YourLife® Healthy Legs™ is a unique blend of herbal and plant ingredients in a sustained release formulation designed to help maintain normal circulation in the legs and maintain normal structure and permeability of leg veins.*
Serving Size: 1 caplet
Suggested Use: 1 caplet 2 times per day
Ingredients per Caplet:
|
General A unique blend of five herbal ingredients in a convenient, sustained release caplet.
Horsechestnut Seed Extract: The main active principles in HCSE are thought to be escin, esculin, and proanthocyanidin A 2 . Escin is a saponin that has antiedema, antiinflammatory, and vasoprotective properties. Escin is used in medicine to treat venous disease and has been successfully used to alleviate fluid pressure in the brain due to head trauma, meningitis, cerebral tumors, or encephalitis. Escin is also used to prevent edemas in surgery. Esculin is a coumarin glycoside that improves capillary permeability and fragility, and has been used to treat venous peripheral diseases, including hemorrhoids. Proanthocyanidin A 2 has antioxidant properties and has been demonstrated to stimulate venous healing under conditions of impaired capillary permeability and fragility.
Ginger: The principles in ginger responsible for its biologic activity are believed to be the sesquiterpenes (eg, zingiberene and zingiberol) and the nonvolatile pungent ketones (eg, gingerols, shogaols, and zingerone). These compounds have been shown to have antioxidant activity and to stimulate chemical modulators and messengers of vascular tone, blood formulation, and muscle contraction, which suggests an indirect role of ginger in promoting circulation.
Gotu Kola: Recent experimental evidence suggests gotu kola may affect various parameters associated with venous structure and circulation. Triterpenoids from gotu kola (astiatic acid, madecassic acid, and asiaticoside) have demonstrated activity on connective tissue metabolism and have been shown to stimulate collagen synthesis in human fibroblasts and promote wound healing in animal models. Madecassol, a gotu kola triterpenoid preparation, has been used clinically to promote normal collagen synthesis in the prevention of unsightly surgical scars and in the treatment of skin ulcers. Gotu kola triterpenoids have also been utilized as a therapy for inflammatory skin lesions in leprosy. A recent in vitro screening of medicinal plants indicated that gotu kola inhibited angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). ACE is the rate-limiting step in the formation of angiotensin II, which increases vascular smooth muscle contraction and peripheral resistance and is associated with extracellular fluid accumulation and hypertension. These data, although indirect, may suggest a vasoprotective role for gotu kola that needs further clarification.
Citrus Bioflavonoids: Flavonoids exert a variety of biological effects that promote vessel integrity and maintain circulatory health. Flavonoids may scavenge free radicals and prevent them from inhibiting vasodilators (including nitric oxide and prostacyclin) and inducing vascular injury. Flavonoids may modulate nerve responses involved in venous contraction during blood flow. Evidence suggests platelet aggregation and adhesion, which contribute to thrombosis or abnormal blood clotting and inadequate circulation, are inhibited by flavonoids. Modulation of arachidonic acid metabolism and intracellular signaling within platelets may in part be responsible for the antiaggregatory and vasoprotective effect of flavonoids. Some researchers have even identified flavonoids in citrus that have successfully reduced blood pressure in hypertensive rats. When orally ingested, the flavonoid troxerutin was readily taken up by vessel walls in patients with chronic venous insufficiency suggesting a potential mechanism for the improvement in venous tone associated with flavonoid treatment.
Grape Seed Extract: The effects of grape seed extract on vascular health are similar to those of flavonoids. Proanthocyanidins found in grape seed scavenge oxygen radicals, which are associated with free radical-mediated vascular injury. Proanthocyanidins also have antiaggregatory effects, which probably involve arachidonic acid metabolism. Furthermore, proanthocyanidins may bind to and protect proteins that make up vascular structures, as well as inhibit proteolytic enzymes (eg, elastase and collagenase) that catalyze the breakdown of fibrous components (eg, elastin, collagen) of vessel walls and compromise vascular integrity.
Summary: YourLife® Healthy Legs™ contains a unique blend of HCSE and plant extracts that may help promote circulatory health. Clinical evidence supports the use of HCSE in conditions such as varicose veins and chronic venous insufficiency. Limited investigations suggest HCSE supplementation may be of benefit in normal subjects for alleviating leg-swelling common during orthostatic stress (eg, long air flights). Flavonoids supplied in the citrus bioflavonoid powder and grape seed extracts may support vein health by decreasing capillary permeability and fragility. Flavonoids may also function as antioxidants and help protect blood vessels from free radical injury. Indirect evidence suggests gotu kola and ginger extracts may positively influence circulation, perhaps by modulating platelet aggregation and parameters involved in connective tissue metabolism and blood vessel contraction.
Safety: There are no known safety concerns with the use of the herbal ingredients in YourLife® Healthy Legs™ when taken as recommended. The clinical evidence reviewed here tested the efficacy and safety of a standardized HCSE delivered in a delayed-released capsule. This preparation was well tolerated with no more side effects being reported with HCSE treatment than with placebo. The Commission E Monograph lists no special notes of warning or caution on use, and indicates no known interaction with other drugs or any known restriction for use during pregnancy and lactation. Potential side effects listed include isolated cases of itching, nausea, and gastric complaints. Providing HCSE in a sustained release formulation may minimize the potential for gastric upset. There are anecdotal reports of side effects (muscle twitching, weakness, vomiting, diarrhea, and stupor) in children eating horsechestnut seeds or drinking infusions made from the leaves of the horsechestnut tree. High-dose intravenous escin therapy (340-510 µg/kg body weight) has resulted in renal impairment and acute renal failure in patients following cardiac surgery. The efficacious HCSE dose noted in the German Commission E Monograph for treatment of venous disorders, and heaviness, swelling, cramping, pain, or itching in the legs is 100 mg escin, corresponding to 250-312.5 mg HCSE twice daily in delayed release form.
The ESCOP Monograph on ginger lists no restriction on use in adults and children over 6 years old with dosages of ginger ranging from 500-2000 mg per day. No contraindications or special are listed. Heartburn may be an undersirable effect and toxic overdose is not believed possible. As a standard precaution, medical advice is recommended with use during pregnancy and lactation. The German Commission E monograph listed a possible contraindication in individuals with gallstones and warns ginger should not be used for morning sickness during pregnancy. Otherwise, no toxicity is noted.
Clinical trials that examined effectiveness in circulatory disorders have reported gotu kola extracts in doses up to 120 mg per day were well tolerated with no side effects observed. The amount of gotu kola supplied in this product is expected to be safe.
Citrus bioflavonoids and grape seed extract are very safe at the levels supplied in this product. The amount of flavonoids provided by these ingredients is lower than typical dietary intakes, which are estimated to range from 500-1000 mg per day and have been safely consumed for years.
There are no specific contraindications known for the ingredients present in the product. However, individuals under medical care and/or taking prescription medicines should consult their physician before taking YourLife® Healthy Legs™ or other dietary supplements. Likewise, pregnant or lactating women should seek medical advice before using herbal supplements.
How Supplied: 50 Caplets
References available upon request.
|
|