Pycnogenol®: Top Nutrient for Women with Hair Loss

Dr. Mike: Hey, Dr. Mike here. How does Pycnogenol^®, a vascular health supplement, relate to hair loss? Stick around to find out with our guest, Dr. Fred Pescatore.

Live Foreverish Introduction: You're listening to Live Foreverish, a show dedicated to helping you live just a little longer. Here are your hosts, Dr. Mike and Dr. Crystal Gossard.

Dr. Mike: All right, welcome to the show. Dr. Crystal, my co-host. Always nice to have you.

Dr. Crystal: Hello.

Dr. Mike: Yeah. So, today's show is about Pycnogenol^®, and…it's becoming a superstar ingredient in the supplement world.

Our guest, Dr. Fred Pescatore, [is] a New York City physician and internist; he specializes in nutritional medicine. He's a globally renowned, healthy living expert and bestselling author of The Hamptons Diet and The A-list Diet—and it goes on and on. He's done a bunch of work with the pine bark extract Pycnogenol^® over the past ten years, and he also has a really good supplement book, The Allergy and Asthma Cure.

Dr. Pescatore, welcome to the show!

Discussion on Pycnogenol® 00:01:04

Dr. Fred Pescatore: Hi! Thanks for having me, you two. [It's a] pleasure to be here.

Dr. Mike: [It's] great to have you back. You were on…we just realized…it's been like two years.

Dr. Crystal: Yes. 2021.

Dr. Mike: Yeah, January 2021. I don't even know if you remember that.

Dr. Fred Pescatore: I didn't remember being on until I looked at the link and then I remembered being on.

Dr. Mike: Gotcha. Well, back then, we talked about more of the anti-aging benefits, right, that research is now showing for Pycnogenol^®? It does seem like more and more research is coming out—not just for anti-aging but all kinds of body systems.

Dr. Crystal: Right. Well, I pulled up some information; I have data. Dr. Pescatore, tell me if you were aware—I did a PubMed search this morning, and typed in "Pycnogenol^®" into the search box: 527 search results.

And then I narrowed it down. I said, "Whoa, that's a lot." Let's see how many studies I can find with Pycnogenol^® in the title: 321. So when we talk about a superstar nutrient…

Dr. Crystal: …that kind of puts it into perspective.

Dr. Mike: You know, Dr. Pescatore, it is something to talk about when people are willing to spend money doing research on something…You're really seen as one of the experts here. Give the audience your elevator pitch definition of Pycnogenol^® and what it can do for us.

Dr. Fred Pescatore: Well, Pycnogenol^® is an antioxidant. It comes from a French maritime pine bark. It works in four different ways: It's an antioxidant, it's an anti-inflammatory, it binds to collagen and elastin in the skin, and it also aids in the production of endothelial nitric oxide.

So that's why—since it has so many different ways of working in the body—the company that owns the patent to Pycnogenol^® has been able to do so much research and spend so much money on research, which very few nutritional supplement ingredients do. And that's why I really like this one because they know what it does, [and] they do studies that tell you what it does.

And Dr. Crystal, just going a little further on what you said in those studies, there's probably been over 12,000 patients enrolled in those studies. So, it's really quite vast.

Dr. Mike: Well tested.

Dr. Crystal: Wow! I think that's fantastic. As you mentioned, I would just echo [to the] listeners [that] we need funding for nutritional research…I think this dispels the myth that in the nutrition[al] world—[and with] dietary ingredients—there's no research.

Dr. Mike: Yeah. That's getting harder and harder to support by the conventional side…I think you shared this with us the last time you were here, but just to remind us: what really got you started on Pycnogenol^® and wanting to be a champion of its use?

Dr. Fred Pescatore: Well, I think I first heard about it—I was thinking about this this morning—probably close to 30 years ago, sort of at the beginning of my career, maybe 25 years ago. And because back then, as a doctor out of training, you're looking for science. You're looking for the same model you had in conventional medicine.

So, what can support what I do? Why do I say what I recommend to people, that sort of thing? And it's those studies. It's study after study that the company was willing to support, that the company itself was willing to fund.

That, to me, said a lot. That, to me, said that they really want to know what this does and they're willing to put their money where their mouth is, so to speak. So that's really what got me going on this. It's been a long ride with them, and it's just remarkable to see how many different things that they can do research on and that it works. It's kind of exciting.

