Isotonix OPC-3: Is This Miracle Supplement Worth Your Money?

Isotonix OPC-3: Is This Miracle Supplement Worth Your Money?

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Last Spring, my best friend started raving about her latest health find: A miracle supplement that had cured her allergies, called Isotonix OPC-3. I shrug off a lot of her product, diet, and exercise suggestions (I love her, but she gets a little over-enthusiastic about certain health fads), but after seeing her suffer through season after season of debilitating allergies, I figured if something was good enough to cure her; it was worth looking into.


Isotonix OPC-3: Is This Miracle Supplement Worth Your Money?
With a little research, though, I became more skeptical: You can only buy OPC-3 through local distributors (pyramid scheme, anyone?!), it claims to improve several health conditions, and it ain’t cheap, either. Then again, legitimate news networks have reported on the supplement’s dramatic impact on diseases like lupus, inflammatory disorders, and even ADHD:

So what exactly is it? OPC-3 is an antioxidant supplement that claims to promote cardiovascular and joint health, maintain healthy cholesterol and blood glucose levels, and suppport normal blood vessel function. The main active ingredient in OPC-3 is oligomeric proanthocyanidins – a type of flavonoid – that’s taken from grape seed extract, red wine extract, pine bark extract, bilberry extract, and citrus extract bioflavonoids. It’s also unique because, instead of coming in pill-form, it’s a powder meant to be combined with a particular amount of water in order to create a solution that’s more easy for your body to absorb (see photos below).
It’s a mouthful, but the concept is one you’re probably familiar with: Like antioxidant-rich foods, supplements, and even beauty products, the active ingredients in OPC-3 are beneficial because they’re anti-inflammatory. According to several experimental studies, things like flavonoids, bioflavonoids, and antioxidants modify responses to things like allergies, muscle or nerve inflammation, and even cancer. The current obsession with antioxidants – found in coffee, green tea, pomegranate juice, berries, wine, and even skin creams containing reservatrol or rooibos – is based on the same science and studies.
The only downside of the antioxidant fad is that supplements and health claims haven’t been approved by the FDA, so their benefits aren’t taken as seriously as prescription drugs. Not to mention their price: Like many natural supplements, OPC-3 isn’t cheap. A 90-day supply is $69.95, and it’s not something your health insurance will cover.

We wanted to find out a little bit more about OPC-3, and why it’s different from, say, eating blueberries and drinking green tea, so we asked a few questions of Dr. Mark Lange, a scientist working for Market America, the company that sells OPC-3. We asked about everything from

First of all, why those particular sources? I read that OPCs are present in apples, pine bark, cinnamon, cranberry, green tea, and bilberry, and that chokeberry has the highest measured concentration of proanthocyanidin found in any plant.

Although OPCs are found in many plants, we know that they are highly concentrated in pine bark extract and grape seed extract. We added the three additional sources to provide a full range of plant-derived antioxdiant compounds, known as polyphenols. This unique formulation, OPC-3®, from five plant sources provides literally hundreds of diverse polyphenolic compounds conferring a variety of health benefits.

Also, only Isotonix® OPC-3® contains Pycnogenol® in isotonic form. Pycnogenol®, a patented brand of pine bark extract from France, is standardized to contain 70% procyanidins; compounds known for significant antioxidant properties. Pycnogenol®, in combination with bioflavonoids from bilberry, citrus, red wine and grape seed combine to form a unique product with regards to bioactivity in the body.
One of OPC-3’s main ingredients, grape seed extract, is a readily available supplement that’s pretty commonly used to improve circulation, and it’s also in plenty of beauty and skin products. Why not just take those supplements and use those products?

Isotonix® OPC-3® offers a broad range of benefits greater than grape seed extract alone. For example, it helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels, promotes joint flexibility, supports normal blood glucose levels and demonstrates anti-inflammatory activity.*

A lot of people don’t take vitamins and supplements, saying that they should be able to get all the nutritional value they need from their diet. Dr. Andrew Weil has written a bit about OPCs, and suggests on his website that people eat an anti-inflammatory diet rather than take OPC-3. Do you think that someone eating an optimized diet could get the same benefits? If OPCs are in apples and green tea, it seems like someone should be able to just eat a lot of those foods and get their OPCs that way.

We always encourage people to eat plenty of fresh, colorful fruits and vegetables. The reason for any good quality supplementation is to ensure that you are getting a variety of key nutrients every day and that you are getting sufficient amounts of nutrients. This is usually unattainable for most people, even the health conscious among us. Besides, how many people eat bilberries, grape seeds or pine bark in their routine diet?

By the way, Dr. Andrew Weil preaches that a daily multivitamin/mineral is a good supplement to fill the “gaps” of one’s diet. We believe that there are many more gaps in our diets than just vitamins and minerals. Numerous surveys and data bear this out. For example, the Food and Nutrition Service of the USDA surveyed teenage girls on their dietary intake. Their diet consisted of only 3% of dark, green leafy vegetables as compared to the recommended 14%. Furthermore, their diet consisted of only 5% of orange colored foods as compared to the recommended 11%. And, the government recommendations are well below what many nutrition-oriented doctors recommend.

