Grapeseed Extract – The Healthy Medicine                   Dr. Neil McKinney, BSc, ND

Grapeseed is rich in oligomeric pro-anthocyanidins (OPC) complexes and related bioactives. OPCs are potent antioxidants which protect and repair tissue, and relax arteries. Naturally, they have a multitude of medical applications.

OPCs neutralize the hydroxyl radical, superoxide radical, singlet oxygen, and peroxynitrate. Peroxynitrate is particularly critical in nitric oxide injury to nucleotides, proteins, fats, cell membranes. Vital structures protected and repaired by OPC include the blood-brain barrier, mitochondria, DNA and vascular endothelium.

Medical applications for OPCs include prevention of cardiovascular disease, recovery from stroke, reperfusion injury, treatment of cancer, asthma, septic shock, arthritis, diabetic vasculopathies , menopausal hot flashes, and a multitude of skin disorders.

For example, 200 mg twice daily of grapeseed extract will help a majority of asthmatics, and in many cases allow inhaled drugs to be tapered or even eliminated.  Short-term loading doses of 1,000 mg per day are perfectly safe.

OPCs bind to collagen and increase its elasticity. It also takes the redness out of inflamed skin. This is why it is often referred to as an “oral cosmetic”. Studies show that taking grapeseed extract internally while also using it topically gives a powerful synergy for skin care. Nasobih™ Nutra-Caps and Protovin™One contain 100mg of high quality grapeseed extract.

I most often use NASOBIH™ Day Cream, which is in an airless pump bottle to preserve its potency. A squirt on moistened hands can be used to prevent or repair sun damage.   It is cosmetically pleasing, and discreet. The thicker and more powerful NASOBIH™ Nutra-Cream is recommended for more serious skin lesions, and for application when at home or for overnight therapy.

If there is a visibly damaged area or a pre-cancerous lesion, I mix one pump of NASOBIH™ Day Cream with three drops of a mixture of equal parts vitamin A emulsion 10,000 IU per drop, and USP grade castor oil. The oil and A must be shaken well before use, then just mix in with the cream on your palm, in seconds you have a resolving cream that absorbs well.

For psoriasis I mix the Day Cream with Neem oil, again one pump per 3 drops oil.

For acne rosacea I mix the Day Cream with sea buckthorn oil.   The patient should be taking grapeseed orally, of course, but also sea buckthorn oil orally.   All forms of acne also benefit from the addition of burdock root and indole-3-carbinol or diindolyle methane ( I3C/DIM) extract from cabbage family vegetables.

Nasobih™ Emu Oil is also an effective skin treatment used on its own or in combination with Nasobih™ Nutra-Cream or Day Cream. Emu oil is a powerful anti-inflammatory and speeds healing of damaged skin. It is an excellent skin penetrator and can be used as a carrier agent to deliver topical treatments deeper into the skin for better results.

I have long used grapeseed extract in cancer therapy, because of its ability to promote apoptosis, and to inhibit critical oncology targets such as aromatase, NFκB, MAPK, AP-1, EGF and VEGF. OPCs are chemo-protective in part because they support the p53 “Guardian of the DNA” repair system, normalizing tumour epigenetics.

A critical issue in prevention and reversal of cancer is the capping of cancer cells with insulin-like growth factor one binding protein three IGF-BP-3, which turns off their exponential growth pattern and restores normal growth – where cells are only replaced with non-reproducing differentiated cells. OPcs up-regulate the production of IGFBP by several-fold.

I have demonstrated clinically and published repeatedly that there is a marked synergy of OPCs with green tea polyphenols and curcumin, in many of my cancer patients, from early to late-stage. This was recently confirmed in vivo at a major cancer research centre.

Grapeseed extract is the most useful antioxidant to supplement, lowering risk of all the chronic inflammatory diseases. It is also a powerful and versatile natural medicine.