Dr. Crystal: …I'm excited. I don't know about Dr. Mike, but I'm excited about a new study with Pycnogenol^® that shows that Pycnogenol^® supports hair density in menopausal women.

Dr. Crystal: That's why we said, "Hey, we need to get Dr. Pescatore back."

Dr. Mike: I love it because postmenopausal hair—thinning hair loss in women—is pretty prevalent. And we don't really talk about women and hair loss that much. So, to see this study was pretty exciting. Dr. Pescatore, can you tell us a little bit more about how this study came to be and how it was set up?

Dr. Fred Pescatore: Sure. Even though we don't talk a lot about it, I, as an internist, see it all the time. Women are very concerned about hair loss. Guys, we shave it off, whatever, we don't really care. But society has such a different standard for women that they don't have that luxury.

So, you have to think about it. I think by 2025, there's going to be one billion women in menopause. One billion people on this planet will be in menopause in just a couple of years.

Dr. Fred Pescatore: That's a lot of people. And that's going to be a lot of hair loss, and people are going to be looking for that. So, I think that's sort of where the company said, hey…we know that it does something for the circulation—working on the collagen and elastin. So, we need good circulation to get to the scalp in order to supply the oxygen necessary for the hair follicles to stay in place.

That was one thought. And then, the other thought was to see [if it would] increase hair density on its own. So, that's how the study came about…and it wasn't a big dose of technology, 50 mg three times a day or 150 mg total, all day long.

It was remarkable what they were able to find…it was able to increase hair density, it was able to increase blood flow to the scalp and things like that. So, it set out to do it, and it worked. It increased hair density by 30 percent after just two months of taking the supplement. I think that's pretty remarkable. I mean, I would take a 30 percent hair density increase.

Dr. Crystal: Sign me up.

Dr. Mike: Actually…if you think about it, it may not sound like a big number, but if you're that person and you're looking in the mirror, you'll see that. That's a positive thing. You'll see a positive change. And that's fantastic.

Dr. Crystal: Yeah, and I just…

Dr. Fred Pescatore: I don't know, I think that's kind of a lot.

Dr. Crystal: Well, I'll tell you from someone soon-to-be in menopause: every little bit, every strand matters. When you wash your hair, and you see the hair go down the drain—every little bit matters. And so, we do know that menopause is finally getting the shine that it deserves.

It's trending now—you're seeing it all over the headlines. And it's great to kind of see research on something that, for some people, may not mean a lot, but it means a lot to many people. And so, we're also seeing Pycnogenol^® studied for other menopausal-related concerns as well.

Dr. Fred Pescatore: Absolutely…people think about hair loss as something vain, but it's a way people look at themselves. I could look at a woman sitting across from my desk, and she'll say it's coming out by the "brush loads," and she's got so much hair. But it's so important to maintain that hair density and hair volume.

So, I think that before we move on to what other people consider more of the menopausal symptoms—like hot flashes, not being able to sleep and dry skin—there are a lot more menopausal things that happen.

And perimenopause…it usually starts with women in their 40s, right? You know, with perimenopausal symptoms happening and all of that. So, this was a study, I believe, done…maybe ten years ago, in 2012, to improve menopausal signs and symptoms. And again, very little low dose of Pycnogenol^®—only 50 mg twice a day—in this one.

After just eight weeks, perimenopausal signs and symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, irregular periods, loss of libido and vaginal dryness all decreased. All of those symptoms decreased after eight weeks of taking something super safe, [such as] a nutritional supplement—like [the] French maritime bark extract, Pycnogenol^®. It's really kind of cool, I think.

Dr. Mike: I'm glad you brought up the safety…on all these studies it's well tolerated…It's pretty easy to take.

Dr. Fred Pescatore: I think…the only thing is probably GI upset.

Dr. Fred Pescatore: And I think a lot of people get GI upset with nutritional supplements, on and off. I think we all get that when we take our supplements. But the other thing to think about in perimenopause and menopause, and maybe a lot of women don't realize this, is that their cardiovascular risk goes up—it increases. It equates to the [risk factor for heart disease in a man of the same age].

So, I think that's something to keep in mind as well because in a different study—I don't know if you want to talk about this other study too—Pycnogenol^® help[ed to] normalize the cardiovascular risk factors in perimenopausal. So, perimenopause is a very tumultuous time in someone's life, and to have one billion people going through that at once is going to be quite challenging.

