antioxidants (was: Interesting fish oil studies)

[Guest guest]

> I thought that fat-soluble antioxidants protected against fat-soluble free

> radicals, and water-soluble antioxidants protected against water-soluble

> free radicals. No?

----->not that simple. have you been following the hydrogen peroxid thread

on beyondprice? well, antioxidants work together in a network, reducing and

recycling each other. part of the process of " neutralizing " free radicals

involves making it water-soluble so that it can be excreted by the kidneys.

i'm not sure if this happens in *every* redox reaction, or just some.

additionally, i believe vit. c and/or glutathione (water-soluble) recycle

vit. E. although it's true that vit. E stores do get used up when oxidized

oils are eaten, but i'd bet that would be much less so if you had sufficient

vit. e, vit c., lipoic acid, glutathione and co-q10 which are collectively

referred to as the " antioxidant network. "

>>>>Polyphenols are compounds found in fruits (like olives) and vegetables.

They act

as shuttle systems to move free radicals from lipid (fat) membranes to

water-soluble anti-oxidants (such as Vitamin C) so that they can be removed

from the

body.

----->polyphenols also help boost and recycle vitamin C. in fact, pine bark

tea (the original pycogenol) is an old native american remedy for scurvy.

the researcher who patented pycogenol - Jacques Masquelier - first learned

about it by reading an historical account of of the voyage of explorer

Jacques Cartier who was sailing up the St. Lawrence river in Canada in 1535.

the river froze, the ship got stranded and the crew got scurvy. over 25

sailors died. quebec indians found them and told them to drink the tea of

local pine trees, which they did, and they also rubbed it on their bodies

which apparently were swollen and inflammed. they were all cured within a

week. (pycogenol is also used to treat inflammation). Masquelier was

intrigued when he read this because he knew there was only a tiny amount of

vit. c in pine needles and none in the bark, and it wouldn't be enough to

prevent scurvy. it turns out that proanthocyanidins (OPCs) in the pine bark

greatly enhance the effects of minute amounts of vitamin C, thus curing

their scurvy. so, while OPCs are not a primary member of the antioxidant

network, they sure help make it more effective.

also, according to Lester Packer (who's been studying antioxidants for

decades and has written over 700 papers and 70 books on the subject)

pycogenol (french maritime pine bark extract, falls under the umbrella of

polyphenols) is much more potent than other antioxidants. he tested it in

his lab against various free radicals and found it was more potent than all

the other antioxidants he had tested previously.

Suze Fisher

Lapdog Design, Inc.

Web Design & Development

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3shjg

Weston A. Price Foundation Chapter Leader, Mid Coast Maine

http://www.westonaprice.org

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heart disease) is the greatest scientific deception of our times. " --

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