OLIVE LEAF TO TREAT HYPERTENSION AND HIGH CHOLESTEROL

An extract of Olea europaea L. (Olive Leaf) can be used to reduce both mile hypertension and low density lipoprotein (LDL) according to the results of studies. Hypertension is one of the most common and important disease risk factors imposed by the modern lifestyle. Many people would therefore benefit from finding ways of reducing blood pressure.

The ancient Egyptians revered the leaves. Ancient Greeks used them to clean wounds, and the original Olympic athletes were crowned with a wreath of olive leaves. The olive leaf is even mentioned in the Bible for its purported healing properties.

So it's no wonder that scientists today are looking at ways to use olive leaf, specifically for one of modern societies biggest and sneakiest health problems -- high blood pressure.

High blood pressure (hypertension) often develops quietly and without symptoms. Ways to curb it include lifestyle and diet changes -- cutting salt and fat and getting the body moving.

Research and interest in olive leaf extracts has moved forward, primarily in Europe. Among the most recent findings are these:

 n a series of experiments, oleuropein was found to inactivate bacteria by apparently dissolving the outer lining of microbes. 

 At the University of Milan Pharmacological Sciences, researchers found that oleuropein inhibited oxidation of low-density lipoproteins, the so-called "bad cholesterol" involved in heart and arterial disease. This revelation, if confirmed by further research, suggests that oleuropein may contain antioxidant properties similar to other phytochemical compounds. Medical researcher Morton Walker, D.P.M., writing about olive leaf extract in the July 1996 issue of the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, comments that the intake of flavonoids "is correlated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease indicating that the daily intake of olive oil and/or olive leaf extract containing phenols will likely bring on a similar result." At the present time, the cardiovascular research community is excited about such actions. Studies have shown that some phytochemicals can reduce the harmful oxidation of cholesterol as well as slow down the accelerated clumping of blood platelets that can lead to dangerous clots. 

At Spain's University of Granada, pharmacologists determined that olive leaf extract causes relaxation of arterial walls in laboratory animals. Such results suggest a possible benefit for hypertension, an effect first mentioned by researchers more than 30 years ago.

In Tunis, researchers found that aqueous extract of olive leaves reduced hypertension, blood sugar, and the level of uric acid in rodents. This finding again indicates potential in the treatment of hypertension, as well as diabetes and heart disease. An elevated uric acid level is a risk factor for heart disease.

An earlier study showed that when rats were given olive leaf extract, their blood pressure dropped.

Now researchers in Germany and Switzerland have looked at how sets of identical human twins with borderline hypertension responded to taking olive leaf extract. Identical twins were used to help keep the data consistent, because genetic differences can make people respond differently to the same treatments.

The extract was obtained from dry olive leaves and put into capsule form.     

Two experiments were carried out. One compared twins who took 500 milligrams of olive leaf extract a day at breakfast with a comparison group of their siblings who didn't. A second compared a group who took 500 milligrams a day to those who took 1,000 milligrams a day. A total of 40 people participated, aged 18 to 60; 28 women and 12 men.

Here are the results:

Those who took the highest daily dosage of olive leaf extract (1,000 milligrams) received the highest benefits -- "significantly" lowering their cholesterol and blood pressure when compared to the group that took 500 milligrams.

At the end of the eight-week study, the group that took 1,000 milligrams per day had dropped their systolic blood pressure (the "top" number) by an average of 11 points.

The participants who received 500 milligrams of olive leaf extract dropped their systolic blood pressure by five points, and those who took no supplements saw their blood pressure edge up by two points. Neither one of these changes was felt to be statistically significant.  

Researchers, led by lead author Tania Perrinjaquet-Moccetti of Frutarom (a Swiss manufacturer of the olive leaf extract), note that they were not looking for what dosage might be most effective, but rather whether there was a blood pressure lowering effect at all.

The authors also note a "significant" reduction in LDL ("bad") cholesterol in those twins who took the olive leaf extract, but the specific data regarding these results was not presented in the paper.

The authors call for more investigation into the possible benefits of olive leaf extract on both blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Results are published in the September issue of Phytotherapy Research. The research was funded by Frutarom.

Recently, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. My average blood pressure was about 195/98, and sometimes reaching as high as 250/148. My wife forced me to go to a conventional doctor and of course I did! (Happy wife = happy life!) He put me on blood pressure medicine and I began to reluctantly take it... After the first 30 days I saw no improvement so I went off for several days before returning to the doctor. Upon my return my pressure read 198/99 and he then placed me on a higher dosage of another medicine. 

I was on tis medicine for three weeks when I decided that I must be crazy! Here I own and operate an alternative health website and I am taking conventional medicine for something…. I stayed up all night researching and decided to begin a regimen that I put together; the principle part being olive leaf capsules of 20% oleuropein and Coenzyme Q10, Garlic, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Magnesium. Because of the high dosages I am taking, I will not post the complete regimen as of yet, but will within 8 weeks. I will state however, that I stopped the blood pressure pills one week ago and today my pressure read 131/91... This is only after one