The Benefits of Olive Leaf Extract

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Carrie and Danielle extol the virtues of olive leaf extract, a supplement I have been using for years - which may be why I never get the flu, despite working in a veritable cesspool of germs each day.

The Benefits of Olive Leaf Extract

An apple a day won’t keep the doctor away; and neither will an orange. (Or two, or three.) Vitamin C has long been heralded as the supreme immune booster, but an herbal extract that the Ancient Greeks used is now gaining popularity.

Olive leaf extract is a very powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants are important, and plentiful, in many of the foods you may already enjoy (like berries and veggies). They are significant in that they remove free radicals from the body. Free radicals actually damage tissues, promote aging, and increase likelihood for disease. Yuck!

To avoid the sniffles all winter (and year) long, pick up olive leaf extract in either pill or liquid form. Olive leaf extract is effective because of a compound found in both the leaf and fruit of the plant, oleuropein. When shopping for olive leaf extract, be sure to get an extract that contains at least 20% oleuropein. Olive leaf extract with 20% oleuropein, taken daily, will actually kill pathogens in your body, lower blood sugar, increase blood circulation, and eliminate toxins like uric acid (excessive amounts of it can actually cause crystals to form in your joints!).

The extract also acts as your personal brigade against viruses: it has been known to actually interfere, and then stop, the amino acids that are needed to form a virus. Goodbye colds!

The benefits of olive leaf extract don’t stop there. The extract also contains good-for-you linoleic acid, which helps promote shiny hair and healthy skin.

Now, don’t go and forget your old friend Vitamin C. It’s still a wonderful antioxidant–but it’s water-soluble, which means that it’s not naturally found in the body and thus, it must be replenished each day. Water solubility itself is not the danger. Instead, be careful not to “overdose” on vitamin c. I have a friend who takes three to four Emergen-C packets at the first sign of a cold. One packet of Emergen-C contains 1,000 mg of vitamin c, which is actually the body’s tolerable upper limit. Above and beyond 1,000 mg, you’re actually not doing your body a service anymore.

To maintain your health, eat a healthy and well balanced meals and supplement–don’t rely on–vitamins and herbal extracts to keep you at your prime.

Tags: Health, nutrition, olive leaf extract, supplements, Carrie and Danielle