It is ironic that food, which is so vital to survival, when consumed in excess is literally poison to your metabolism.  Excess consumption of fat and carbohydrates rapidly leads to cardiovascular malfunction, liver malfunction, and numerous metabolic changes associated with easy weight gain and disease risk.  A new animal study shows that the powerful antioxidant in olive leaf extract known as oleuropein is protective against the onset of many of these health issues.

In the study rats were fed a high carbohydrate and high fat diet for 16 weeks, compared to a control diet.  Starting at 8 weeks half of the rats in each group were also given high polyphenol olive leaf extract (high in oleuropein).

At 16 weeks the high carbohydrate, high fat rats had developed serious signs of metabolic disease from the excess calories.  There problems included an increase in abdominal fat, and increase in liver fat, cardiac stiffness, increased markers of free radical damage, altered lipids, insulin resistance, and high blood pressure.  These are the typical signs of what has become known in humans as the metabolic syndrome. 

The rats that were consuming olive leaf extract along with the extra calories did not suffer the same fate.  Almost all of the metabolic changes were either significantly reduced or completely prevented, with the exception of blood pressure.  This is a dramatic improvement in the metabolic profile despite the high stress of excessive calorie intake.  It makes sense that blood pressure would not have been improved under these conditions because the diet had so much fat sludge in the circulation that blood pressure remained higher in an effort to help push the fat sludge out of the circulation.  This is a compensating measure for dietary abuse.  Other studies have shown that when calories are lowered then olive leaf also helps blood pressure function.

Nature has provided many options to assist you with your metabolism.  A diet rich in antioxidants is vital to healthy metabolism, especially if you are overweight as the condition of being overweight produces more free radicals than if you were normal weight.  Olive leaf extract is also a great immune support nutrient so choosing this nutrient to help your metabolism may have a special value if you also struggle with a sluggish immune response.