Olive Leaf Extract is Mother Nature's Antibiotic & A Powerful Healer

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Olive Leaf, mother nature's antibiotic, fights against disease and 126 pathological microbes, viruses, bacteria and other antibiotic-resistant organisms.

The ancient Egyptians may have been the first to figure out that the olive leaf packs extraordinary power. They considered the leaf a symbol of heavenly power. In keeping with that belief, they extracted the oil and used it to mummify their kings.

 
THE AMAZING HISTORY OF OLIVE LEAF
Later cultures discovered that the leaf was better used protecting the living than the dead. Throughout the ages, it was a popular folk remedy for combating fevers. In the 1850's, medical reports described how olive leaves cured the worst cases of malaria. An 1854 account in the Pharmaceutical Journal provided the following simple healing recipe: A handful of leaves boiled in a quart of water down to half its original volume. A wine glassful was then administered until the fever was cured. The author believed that a bitter substance in the leaves was the key healing ingredient. This method was said to be extremely popular in England to treat sick returnees from the tropical colonies. 

 
Early in this century, a bitter compound from the leaf called oleuropein was indeed isolated and determined to be part of the olive tree's powerful disease-resistant properties. According to scientists, it's the stuff that helps protect the tree against insect and bacterial predators. Oleuropein is an iridoid, a structural class of chemical compounds found in plants. It is present throughout the olive tree and is, in fact, the bitter material that is eliminated from the olives when they are cured. 

 

In 1962, a scientific paper written by an Italian researcher reported that oleuropein had the ability to lower blood pressure in animals. Other European researchers confirmed this finding and found also that it could increase blood flow in the coronary arteries, relieve arrhythmias and prevent intestinal muscle spasms. About the same time, other investigators were searching for the chemical agent within oleuropein that might be the most medically potent. A Dutch researcher found it: elenolic acid. What's more, the Europeans found it had a powerful anti-bacterial effect. 

In the late 1960's, research by scientists at a major American pharmaceutical company showed that elenolic acid also inhibited the growth of viruses. In fact, it stopped every virus that it was tested against. A number of in vitro (test tube) laboratory experiments with calcium elenolate, a salt of elenolic acid, demonstrated a killer effect against many viruses, bacteria and parasitic protozoans. Among other effects, the compound was found to be potent against a variety of viruses associated with the common cold.

The researchers concluded that the compound acted effectively at low concentrations without any harmful influence on host cell mechanisms. They found it to be extremely safe and non-toxic, even at high doses.
Following the in vitro phase of testing, research continued with laboratory animals. Experiments showed the compound to be extremely well tolerated. There was a hitch, however. The compound rapidly binds to proteins in blood serum, meaning it is essentially taken "out of action" and rendered ineffective. As a result of this obstacle, development of the compound as a virus and bacteria killing pharmaceutical drug was dropped. 

Meanwhile, other researchers in Europe were continuing to investigate the properties of olive extracts. One reported that oleuropein inactivated bacteria by dissolving the outer lining of the microbes. Another team of scientists determined that oleuropein -- and specifically its elenolic acid component -- inhibited the growth of certain species of lactic acid bacteria used in the brining and fermenting of olives. 

Later, in a 1994 laboratory experiment conducted at the University of Milan Institute of Pharmacological Sciences, researchers found that oleuropein inhibited oxidation of low-density lipoproteins, the so-called "bad cholesterol" involved in heart and arterial disease. This revelation, if confirmed by further research, suggests that iridoids such as oleuropein may contain antioxidant properties similar to flavonoids, proanthocyanadins, pycnogenol and other related phytochemical compounds. Currently, these phytochemicals are receiving considerable attention in cardiovascular research for their ability to reduce the harmful oxidation of cholesterol and slow down the accelerated clumping of blood platelets that can lead to dangerous clots. 

All these research findings would be of little value, however, unless a solution could be found for the problem of protein-binding, the biochemical snag encountered in earlier investigations that was shown to nullify the therapeutic value of the olive leaf compounds inside the body. Several years ago the breakthrough occurred through independent scientific research that opened the way for clinical application of a natural olive leaf extract product. 

Olive Leaf Extract is made from oleuropein and a selected blend of synergistic olive leaf extracts, including flavonoids. Now, as a proprietary natural dietary supplement, the medicinal firepower of olive leaves remains intact -- minus the previous problem of proteinbinding. For all that it offers, we believe that Olive Leaf Extract represents a very exciting herbal with a great future. 

A UNIQUE HERBAL WITH MANY USES
Olive Leaf Extract has been used clinically in its current form for more than a year. Living up to its promising background, it already has demonstrated considerable therapeutic action against many common conditions. Those most familiar with it expect that the list of applications will grow much larger.

Research or clinical experience to date suggest that Olive Leaf Extract should be considered as a healing participant in the treatment of conditions caused by, or associated with, a virus, retrovirus, bacterium, or protozoan. Among such conditions may be influenza, the common cold, meningitis, Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), encephalitis, herpes I and II, human herpes virus 6 and 7, shingles, HIV/ARC/AIDS, chronic fatigue, hepatitis B, pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhea, malaria, dengue, bacteremia, severe diarrhea, blood poisoning, and dental, ear, urinary tract and surgical infections. 

Dr. James R. Privitera, M.D., a physician in Covina, California, who has been practicing nutritionally oriented holistic medicine sine 1970, began using Olive Leaf Extract early in 1995. 

