# To Overitnow: More Info on Flavinoids Please!



## Lexi_Con (Aug 18, 2003)

Okay, so now I have an idea of what they are, but I am still curious as to how a person can get this stuff into their system.I have thought of gingko biloba pills and drinking green tea, but I'm sure you may have other suggestions.I am particularly intrigued by your mention of macular degeneration as I have two young nieces who have been diagnosed with macular degenerative disease. Each girl is the daughter of a different sister of mine, and it is very rare for people to get this disease unless they are very old. This suggests a genetic component to macular degenerative disease which apparently does not exist, according to "the literature".Perhaps the lack of ability to get enough flavinoids naturally is a genetic thing? Or do the flavinoids help with some underlying inherited condition?I have also discovered that there are links between sensitivity to MSG and macular degenerative disease, and I have IBS D with GERD and extreme sensitivity to MSG. Interesting to think about possible genetic inheritance of sensivity to MSG, or something that reacts to not getting enough flavinoids! I wonder if there is a link between this?Comments are welcome, and I would like to hear about how to try the "flavinoid approach" !Thanks . . . from Lexi.


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## KimmiAnn (Sep 11, 2003)

I would love to know more on flavinoids. Lexie, we have a lot in common. I am IBS-D and GERD. Also, have gastritis. I also can not tolerate MSG. It may be hereditary as my mother can not tolerate MSG either.


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## overitnow (Nov 25, 2001)

Hi, again...Flavonoids, Part 2My journey back to wellness was welcomed; but there are a lot of unanswered questions, here. From my perspective, why would this combination of fruit extracts work for so many different conditions? There are an amazing number of testimonials around grape seed, ginko biloba and ADD/ADHD and similar ones for Fibro and Chronic Fatigue. Mine was the first one I had heard of for digestion/elimination, although as I found out, there have been others. As far as we know, IBS is a collection of symptoms without a definitive cause. Running counter to that is one study out of the University of Adelaide, almost two years old. I know longer have any names; however it was posted on the Fibro Board, I believe by Susan. In any case, the doctors found that out of a body of Fibro patients, about 30% also had IBS. There was no mention of which type. Of that 30%, all of them showed lowered circulation in that part of the brain that controls digestion. Further investigation turns up this same circulatory problem is in the brain stem of ME/CFS sufferers, and a lowered electron exchange rate in the frontal lobes of ADD people. (A local contact from the ADD world tells me that there have been people with Fibro who have also responded to Ritalin.) Do we have a connection, here? Essentially, we may have a number of conditions which all respond to brain circulation enhancements, among which is ours. Our doctors may possibly be looking in the wrong end for the cause. That's my speculation. For myself and at least one other member of this Board, a LynnP, it works.(For macular deterioration, there are a number of lutin based supplements around. I have no idea of what kind of dosage would be good for your nieces; however, for adults, you will need a lot more than you will find in multis like Centrum. Extracts of blueberry, the "vision fruit" of Japan, or its cousin bilberry, have been helpful. The elderly mother of one man I have worked with, using the same combo I use which contains bilberry, had her vision restored from legally blind to sighted, here in Victoria.)Absorption is one of the keys to getting flavonoids to work. The French wine drinkers have a history from a very young age of habitual drinking. Suddenly adding a couple of glasses of red wine every day is not going to be very effective. (There was a study out of Portugal that showed those who have a long history of drinking 2-3 glasses of red wine every day had less colds. I can neither afford nor would I choose to drink that much.) Supplements make more sense. The one I take has absorption enhancers that increase the body's intake by a factor of 4-6 times, and has been proven in published, duplicatible human studies, to work for cardiovascular disease. What percentage of us it will help I really can't say. Just to make the whole exercise more difficult, it is made by a "direct marketed" company. Consequently, I may be lying to you. (But I'm not.)And of course, Lynn P (above) tells me of a local realtor she knows who has twice beaten breast cancer back into remission with an aggressive grape seed regime. (My doctor tells me they are now cooking with it in Italy.)So that's what I know, and what I think I know. Here's to recovery.Mark


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## Lexi_Con (Aug 18, 2003)

Thank you for the added info on flavinoids; I plan on checking my local health food store to try to find some. In the mean time, I plan on drinking my decaffeinated green tea every day.You presented me with another interesting link when you made mention of ADD. My son was diagnosed ADD, and he is, of course, a cousin to the two girls with macular degenerative disease. I will tell my nieces about blueberries and bilberries; could they get some benefit from drinking teas made of them?I think that I am one of those people who needs to intellectually understand a problem before I can accept it in a rational manner.To paraphrase: "I analyze, therefore I am".Dealing with this condition has greatly taxed my emotional strength. I think that I need to believe that there is some cure, or at least some way of regaining control of my life.Thank you to the other person who replied; I appreciate any imput on this.Take care . . . from Lexi.


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