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Heart-Healthy Benefits in Olive Leaf Extract

In a study employing 20 sets of identical adult twins, each one coping with high blood pressure, European researchers documented two heart-healthy benefits in olive leaf extract - lowered cholesterol levels and lowered blood pressure rates - and the results were measurable after just eight weeks.  One specific extract (registered under the name EFLA943), when taken in doses of 1,000 milligrams (mg) per day, delivered substantial results in the group randomly assigned to receive the full dose (1,000 mg/day) for eight weeks.

The researchers, from Germany and Switzerland, chose identical twins as study subjects in order to minimize any questions or variations linked to genetics.  The team achieved favorable results in similar tests involving rats and chose twins as their human subjects because their shared genetic codes would produce more concrete conclusions.  Although everyone in the study had hypertension (high blood pressure), they all had mild, or borderline, cases.

In the human trial, each individual in a twinned pair received one of three treatments - placebo, 500mg of EFLA943, or 1,000 mg of EFLA943.  A comparison of blood pressure readings from before and after the eight-week trial revealed significant improvement in blood pressure in both groups taking the olive leaf extract, with the most significant improvement measured in the group taking the maximum (1,000 mg/day) dosage.  Similar results were documented with regard to improved cholesterol levels.

Describing hypertension as a very common disease stemming from today’s lifestyle, the research team has expressed the need for finding new ways to treat this disease, as important as it is common.  Its work with this particular olive leaf extract has produced impressive results, which have been published in the current issue of the journal, Phytotherapy Research.

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