UCLA Study Reveals Amazing Benefits of Grape Seed Extract!

UC Davis study shows grape seed extract may be effective in reducing blood pressure

Promising results prompt second human clinical study Grape seed extract lowered the blood pressure of patients who participated in a UC Davis study of the benefits of the supplement on people with high blood pressure.

Conducted by UC Davis cardiovascular researchers, the study was the first human clinical trial to assess the effect of grape seed extract on people with metabolic syndrome, a combination of risk factors that increase the risk for heart disease, including high blood pressure, excess abdominal body weight, high blood cholesterol fats and high blood sugar. The researchers will present the results at the American Chemical Society Meeting and Exposition on March 26 in Atlanta, and at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology's 2006 meeting in San Francisco April 2.

It is estimated that 40 percent of American adults, or 50 million people, have metabolic syndrome.

The one-month study involved 24 male and female patients diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. The patients were divided into three groups of eight. The first group received a placebo, while the second and third groups received 150 milligrams and 300 milligrams, respectively, of a new grape seed extract. All participants' blood pressure was automatically measured and recorded for 12 hours after ingestion.

"Participants in the two groups receiving grape seed extract experienced an equal degree of reduced blood pressure. The average drop in systolic pressure was 12 millimeters. The average drop in diastolic pressure was 8 millimeters," said the study's lead researcher, C. Tissa Kappagoda, professor of cardiovascular medicine and director of the Preventive Cardiology Program at UC Davis.

Kappagoda adds that the group taking 300 milligrams of grape seed extract also had reduced serum oxidized LDL cholesterol levels.

"Generally, the higher their initial oxidized LDL level was, the greater the drop by the end of the study," he said. The extract has received the GRAS (generally recognized as safe) certification from the FDA and has no known side effects.

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Wow! These reductions of blood pressure were essentially equal to the effect of many dangerous prescription drugs.

According to the research done by Dr Joe Mercola, along with their benefits for blood pressure and cholesterol, grape seeds are also known to be a powerful antioxidant.

Antioxidant protection helps protect your body from premature aging, disease and decay. Antioxidants are needed to neutralize free radicals, which play a major role in the development of degenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, strokes and aging.

The antioxidant capacity of grape seed extract comes from proanthocyanidins. Scientific studies have shown that the antioxidant power of proanthocyanidins is 20 times stronger than vitamin C and 50 times stronger than vitamin E.

Another incredible benefit of grape seeds are their cancer fighting ability.
Chemicals found in grape seeds inhibited the growth of colorectal tumors in both cell cultures and in mice.

Grape seed extract has already been demonstrated to have anti-cancer effects on other tumor types, as well. The extract can "freeze" cancer cells, preventing them from growing and in some cases, causes the cancer cells to self destruct.

Not all grape seed extract is equal. Your best bet is to find a grape seed extract combined with other natural antioxidants. synergy in these combinations produces a greater antioxidant effect than the individual components alone. Here is where I buy my Nutritional Supplements and recommend that you do too: Naturally Direct!