The Great Grape

(Part 1)

French food is full of butter, cream and cheese. On this information alone we could predict that the French would have some of the worst heart-health statistics. However the French have the lowest level of coronary heart disease in Europe.

Before we binge on butter and cream, scientists believe the answer is in the red wine the French drink. Red wine is made by leaving seeds and skins with the pressed juice allowing OPC (oligomeric proanthocyanidins) to accumulate in the juice. White grapes have similar OPC levels but the skins and seeds are usually removed on pressed resulting in much less OPC in white wine.

But here’s a problem; to get the therapeutic effects from OPC in red wine, you need to drink a lot of red wine over a long period and this can lead to liver toxicity. That’s why many people choose to use OPC in supplements. The best brands use OPC extracted without chemical solvents.

OPC’s have many benefits due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions. Free radical damage to cells and unwanted inflammation cause most chronic disease. Even so-called ‘wear and tear’ osteoarthritis is driven by free radical damage to cartilage maintaining cells and then unwanted inflammation.

There are no international dose recommendations for OPC. I have historically used 200-300 mg of OPC extract as a maintenance dose and up to 500mg for therapeutic benefits. I use a high quality NZ made extract from Sauvignon Blanc grapes. This has an excellent OPC ‘profile’ and is a powerful free radical scavenger. My preference is to use OPC as part of a comprehensive multiantioxidant, multi-vitamin and multi- mineral. Feel free to call me with questions.

John Arts (B.Soc.Sci, Dip Tch, Adv.Dip.Nut.Med) is a nutritional medicine practitioner and founder of Abundant Health Ltd. For questions or advice contact John on 0800 423559 or email john@ abundant.co.nz. Join his all new newsletter at www.abundant.co.nz.