 What
is it?
Grape
Seed extract (GSE) as the name implies, is an extract from the seeds of grapes (Vitis
vinifera). The seeds left from
wine or juice production are harvested, ground and extracted.
Dietary
supplements can fall into three main categories; vitamin/minerals, medicinal
herbs and phytonutrients. Vitamins
and minerals have an established need and usually a recommended daily
 allowance
based on studies that have shown that a deficiency can lead to disease (such as
a lack of vitamin C
causing Scurvy). Medicinal herbs are supplements that are used primarily to
target one specific health need (such as
St.
John’s Wort for treating mild depression).
Phytonutrients are nutrients from plants (or other natural sources) that
have not yet reached vitamin status but are known to provide very important
health benefits and often the quality of life is greatly improved by the
availability of these nutrients in ones diet.
Grape
seed extract falls into the category of phytonutrients.
Beyond a medicinal herb, the nutrients contained in the extract have a
host of benefits because of their almost essential nature. There are very few
individual who would not derive some health benefits from the daily
consumption of a quality extract.
While
most
grape seed extracts may have some benefit (this is not been studied for
all), the amount of benefit may vary due to differences in the quality of the
extract. The extraction process varies quite substantially between manufacturers
and products – so it is extremely important for consumers to become educated
about these differences so that an informed decision can be made about which
product to purchase.
Common
uses:
Ø
Antioxidant
protection
Ø
Cardio-protection
(reduce the risk of arteriosclerosis)
Ø
Reduce
Cancer risk
Ø
Maintain
healthy vascular strength
Ø
Maintain
healthy capillary strength
Ø
Reduce
edema or inflammation
Ø
Eye
health
Ø
Support
conditions associated with diabetes (neuropathy, capillary weakness,
retinopathy)
Ø
ADD/ADHD
(attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder)
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