Olive Leaf Extract boosts concentration of active thyroid hormone

Supplements containing Olive Leaf Extract, according to the manufacturers, reduce the rate at which aging takes place and protect the skin against UV radiation. Ten years ago researchers at the King Saud University in Saudi Arabia published an animal study, which suggests that Olive Leaf Extract may also help weight loss. According to the Saudis, this phenol-rich extract boosts the concentration of active thyroid hormones in the blood.


The fruits and leaves of the olive tree, Olea europaea, are packed with compounds like hydroxytyrosol [shown below, formula 1], oleuropein [formula 2] and oleocanthal [formula 3]. These are all antioxidants. If you give them to mice exposed to UV radiation, then they delay the skin’s aging. [Phytother Res. 2010 Jul; 24(7): 995-1003.] Moreover, the olive phenols have been shown to inhibit the development of skin cancer in similar experiments. [Int J Cancer. 2011 Apr 15;128(:1955-65.]

In a study published in 2002 in Phytotherapy Research, the researchers looked at another effect of the phenols in Olea europaea. Because administration of Olive Leaf Extract in animal experiments had led to a reduced glucose level and less lipids in the blood, the Saudi researchers wondered whether Olive Leaf Extract, by raising the amount of thyroid hormones in the body, boosted metabolism.



The researchers gave male rats weighing 125-150 g homemade water-based Olive Leaf Extract orally for 14 days. The maximal dose was 0.5 mg per day. That works out at 4 mg per kg bodyweight. For humans, that would be about 50 mg extract per day. That's not a lot. Drug stores sell capsules containing 150 mg Olive Leaf Extract.



In the rats that were given 500 micrograms Olive Leaf Extract, the concentration of the T3 hormone rose by a factor of 2.5. This would be enough to make people wanting to lose weight faster notice a change.

The researchers suspect that the phenols in Olive Leaf Extract make the enzyme 5'-deiodinase work harder. This enzyme converts the less active thyroid hormone T4 into the more active T3.

wow, cool info. Thanks!

So this is just the leaf they tested though right? So my olive oil won't cut it i f I wanted these benefits?

LittleFighter,

Great stuff. I'm going to give it whirl. I saw Swansons has an Olive Leaf Extract that is 750mg that is priced fairly low. I'll report back of my stubborn belly fat disappears.

I had a great experience with OLE. I was using Vitacost's private label product and it seemed to be on point. It resolved several problems related to my gut. It virtually eliminated acid reflux and any intermittent bouts of diarrhea all but disappeared. I imagine these were the result of OLE antibacterial, antifungal effects. Several studies have shown it to be effective in this regard, again probably due to the high phenolic content. I think this product combined with perhaps clove, cinnamon, garlic, and berberine, would make for a pretty potent natural antibiotic cocktail.

All in all though, it seems like OLE is a powerful multi-tasker, and something I will probably take for the rest of my life. Not only are there the digestive benefits, but as LF pointed out, it has metabolic benefits its addition to being a powerful antioxidant and skin protector. Good stuff.