Flavay's® strong antioxidant power is patented as a scavenger of the free radicals that play a major role in the initiation, duration and breakdown of inflammation and the degradation of collagen.

A Completely Safe, Non-Drug, Natural Approach to Inflammation & Edema (Swelling)

Flavay® acts upon your immune system to normalize your body's balance of chemicals that control inflammation and pain.

Flavay® has been licensed and sold in France for reducing inflammation and swelling since 1950 and is now available in the United States as a dietary supplement. Research shows several ways that Flavay® can stimulate the immune response to help normalize the balance of chemicals in the body that control inflammation and pain.

How Flavay® Naturally Inhibits Inflammation

Inflammation is caused by the overproduction of free radicals in a specific area of the body. We now know that antioxidants work together to defeat free radicals and inhibit the biological pathway that triggers inflammation, and Flavay® is particularly effective as an anti-inflammatory.

Research demonstrates that Flavay® can selectively bind to the connective tissue of joints, preventing inflammation and lessening pain. In fact, one of the very first benefits observed and studied Dr. Jack Masquelier, in as early as 1947, was the anti-inflammatory effect of Flavay®.

Research demonstrates that Flavay® inhibits the release and synthesis of histamine (which produces accelerated blood flow, dilates capillaries and increases their permeability, thereby leaking plasma into surrounding tissue), a key factor in the promotion of inflammation.

Studies demonstrate that the anti-histamine action of Flavay® is obtained through inhibiting the activity of the enzyme histidine decarboxylase. Dr. Masquelier’s research has been confirmed by German studies which show that Flavay® may lower the production of histamine with as much as 86% inhibition of histidine decarboxylase.

Flavay® also neutralizes free radicals that promote swelling and cause inflammation. A free radical called superoxide is involved in the inflammation of arthritis. Flavay® readily quenches the superoxide free radicals.

Edema (Swelling) Clinical Trials

Edema is an uncomfortable condition and can be both painful and dangerous. Swollen and painful legs and ankles, puffiness of the eyes and an overall bloated look and feel are examples of edema. It involves the leakage of blood serum into surrounding tissues and Flavay® has shown that it can reduce this leakage by strengthening capillary walls.

Italian scientists from the University of Florence studied the effect of Flavay® on venous congestion (edema) in the legs. The study involved 40 subjects consisting of 13 men and 27 women between the ages of 34 and 74. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups. One group received a placebo and the other group received 300 mg of Flavay® daily for 60 days.

All of those taking the Flavay® had relief from at least some of the symptoms. After 30 days, the pain was totally relieved in in 38 percent of those taking Flavay®, the swelling disappeared in 26 percent (the circumference of the legs was measured above the ankle), and 11 percent experienced a decrease in the feeling of heaviness in their lower limbs. After 60 days, the pain was totally relieved in 67 percent of those taking Flavay®, the swelling disappeared in 63 percent, and the decrease in heaviness jumped to 33 percent.

Clinical Trials Relating to
Recovery from Sports Injuries and
Postoperative Inflammation

Research has shown that Flavay's® ability to strengthen vascular walls may help the body to repair injuries faster. In an Australian study conducted on two groups of soccer players that had sustained injuries, those that consumed Flavay® for ten days following their injuries experienced significantly less swelling than those who did not and, in some of those taking Flavay®, the swelling had completely disappeared. Other research has demonstrated the ways in which Flavay® may actually inhibit inflammation including double-blind studies conducted in France which showed that Flavay® can reduce postoperative inflammation.

Nitric Oxide Toxicity and Chronic Inflammation

Contemporary research shows that elevated levels of nitric oxide (sometimes referred to as "NO") appear to contribute to a number of seemingly different disorders that all have a common element of abnormal immune or inflammatory responses.

Studies of arthritis, colitis, and other inflammatory disorders have all demonstrated elevated levels of nitric oxide synthesis. In the case of arthritis, nitric oxide has been implicated in the destruction of the pericellular and extracellular matrix of cartilage in arthritis.

Arthritis is an umbrella term for more than 100 different conditions that produce either inflammation of connective tissue (joints and tendons) or degeneration of the articular cartilage, a wearing down of the protective covering that cushions the ends of bones, allowing bones to rub together without causing damage to the joints.

When joints become arthritic, they become inflamed and enlarged, interfering with the normal flow of blood. For example, when you bend an arthritic knee, you cut off blood flow to the area which sets into motion of a chain of events that will lead to a burst of free radicals when the blood flow returns (known as "reperfusion injury"). When you release the knee, a proliferation of free radicals causes the area to become even more inflamed, contributing to the degeneration of the joint, which becomes more swollen and worn down.

