of pain in my right shoulder joint for over 15 years. An orthopaedist treated me with injections for the pain and an operation had already been planned. But now I am completely without pain. The pain caused by a slipped disc 22 years ago has also disappeared.

The food supplements have affected my appearance, too. I used to have lots of age spots, especially on the back of my hands, but also on my head and back. Now they have nearly completely disappeared.

My hair is more voluminous, and the wrinkles around my eyes and mouth are disappearing.

Finally, after taking OPCs for about four months, I am able to read the newspaper without glasses for the first time in 26 years, provided there is sufficient light. With my new vitality and agility, I am back to the weight and firm, flat stomach of my youth.

My quality of life is getting better and better all the time, so I take great pleasure in sharing my experience.