- Excerpt
In this age of quick answers to brief questions, reading OPCs, Dr. Jack Masquelier’s Mark on Health involves more than having our health-related questions answered in some one-liners that promote more than they explain. In his work, Masquelier challenged with wits. Rather than bluntly promoting his OPCs, he simply explained how and why they work. He was always a gentleman scientist, never a salesman. His explanations took unexpected turns, leading the student or interviewer from botany to biochemistry, from medicine to cosmetics, and always to a better understanding of OPCs. That’s why a book that renders tribute to this eminent scientist and to his inventions must challenge the wits and attention of the reader. To narrow the focus of this book to the problems of aging or to the treatment of varicose veins would be an insult to Masquelier, especially because no other scientist in his field understood the art of simplicity. Therefore, a book about OPCs must also describe the personality of their discoverer.
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At first, right after their discovery, it became obvious that OPCs were a high-performing vasoprotective nutrient that provided relief in practically all vascular disorders and diseases. (“Vaso-” means vascular, or relating to a blood vessel.) In France, Dr. Masquelier’s discovery of OPCs gave rise to three medicinal products that have been successfully used against vascular disorders for many decades. The finding that OPCs provide protection to collagen and contribute to the making of it explained why OPCs exert a positive influence on all structures in the body where collagen plays a supportive role. This brings into perspective not only the vascular wall but also bones, muscles, tendons, connective tissue, joints, skin, and mucous membranes. In fact, it brings into perspective every tissue of the body because collagen acts as a “ground substance” in all tissues.
Even more options in the application of OPCs in the human body became apparent as research continued. Masquelier was better able to explain the broad and intense effect that OPCs have on the body when he discovered that OPCs neutralize the common cause of many seemingly unrelated conditions: free radicals. OPCs are tremendously strong antioxidants. This discovery is extremely significant in a time when an increase in life expectancy is accompanied by a dramatic increase in cardiovascular and other degenerative diseases. Those in western and westernized societies live much longer now than any preceding generations lived, yet this longevity makes it imperative that people spend their lives in good health. And this is precisely where OPCs come into play — they provide a means to live not only longer but also better so that we may fulfill our lives without being crippled by the ravages of old age.
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In today’s world, science has become a marketing tool. Science and scientists are used to sell products. The sales and marketing divisions of the big companies that now govern the health food industry always need “something new”: new formulas, new ingredients, new research ... If it isn’t new, it won’t sell. In the minds of those who are preoccupied with sales, research that is older than a year is being regarded as stale and unfit for use in promotional campaigns and unfit for sending out a press release.
This book is different. I take you on the journey I made after I came to know the work and person of professor Jack Arthur Masquelier. We track his many discoveries and inventions, starting at the very origins of his research. Masquelier discovered OPCs when the oldest of today’s baby boomers were babies. OPCs were born in the same spirit of freedom, love, adventure, and happiness that laid the foundation for most of that generation. In the truest sense, OPCs are also baby boomers that have grown, not only in age, but also in potential and relevance. Every time a new health topic hit the front pages over the past 65 years, OPCs were found to be of unique relevance.
