You’re probably aware of the health benefits that come from olive oil and that it’s the superior choice over refined vegetable oils. Olive leaf, however, is a more unknown substance you’ll want to learn more about to improve your health.
Olive leaves come from the olive tree but should you not disregard them in place of the olives. The leaf contains oleuropein which is where most of the health benefits come from.
As great as olive oil is you may not always want to consume oil and the calories that come with it. With the olive leaf, you can now have a more stable extraction of the oleuropein in a very clean, and standardized form.
How Can You Take Olive Leaf?
When we’re looking at the health benefits that come from olive leaf it’s the extract that is the focus. It can come in capsule or liquid form and as far as the dosage you need to look at the oleuropein content in it.
A good standard dose will be around 25 mg a day so make sure whichever supplement you may use shows this oleuropein content. You may use a capsule that contains, as an example, 400mg of olive leaves but you want to look for the oleuropein amount to make sure you’re getting an ideal dosage for health benefits.
What Is Oleuropein?
The oleuropein is a powerful polyphenol and antioxidant and it’s what gives olive oil its distinctive and somewhat bitter yet tangy flavor. It’s the ingredient that makes olive oil so beneficial for its anti-inflammatory and disease-fighting abilities.
The oleuropein exists in the olives but is more abundant in the olive leaf itself. So you can’t have one without the other and it can be easier to just mention olive leaf when referring to it.
So let’s look at the health benefits that come when you take olive leaf extract.
1. Can Lower Blood Pressure
The olive leaf extract has been seen to not only prevent high blood pressure but also treat it. This means it’s a good proactive supplement you can take beforehand or if you face high blood pressure.
The drop in blood pressure also results in reduced pressure to the heart’s left ventricle. This improves blood flow to all of your heart’s coronary blood vessels.
2. Can Help Against Type 2 Diabetes
Whether you are diabetic or have prediabetes, this causes a lot of oxidative stress through the body because of high blood sugar. This leads to inflammation and tissue damage that cause a lot of problems.
You can see how olive leaf can be effective here because of its nature as a strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. They also see it to slow the digestion of starches and can help lower blood sugar. So it can not only help keep blood sugar lower but help ward off the damage when it gets too high.
3. It Can Fight Heart Disease
The polyphenol content of olive leaves has been shown to directly prevent the formation of arterial plaques. This can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. It can reduce the production of adhesion molecules and these are what make white blood cell platelets stick to the arterial walls.
This results in early plaque formation. Olive leaves can also reduce the tiny clots that form at plaque sites which can produce a stroke or heart attack.
4. It Helps With Arthritis
Olive oil has been seen to be a great choice in combating arthritis, but an olive leaf can help prevent several types of arthritis. It can help prevent rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and even gout.
The oleuropein helps to prevent symptoms from developing and can help improve the actual joint tissue. The anti-inflammatory nature of olive leaves also helps the joints and with any swelling.
5. Can Help With Cognitive Disorders
Olive leaf and the oleuropein have been shown to have protection against Alzheimer’s. The antioxidant effect is what’s involved with conditions like this and it may help prevent damage that’s associated with Parkinson’s disease too.
6. It’s Effective Against Weight Gain
Olive oil is a big part of the Mediterranean diet and one benefit that comes from this style of eating is weight loss. The olive leaf plays a role in this too and studies have shown that it can prevent high-fat, diet-induced obesity.
The idea is that the olive leaf extract can prevent obesity by helping control the genes that affect weight gain. It may also help you in controlling food consumption and cravings that lead to an overconsumption of calories.
Final Thoughts
Olive oil should have a place in your diet if you’re looking to be as healthy as possible. It’s great for making your own dressings and to drizzle over any dishes. But olive leaf can be a way to step up the health benefits that come from olive oil even more.
The extract has been seen to improve several health conditions, and it makes for easy addition to your life.
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