High levels of nitric oxide have also been implicated in the inflammation that is associated with asthma. Asthmatics exhale significantly higher levels of nitric oxide and type II nitric oxide synthase (also known as "NOS") expression is increased in biopsy specimens from asthmatics.

It's long been recognized that nitric oxide is essential for normal blood circulation as it controls the muscular tone of blood vessels and regulates circulation and blood flow. However, excessive amounts of nitric oxide can be deadly to the cardiovascular system and actually contribute to disease and inflammation. High levels of nitric oxide can restrict blood flow and promote production of more free radicals, including the dangerous peroxynitrate.

Flavay® can significantly scavenge nitric oxide radicals. However, as we'll discuss next, your body needs a certain amount of nitric oxide in order to maintain good health. Nitric oxide is paradoxical. It can both mediate normal physiological functions and it can be highly toxic. Nitric oxide can act as an anti-inflammatory under normal health conditions, but it can have the opposite effect and cause more inflammation to an already inflamed area when overproduced. The key, therefore, is to maintain the optimum balance of this double-edged sword, nitric oxide.

Flavay® and the Nitric Oxide Connection

Nitric oxide is a colorless gas produced by many different cells in the body that, depending on the situation, can be very good or very bad. Nitric oxide plays several important roles in the body:

• Nitric oxide is an important signaling molecule that turns genes on and off.
  
• By controlling the muscular tone of blood vessels, nitric oxide regulates the circulation and normalizes blood flow.
  
• Nitric oxide modulates communication between brain cells and is instrumental in helping us concentrate and learn new information, and also in maintaining memory.
  
• When produced by immune cells, nitric oxide fights infection, kills tumor cells and promotes wound healing.
  
• Nitric oxide is essential for perceiving pleasure and pain, and it helps translate sexual excitement into penile erections.
  
• Nitric oxide aids in digestion of food by helping to control gastric movements.

But nitric oxide can be very destructive under other circumstances:

• Nitric oxide restricts blood flow.
  
• When produced in excess by immune cells, nitric oxide can trigger chronic inflammation, which can cause arthritis, colitis, inflammatory bowel disease and possibly cancer.
  
• Nitric oxide promotes production of more free radicals.
  
• In the brain, nitric oxide can hamper mental function and cause memory loss and brain aging.

The real trouble starts when nitric oxide encounters the superoxide free radical and becomes peroxynitrate, which destroys antioxidants like glutathione, vitamin E and common flavonoids, and damages proteins in the body. As long as nitric oxide is produced in the right amount, it remains friendly. But if nitric oxide is overproduced, the effect can be very toxic. Research demonstrates that Flavay® can help to maintain the optimal level of nitric oxide by helping the body to produce adequate levels—and to neutralize this free radical where it does harm.

“Radical Scavenger” Effect of Flavay®

Flavay's® strong antioxidant power acts as a scavenger of the free radicals that play a major role in the initiation, duration and breakdown of inflammation and the degradation of collagen.

"[A] method for preventing and fighting the harmful biological effects of free radicals in the organism of warm blooded animals and more especially human beings, namely cerebral involution, hypoxia following atherosclerosis, cardiac or cerebral infarction, tumour promotion, inflammation, ischaemia, alterations of the synovial liquid, collagen degradation, among others. The method consists in administering to said animals and especially to human beings an amount, efficient against said effects, of a plant extract with a proanthocyanidins content which has a radical scavenger effect"—Dr. Jack Masquelier, 1987.

Superior Antioxidant Support

Flavay® is superior to other antioxidants because its protective effects are multiplied in the body. While it provides its own, powerful antioxidant protection, it also supports the dynamic interplay between other antioxidants in the body. Flavay's® ability to “recycle,” or regenerate vitamins C and E after they have quenched free radicals vastly extends their unique antioxidant powers, helping to maintain an optimal, synergistic antioxidant balance in the body.

Flavay® is rapidly absorbed and very quickly distributed throughout the body. As a free radical fighter, Flavay® comes to the aid of the body more quickly than other antioxidants, reducing the potential for free radical damage and the ravages of aging. Flavay® also possesses more reactive sites for neutralizing free radicals than other known antioxidants. Furthermore, Flavay® permits reactivity with both positively and negatively charged free radical species. What this means is that Flavay® can “quench” or “scavenge” (neutralize) a broad variety of free radicals. Highly reactive as an antioxidant in both lipid (fat) and aqueous (water) phases, Flavay® neutralizes oxygen free radicals and is a valuable protector of healthy cells in a variety of internal conditions. This is a unique property among antioxidants, as most work either in lipid or aqueous phases, but not both. As a free radical scavenger, Flavay® is like an antioxidant prize fighter that can successfully take on all challengers, big or small, in any kind of weather

All of this means that your immune system works better so that your joints hurt less and your blood flows better—with Flavay®.

† Statements made herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.