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Grape seed extract - yes or no?

C

charly

Hi there,

I'm new to this forum (and really excited to have found it!). I have very mild Crohn's Disease and only take Colofac once a day for it (although I'm not convinced it really does anything...). I currently live in Japan so am not in contact with any specialist for my Crohn's.

Recently (two to three weeks ago) I started taking grape seed extract because I'm a fan of supplements (I also take fish oil and evening primrose oil). For the last week I have had stomach pains much worse than usual. I was wondering if this could be related to my new supplement, or if it's just a bad Crohn's cycle.

Has anyone else tried grape seed extract? Was it helpful, made things worse, or was there no noticable change?

It would be great to hear about anyone else's experiences with this supplement.

Cheers,
Charly
 
Jennifer

Jennifer

Adminstrator
Staff member
Location
SLO
I've never used it and haven't heard it mentioned on the forum but there may be some people on here who do use it. What you could try doing is stopping the oil and see if that helps your symptoms at all. If not then you may be dealing with a flare. Hopefully you'll be able to see a doctor even if they aren't a specialist who's willing to run some tests and treat it with medication if it is indeed a flare.

Welcome to the forum! :D
 
M

mickey

I know grapes will generally cause you to move your bowels, so perhaps the extract is causing colon spasms? Suggest you stop a few days and see if symptoms improve and you will know your answer.

Try a good probiotic and that should help as well. Good luck!
 
C

charly

Thanks for those replies. You're right, I will try stopping it for a while and see if my stomach settles down. And I'll try to get hold of some probiotics too.

Thanks! :thumright:
 
Jim Gonsler

Jim Gonsler

I have been taking a product called OPC-3 which is a combination of grape seed extract but also pycnoginal (pine bark extract) and red wine extract and I haven't had any problems, in fact it's improved my energy, my skin texture and softness and also helped my allergies. Which leads me to a question. If you are allergic to grapes then you may be experiencing an allergic reaction. Those are the only bad reactions I've heard from people taking grape seed extract.
Jim
 
C

charly

Hi Jim,

Thanks for that reply. I confess I had also been eating grapes that week, not realising until I found this forum that grapes can be an issue for Crohns people. So I dropped the grapes AND the grape seed extract to settle my tummy down. Now I'm good again I'll give the grape seed extract another shot WITHOUT eating grapes too! Hopefully I'll be like you and notice lots of positive changes :D Happy to hear it helped you!

Cheers,
Charly:banana:
 
Z

Zoca

I took grape seed extracts (OPC) in my last flare-up in 2004 along with some other herbal extracts, acupuncture and colostrum powder. My flare-up settled down in one week
 
Charleigh

Charleigh

Location
Southern USA
Grape Seed Extract is a great anti-inflammatory, but I have no idea how it is with bowel symptoms. It might be good on a short trial basis when no other new items are introduces.
 
D Bergy

D Bergy

I can't eat grapes or grape juice. My stomach just knots up.

I never thought of this as related to Crohn's but maybe it is.

Not sure if GSE would bother me the same way. I don't remember using it.

Dan
 
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