Proanthocyanidins are one of the classes of flavanols. They are particularly potent antioxidents that are found in a few plants and berries, most notably grapes, cocoa, bilberry, cranberry, etc.
So what does that mean for us? Why do we care about flavanoids, antioxidents, or any of this stuff?
Our body is constantly barraged with free radical activity, some of which is a natural function of the various processes within our body, but largely they are introduced by things like the air quality around us, and the pollution within it. It can also be increased by things like unbound (non-organic) minerals we consume either through red meat or from low quality grocery store multi-vitamin/mineral supplements.
Free radicals have been linked to a wide variety of chronic diseases and systemic problems in the human body. This list includes cancer, Alzheimers, arthritis, diabetes and various aspects of aging.
Antioxidents help the body fight the effects and damage of free radicals throughout the body. The most commonly used antioxidents are Vitamin C and E, but studies have shown that proanthocyanidins are much more potent, 20 to 50 times more powerful than C and E.
What can we do about it?
Well, there are many natural sources of these super-antioxidents, things like red wines from the southern regions of France, several US domestic apple families, and various pine barks. However I don't much care to wander around chewing on pine trees, so I recommend a supplement of grape seed or grape skin extract, preferably one that also contains resveratrol.
Make sure you are familiar with the reputation of the company that produces your supplements. There have been several studies done on various "health food and supplement" products that show the contents often contain less than 50% of the indicated ingredients.
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