So the isotonic formula of OPC-3 makes the body better able to absorb it, but some supplements also say they’re in a “food complex” (like New Chapter), which makes them active and readily absorbed by the body. Especially given the relative convenience of pills, can you explain a little about why OPC-3 comes in this form?

We advocate isotonic delivery of nutrients whenever possible. Since isotonic delivery of nutrients facilitates rapid and maximum absorption of all the nutrients in a formulation, it is superior to tablets or pills and provides a better bang for your buck. With isotonic delivery the stomach does not have to digest the nutrients or secrete gastric juices (including hydrochloric acid) which prevents further degradation of the nutrients. And the isotonic solution can quickly reach the small intestine for rapid absorption into the body.

A recent study published in Phytotherapy Research compared OPC-3® in isotonic form and OPC-3® in tablet form in healthy subjects. The bioactivity, or ability to act as an antioxidant, was continually measured directly from the blood over four hours. Isotonix OPC-3®’s initial antioxidant effect was delivered much faster (8 minutes versus 1 hour for tablets). Furthermore, the tablet form never delivered the same potency, or effectiveness as an antioxidant, even at the same serving size and with drinking the same amount of water.
Another benefit of isotonic delivery is it offers an alternative for people who have difficulty swallowing pills, estimated to be 40% of the U.S. population. Taking supplements in a concentrated, flavorful liquid solution is well-received by most people, especially children.

Why do you recommend taking it on an empty stomach?

When stomach contents include food, digestion is occurring – which is the slow process of breaking down food into simpler, absorbable molecules. By taking Isotonix® supplements on an empty stomach, you take advantage of their isotonic state. The body senses that nothing has to be done to an isotonic solution to digest it. Therefore it moves almost immediately into the small intestine for absorption.

Are there any supplements or drugs that should be avoided while taking OPC-3?

Generally speaking, Isotonix® OPC-3® is well tolerated and has no side effects in most people. However, before taking any dietary supplement you should first check with your doctor.

I saw that you have a lot of lab experience; what kinds of tests do you do with OPC-3, and are there any publicly available studies that myself or other consumers can view to get more info about what OPC does?


Being an advocate for quality control in the nutraceutical industry and having a PhD in analytical chemistry, “testing” is in my blood. With OPC-3 being manufactured in the US, it must be made under strict compliance with the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) now mandated by law and enforced by the FDA. Furthermore, additional in-house testing adds a second level of quality control.
Yes, there are now 3 original research studies on OPC-3® available to the public. The first, which evaluated OPC-3® Isotonix® delivery vs. tablet, I already mentioned. The other two articles evaluate the role of OPC-3® in promoting cardiovascular health. Here are the references with links:

Accelerated Antioxidant Bioavailability of OPC-3 Bioflavonoids Administered as Isotonic Solution. Cesarone MR, Grossi MG, Di Renzo A, Errichi S, Schönlau F, Wilmer JL, Lange M, Blumenfeld J. Phytother Res. 2009 Jun;23(6):775-7.

Improvement in Circulation and in Cardiovascular Risk Factors with a Proprietary Isotonic Bioflavonoid Formula OPC-3. Cesarone MR, DiRenzo A, Errichi S, Schonlau F, Wilmer JL, Blumenfeld, J. Department of Biomedical Science, G D‘Annunzio University Chieti, Pescara, Italy. Angiology 2008 Aug-Sep; 59(4):408-14.

Potential Benefits on Impairment of Endothelial Function after a High-fat Meal of 4 weeks of Flavonoid Supplementation; T.A. Barringer, L. Hatcher, H.C. Sasser; eCAM Advance Access published online on July 3, 2008.

There has been a lot of great, credible press, but the way OPC-3 is sold makes people a little skeptical about the product (when I googled OPC-3, the tag “OPC-3 scam” was one of the first to come up). Why is it sold this way, and not just in drug stores and grocery stores like a lot of other natural supplements?

Market America’s motto is “Built on product. Powered by people.®” Think about it – most people try a product, eat at a restaurant or go to a movie based upon a friend’s recommendation. Market America uses the latest in technology, social networking, and the one to one customer experience. This forward thinking business model fits with today’s lifestyle. On every street in America, brick and mortar stores are closing or vacant, while Market America’s online, personalized shopping experience is thriving.

For people who are obsessed with eating organic, the thought of consuming highly concentrated extracts from plants that might have bad chemicals on them is a little scary. Why don’t you use organically grown ingredients?

Every source ingredient of plant origin must be checked for trace levels of heavy metals, pesticides and herbicides. This is part of being compliant with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs). Even though organically grown implies freedom from trace contamination, the testing requirements remain the same. The safety and purity of our dietary supplements is of utmost importance to Market America. That is why testing procedures are in place to check and double check the quality of the supplements we sell.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.



Isotonix OPC-3 

 

 

   There is only one Isotonix OPC-3: exclusive by Market America. Purchase online at shop.com.