Dr. Mike: Yeah.

Dr. Crystal: Well, tell me a little bit more about this French maritime pine bark. How is it unique? What is it that's different from other pine barks on the market? What's special about this one?

Dr. Fred Pescatore: That's a good question…

Dr. Fred Pescatore: …because there are others on the market. It comes from a very special forest, a sustainable forest in the southwest part of France. In Europe—I don't know whether we do it so much here in the United States—[the] different species of trees all get their benefits from where they are grown. So, it gets it from the soil, the air and the fog that comes in over the trees, and all sorts of things.

And Pycnogenol^®, this French maritime pine tree bark extract, has been studied or used for medicinal purposes since the 1600s—that we know of. They used the needles to prevent scurvy…they used to make tea out of the needles in the 1600s to prevent scurvy.

So, there's always been interest in this particular tree—for instance, mistletoe. I don't know if you guys are familiar with mistletoe. Mistletoe is a tree. But each mistletoe tree from different regions and species of that tree carry different medicinal properties.

So that area of France with those trees in that forest is very particular. We've known about it for centuries.

Dr. Mike: I love that it can be that specific, right? That it's this tree, in this soil, from this place. That's fascinating.

Dr. Crystal: And that makes sense when you think about the antioxidant profile that you find. Those antioxidants or biochemicals are created in that plant, herb or flower. It's there for survival, they're protecting that planet. And so of course, it makes sense. The environment would play a role on…

Dr. Mike: It dictates what it needs.

Dr. Crystal: …what it needs. And I guess in that particular area, it's making a lot of very beneficial compounds.

Dr. Mike: Good for us too.

So, as a clinician, Dr. Pescatore…so we talked about hair loss and menopausal/perimenopausal stuff. What other things are you using Pycnogenol^® for in your own practice? Is it a common suggestion for you to your patients?

Dr. Fred Pescatore: Yeah. So, the patient I saw right before I jumped on this podcast, I recommended Pycnogenol^® to. And I did that for circulation in her gums. So, I use it for a lot of microcirculation, which is very important.

I basically give it to everybody. I call it one of my "desert island" supplements; if I were stuck on a desert island somewhere, I'd want Pycnogenol^® with me.

But it's been studied on ADHD, allergies, colds and the flu. It's been studied on so many different things because it's an antioxidant, because Pycnogenol^® works on nitric oxide, and because it's an anti-inflammatory. There are so many benefits and there are so many ways you could use it clinically.

So, I think it's really important that we recognize—and I don't want to come across as sounding like a snake oil salesman—it's a panacea for everything. But when you look at collagen, elastin, antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, you're hitting some pretty big numbers there.

Dr. Mike: [They are] big categories. If I'm ever on an island, I'll take some Pycnogenol^®, but I also want some cheese.

Dr. Crystal: Oh, my goodness.

Dr. Mike: Blocks of cheese.

Dr. Crystal: He loves cheese.

Dr. Mike: I love cheese.

Dr. Crystal: Well, I'll tell you, Dr. Mike thinks I take everything. And this is one…

Dr. Mike: I think you take everything.

Dr. Crystal: He thinks that I take everything. But this is the top of my list…and that's why I was so excited when I saw the research with the hair because I take it!

And I take it every day, but I take a little bit more right before I fly. That's my secret to help with circulation when I go on the plane…I can't get on the plane without it. I usually take it a couple of hours before my flight.

Dr. Mike: And you can't do without the other 50 supplements.

Dr. Crystal: Yes. But it is my secret weapon for flying.

Dr. Fred Pescatore: Dr. Mike, Pycnogenol^® does have a study about reducing blood clots for reducing…what do they call it, economy class syndrome? I forget what they called it in the paper but there is a study about that. It can also help reset your time clock if you're traveling across various times. So [taking it before] flying is very important.

Dr. Mike: That's great. How can our listeners learn a little bit more about you and about Pycnogenol^®, this particular extract of Pycnogenol^®? Where can we send them?

Dr. Fred Pescatore: Oh well, it's easy. Just Pycnogenol.com. That's for that. And they have Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and all that stuff. And for me, it's just Dr.Pescatore.com.

Dr. Mike: All right. Thank you so much Dr. Pescatore for joining us today. Just like before, it was a fascinating interview. We appreciate it.

Dr. Fred Pescatore: Thank you for having me again. I appreciate it.

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Dr. Crystal: Subscribe.

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