

Raena Morgan: Can pycnogenol help with blood pressure, controlling blood pressure? And then, I understand that with high blood pressure, there can be resulting kidney damage. How does that all interrelate?
Dr. Fred Pescatore: Well, interesting question, because it's sort of the chicken and the egg theory with kidney damage and blood pressure. Because kidney damage can cause high blood pressure. High blood pressure can cause kidney damage. And because they work, because the kidneys are very important organs in terms of blood pressure control. And pycnogenol absolutely can work... pycnogenol works in two ways in this situation. We'll start with the kidneys first. And how pycnogenol works to support kidney health is that it works in microcirculation. So it works in very small blood vessels. And kidneys are almost an end organ we call it, because it's sort of one of the last places where the blood vessels go to. And when that happens you get... the blood vessels go from the large aorta, and as they go out, they just get smaller, and smaller, and smaller, and smaller. So it gets down to the capillary level and that's what feeds the kidneys. So when you have... and those are going to be the first ones that go, because they're the smallest. So the smallest blood vessels are going to be the ones that get... that suffer from oxidative stress, that suffer from inflammation, that suffer from damages, that sort of thing. So that's why you can get blood pressure problems from that. Pycnogenol works on that microcirculation. So it helps to keep those little, tiny capillaries open. So it's really, so that's why it can support kidney health. And then with blood pressure, keeping your kidney's healthy are going to keep your blood pressure in a healthy range.
Now there are other causes of blood pressure. And the way pycnogenol works in that situation is by helping to keep our blood vessels patent, or open.
Morgan: What is that term?
Pescatore: Patent. Just another... of course our fancy medical word for open. Of course we... we have to have our fancy words so you think we're smart. So they keep the blood vessels open. And they do that by using collagen and elastin. And collagen and eslatin lines every blood vessel that we have. And collagen and elastin breaks down as we get older. And the way to know that is to look at... basically your face and to look at your wrinkles and that sort of thing.
Morgan: But that tells you what's going on inside your body.
Pescatore: Of course. Everything external, I believe, is a reflection of what's going on internally. And that's why I always treat patients both, from the outside in and the inside out. And when you're looking at collagen, you've got to look at that's what helping the blood vessels expand and contract, expand and contract. And when you have a healthy blood vessel, that's what it will do and that's how pycnogenol supports healthy blood pressure, by supporting the collagen and elastin. By getting it to be doing its job. By helping it not to break down. And then therefore, it will keep those blood vessels working. And that's what keeps blood pressure working. It's not salt. I mean there's very few people that... I mean we think it's less than 5 percent of the population that are salt sensitive when it comes to hypertension.
Morgan: Really? Less than 5 percent?
Pescatore: Yes, less than 5 percent.
Morgan: Huh.
Pescatore: I know. It's just one of those things. It's just like, don't eat too many eggs, it will give you cholesterol. It's another one of those urban myths.
Morgan: An urban myth, well put. Yes. So they work together, you keep the capillaries open, the very small capillaries, right? To the kidneys.
Pescatore: They're the tiniest blood vessels so you keep... so pycnogenol will work on microcirculation. So that's the capillaries. So it helps to keep those open. So it helps to keep the kidneys functioning well, because that's where a lot of, a lot of pharmaceutical medications work specifically in the kidney, on blood pressure. Angiotensin receptor, selective blockers. Those work specifically in the kidneys because that's where angiotensin is released. So when you have something like pycnogenol, which is a natural substance, from pine tree bark, which is great. I mean I love the fact that it's from a pine tree of all things.
Morgan: And that you're impressed by that, as a physician, I like that too.
Pescatore: Well, it's really great, I mean, c'mon! It's so nice to be able to just find natural products, right?
Morgan: And the research is there...?
Pescatore: 40 years of research, I mean, it's amazing. And they keep coming up with new research which is great. So I love them as... I love to support companies that do that. So you have pycnogenol, works on the microcirculation, so it gets those capillaries to stay open. Keeps your kidneys functioning well. Perfect. You're not going to be on dialysis, you're not going to have to worry about things like that.
Morgan: Mmm-hmmm. Good news. Good news.
Pescatore: And then, you've also got it working on your larger vessels. So, keeps them open, makes sure that they open and close and do their things, because our blood vessels are constantly dilating, opening, constricting, closing. So they're constantly doing that. It's a constant dance that our body does so that we don't feel anything when we move from position to position. Because otherwise you get dizziness, vertigo. And it keeps the blood vessels open, you keep your blood vessels... the ability to open and close, that's when you're going to have a good, healthy blood pressure.
Morgan: Very good. Thank you so much.
Pescatore: Thank you.
Dr. Fred Pescatore discusses a naturally way to not only help regulate blood pressure, but also to support kidney health at the same time. Find out how this natural supplement works with your body to support your cardiovascular system and so many other things. Support your blood pressure naturally!
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