Pycnogenol pine bark extract shown to protect diabetics from swelling, circulation and vision problems

Tuesday, January 12, 2010 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...) Tags: pycnogenol, diabetes, health news

(NaturalNews) A research study conducted by G D'Annunzio University in Italy evaluated the benefits of a popular form of pine bark extract in helping diabetics. Published in the Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, findings revealed that people with diabetes can avoid developing retinopathy and maintain proper micro-circulation by supplementing with pine bark.

A total of 46 diabetic patients were involved in the randomized, controlled study. Twenty-four of them were treated with pine bark extract once a day for three months while the remaining 22 were given a placebo. All the patients had diabetes for at least four years and all were beginning to develop retinopathy. Seventy-five percent of patients in the pine bark group experienced improvement in their vision while none in the placebo group did.

Dr. Robert Steigerwalt, one of the lead researchers of the study, confirmed that not only does pine bark extract halt the progression of diabetic retinopathy, it can cause it to regress by sealing the leaky blood vessels in the eye that lead to the disease. Such results were witnessed in as little as two months. He also noted that diabetics in the early stages of the disease can prevent such complications from ever occurring by supplementing with pine bark extract.

Pycnogenol, the branded formula of the antioxidant plant extract derived from the French maritime pine tree, has proven itself time and time again to be a powerful protective nutrient, particularly for diabetics. When administered during the early stages of diabetes, many studies have shown that pine bark is effective at preventing and treating the diabetic retinal diseases.

Comments by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

Pycnogenol is one of the "miracle nutrients" we've been blessed with on this planet. Time and time again, it has been proven to offer truly remarkable health benefits to those people who taken the supplement.

Now, this research shows how beneficial pycnogenol can be for diabetics. It's an important piece of research showing how this tree-derived nutrient helps increase circulation that can ultimately help save lives.

It's not just an antioxidant, you see: It's also a potent circulation booster. Combined with other circulation-boosting herbs like ginger and ginkgo, it could be an extremely effective natural remedy for preventing diabetic neuropathy (degradation of the nerves) and retinopathy (degradation of the retina).

Sources for this story include:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-...