I've  brought up the dangers of "free radicals'" before, but to update those who may have missed what they are about a repeat article is worth airing.

All the time scientists are discovering the harm these reactive little thugs can do to our health- They develop as a result of chemical reactions from gamma-radiation, ultraviolet sunlight cosmic rays, X-rays and nuclear fallout and do a great deal of permanent damage to all-membrane material.
The cumulative damage often results in loss of skin structure and elasticity as collagen and elastin is being undermined.

The result is that we start to look older than our birth certificates suggest and also develop many debilitating diseases as time advances. Some commentators have referred to "free radicals" as firecrackers because they burn up their destructive energy in something like a fraction of a second.

Vitamins- A, C and E have been isolated for some time by researchers as "free- radical scavengers" as they have the potential-to prevent free-radicals from forming in-any great numbers.

Now comes a relative newcomer to the "free radical scavenger" team that is said to be 50 times better than Vitamin E and 20 times that of Vitamin C.

This power packer goes under the trade name of PYCNOGENOL and is a nutrient from the bioflavonoid family of compounds. It can be extracted from grape seeds, vines and the bark of the French maritime pine and today is the only anti-oxidant that can cross-the blood barrier of the brain.

This gives protection not only to the brain, but also in a secondary manner to the central nervous system.

French researchers are on record as saying people with arthritis experience have less pain and swelling and gain more flexibility in their joints and that athletes tend to-recover in record time from sprains and muscle tears. Even: allergic children seem to suffer less, and it helps their long-suffering parents slow the effects of ageing.

To achieve these results 60-80 milligrams are recommended for adults daily and 20-30 mgs for children.

It is recorded as remaining in the body for up to 72 hours while it neutralises free radicals, and prevents peroxidation. This suggests, that it is in the interest of defraying costs; Pycnogenol could be programmed to be taken every three days in the doses recommended rather daily.

Pycnogenol works synergistically with Vitamin C and clinical data gathered worldwide verifies that it has no toxic effect.