Olive leaf extract is one of the more promising natural supplements for lowering high blood pressure. The supplement is made from the leaves of the olive tree (Olea europaea) and is often marketed as an anti-aging product as well as a natural way to help manage high blood pressure.
Several active ingredients have been identified in olive leaves, including oleacein, oleanolic acid, and oleuropein. The latter ingredient is the one you should especially look for on the product label when buying olive leaf extract. Oleuropein has been shown to have antioxidant and immune system boosting properties, as well as an ability to support blood flow and maintain normal blood pressure.
According to the renowned medicine hunter and ethno-botany instructor Chris Kilham, olive leaves have more antioxidant activity than green tea, which is well-known for its antioxidant powers.’ Olive leaf is also an anti-inflammatory agent and a good source of apigenin and luteolin, which have anticancer capabilities.
Here’s what the research says about olive leaf extract and high blood pressure. One study compared the supplement with captopril, which is a prescription drug commonly used to treat hypertension and congestive heart failure and to prevent kidney failure associated with high blood pressure and diabetes. The participants in the study all had moderately high blood pressure (140-159 mmHg over 90-99 mmHg).
In the double-blind study, the participants were given either 500 milligrams of olive leaf extract twice daily or 12.5 milligrams of captopril twice daily for eight weeks. Blood pressure was measured every week during the study. After eight weeks, patients in both groups had experienced significant reductions in both systolic (average decline: 12.6mmHg) and diastolic (average: 5.6 mmHg) blood pressure. Patients who took olive leaf extract not only achieved a significant drop in blood pressure similar to that of captopril; they also did not experience side effects and had yet one more benefit not seen in the captopril group: lower triglyceride levels, which is important for cardiovascular health and diabetes.”
How to Use Olive Leaf Extract
Olive leaf extracts are available as capsules, powders, and a liquid concentrate. No side effects have been reported when using olive leaf extract, although anyone who has low blood pressure should not take the supplement because it can cause blood pressure to drop too low.
In a Swiss study, researchers explored the impact of olive leaf extract on forty sets of hypertensive monozygotic twins. The individuals in each pair were given either 500 or 1,000 milligrams per day of olive leaf extract for eight weeks or no treatment (controls). The average systolic and diastolic blood pressure by the end of the study had declined significantly (137/80 mmHg-126/76 mmHg) in individuals who took 1,000 milligrams daily but not the 500-milligram dose or among controls. Cholesterol levels also declined in both olive leaf groups.
