A free radical is an atomic structure with an unpaired electron in its outermost shell. These unpaired electrons tend to be highly reactive, resulting in chemical reactions such as oxidation. Because they have one or more unpaired electrons, free radicals are highly unstable. They scavenge the body to grab or donate electrons, causing damage to cells, proteins and DNA. Free radicals are naturally occurring; however, air pollution, stress, cigarette smoke and heavy exercising all contribute to the creation of harmful free radicals. Free radicals can cause oxidative damage. Normally the animal’s body is able to protect itself from the damaging effects of free radicals, but if antioxidants are unavailable, or if free radical production becomes excessive, damage can occur. Antioxidants are natural cell protectors, neutralizing free radicals by pairing an electron to the outermost shell of radical oxygen molecules, rendering them harmless. Antioxidants are nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and enzymes that are capable of counteracting the damaging, but normal, effects of the physiological process of oxidation in bodily tissues. Antioxidants work in two ways: chain breaking and prevention. A chain-breaking antioxidant such as vitamins A, C and E, stabilize free radicals or cause them to decay into harmless atomic structures. A preventative antioxidant prevents the oxidation process by scavenging free radicals.

Pet Health OPC is a food supplement made from a combination of bilberry, grape seed, red wine, pine bark extracts, citrus extract bioflavonoids, and glucosamine, designed to promote health joins and provide a strong antioxidant defense. Oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs) are bioflavonoids (complex organic plant compounds) found in fruits, vegetables and certain tree barks that provide exceptional nutritional benefits to your pet’s body. Studies have shown OPCs to be up to 20 times more powerful than vitamin C and 50 times more powerful than vitamin E in neutralizing free radicals. Pet Health OPC Formula with Glucosamine offers a unique, great-tasting powder that is sprinkled over your pet’s regular food. It represents the latest technology available today in naturally based pet food supplements. Pet Health OPC Formula is available in a tasty beef flavor that your pets will love – and you’ll love knowing that you’re doing all you can to help your pets stay healthy and live long, healthy lives. Pets face many of the same issues as humans. Many pet foods are over processed and have little nutritive value. Dogs and cats breathe in the same pollution as we do, inhaling harmful free radicals. Potent antioxidants like OPCs help to strengthen your pet’s free radical defenses. Antioxidants promote cardiovascular health, support healthy visual acuity, promote healthy blood vessel dilation and promote healthy platelet activity.

Your Pets and Joint Health
As pets become older, antioxidants become even more important in the fight against free radicals and their associated effects on cells in joints and other tissues. All animals are at risk for declining joint health. Many factors can affect joint health and the integrity of cartilage, including diet, genetic make-up and activity levels. The cold wintery months can also contribute to a decline in joint comfort. Each animal's genetic code, for example, can influence the thickness and durability of its cartilage and its overall joint health. Proper nutrition, especially antioxidant supplementation, is critical in maintaining healthy joints. Glucosamine has been shown to promote the retention and normal regeneration of cartilage, support normal movement and flexibility of joints and promote joint comfort.

What are OPCs?
OPCs, or oligomeric proanthocyanidins, can help reduce free radical damage, support the strength and normal repair of connective tissue, and can support proper enzyme activity. OPCs can also help maintain normal histamine levels. Not limited to being just strong antioxidants, OPCs are also crucial in their role in supporting the circulatory system.

What are antioxidants, and why should I give them to my pets?
Antioxidants are naturally occurring nutrients that help maintain optimum health by protecting against free radicals. Antioxidants are found in the body naturally as well as in many plants. Even cells that function normally generate large amounts of oxygen free radicals. Free radicals have an unpaired electron, making many of them reactive and destructive. When free radicals roam freely throughout the body unregulated by antioxidants, they can attack various healthy cell structures, including cell membranes, proteins, RNA and DNA. Certain factors in everyday life encourage an increase in the formation of free radicals for humans and pets alike. These factors include the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. Each one of these necessities can contain harmful reactants. We need a "neutralizer" in our body to rid our system of these harmful reactants and a strong and effective antioxidant is the best way to fight free radical damage. It is becoming increasingly apparent to veterinarians that antioxidant supplementation could very well provide optimal health support for dogs and cats in a manner similar to that experienced by humans. Both pets and their owners could benefit from a "neutralizer" operating in their systems that fight free radicals. A strong antioxidant is the best way to fight free radicals.

What is a bioflavonoid?
Bioflavonoids are complex organic plant compounds. Plants and fruits differ in colors based on the specific bioflavonoids they contain. An increasing number of clinical studies have shown how bioflavonoids support health. Bioflavonoids and OPCs play a key role in supporting cardiovascular health and maintaining vascular integrity. Bioflavonoids have been shown to support healthy circulation and cell vitality. Normal collagen renewal is promoted, which supports firmness of the skin, joint cartilage and connective tissue.

What is the history of OPCs?
In 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier was leading an expedition up the St. Lawrence River. Trapped by bad weather, Cartier and his crew were forced to survive on a ration of salted meat and biscuits. Cartier's crew began to suffer from severe deficiency of vitamin C and showed symptoms of scurvy. Many crew members died before the surviving members encountered a friendly Native American who saved most of their lives. He told them to make a tea from the bark and needles of the pine tree to cure their malady. They complied and, as a result, Cartier and many crew members survived. Some 400 years later, Professor Jacques Masquelier of the University of Bordeaux, France, read a book by Cartier detailing their expedition. He concluded that pine bark not only contained some vitamin C, but obviously was a good source of bioflavonoids, whose effects are similar to those of vitamin C. Further studies and research revealed that the pine bark contained an array of proanthocyanidins complexes. These compounds were also found in a variety of plants, including grape seeds, cranberries, peanut skin, lemon tree bark and citrus rinds. Masquelier termed the active ingredients of the pine bark "pycnogenols", which today are referred to in the scientific community as oligomeric proanthocyanidins, or OPCs.