"I think we are just beginning to scratch the surface for what seems to be a very promising and unique herbal with multiple applications," he says. "We continually hear from patients about new and unexpected benefits. Although we do not have long-term perspectives as yet, preliminary clinical results are very positive. In our clinic, we use Olive Leaf Extract for a variety of infectious and chronic conditions and are increasing our understanding for which situations it works best for."

OLIVE LEAF WILL:

Lower blood pressure
Fight Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, diabetes, AIDS, hypertension,
parasitic infestation, hepatitis, ulcers, psoriasis and fibromyalgia.
Improves heart health
Reduce fats
Eliminate candida
Reduce blood sugar
Heal ear infections
Decrease fatigue
Powerfully improve the immune system
Purify the body
Kills parasites
Fight viruses
Fight fungus
Fight bacteria
Relieve headaches
Balance hormones
Fight aging
Detox the body
Act as a natural mosquito repellant
and so much more, olive leaf is helpful in just about any disorder and disease out there.

INHIBITS TRANSMISSION OF HIV-1
One of the most exciting discoveries has been oleuropein's ability to inhibit acute infection and cell-to-cell transmission of HIV-1. It also has shown antiviral activity against viral haemorrhagic septicaemia rhabdovirus— a highly infectious viral disease that affects rainbow trout and other fish. The study's researchers believe that olive leaf extract could be a potential source of promising natural antivirals used for humans.

HEALTHY CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
It's been well documented that the Mediterranean diet—rich in fruits, vegetables, grains, and olive oil—is associated with a lower than average risk of coronary heart disease. Researchers believe that the natural antioxidants found in the diet—and especially in olive tree by-products—prevent cardiovascular disease by inhibiting the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), the "bad" cholesterol, which, in turn, retards the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. Olive leaf extract also plays a role in supporting normal blood pressure, and in reducing the risks associated with stroke by inhibiting the production of thromboxane—a factor in blood clotting.
A study at the University of Granada, Spain, also found that an olive leaf extract caused endothelium relaxation in the aorta in laboratory animals, which is significant because of its potential as a vasodilator to help prevent cardiovascular disease in humans.

DIABETES
Olive leaf extracts have been shown to lower elevated blood-sugar levels in diabetic rats.

This past October, a study published by researchers at the University of Baghdad, Iraq, found that Olive Leaf Extract reduced oxidative stress and hyperglycemia in rabbits with alloxan-induced diabetes. (Alloxan is the chemical that makes white flour look "clean," and the drug used to induce diabetes in laboratory animals.) After being treated for 16 weeks, the blood glucose and antioxidant levels in the rabbits were restored to the levels of normal rabbits. On the other hand, the rabbits that were untreated showed increases in an oxidative stress marker and blood glucose, and a decrease in antioxidant levels. The scientists concluded that these results demonstrate that olive leaf extract may be helpful in inhibiting hyperglycemia and oxidative stress caused by diabetes, and that it may be able to help diminish the complications of diabetes in humans.
 
ANTI-CANCER COMPOUND 
A recent test-tube study found that olive leaf extract is a powerful antioxidant and anti-cancer agent, inhibiting the proliferation and migration of advanced tumor cell lines. When it was given orally to mice that had developed spontaneous tumors, the extract completely regressed the tumors in 9-12 days. The tumors were cut open before they completely dissolved and researchers noted that they had a crumbly consistency, and that no viable cells could be recovered from them. This study provides hope that olive leaf extract can be developed into a potent anti-tumor medicinal, and may explain the cancer-protective effects of the olive-rich Mediterranean diet.

ANTIBACTERIAL POWERS
It's no secret that the effectiveness of some antibiotics has diminished over the years. By consistently overusing antibiotics and taking them unnecessarily, several strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been created --a frightening scenario some believed could never happen. In light of this, olive leaf represents a viable antibacterial alternative against a variety of common bacterial infections. In one trial, compounds isolated from olive leaf inhibited the growth of the following bacterial and fungal strains: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus cereus, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. In laymen's terms, this means olive leaf may be effective against some of the bacteria that cause common ailments. These include bronchitis, tonsillitis, gastroenteritis, urinary tract infections and ear infections. It is worthy to note that olive leaf does not harm the beneficial bacteria present in the intestines.

ANTIVIRAL POWERS
Whilst there are antibiotics available to assist the treatment of bacterial infections, there is no equivalent for viral infections. The general 'treatment' of viral infection usually involves rest and alleviation of the symptoms. In the instance of the Herpes viruses responsible for cold sores, genital herpes and shingles, there is strong medication available to eliminate the symptomatic blisters. The virus, however, remains in the body and waits for the immune response to be compromised and then strikes again. A study incorporating, among others, the viruses responsible for herpes (all types), influenza, polio, encephalomyocarditis (heart inflammation), Newcastle's Disease and vaccina (similar to smallpox) were found to be highly susceptible to olive leaf's antimicrobial activity. 
 
The 'die-off' effect with olive leaf extract

There is one side effect, called the Herxheimer reaction or 'die-off' effect, that has been identified with olive leaf. When the olive leaf supplement kills off a large number of bacteria in a short space of time, the toxic by-products of these dying microorganisms are said to temporarily worsen the patient's symptoms. Practitioners, however, see this as positive and believe this reaction indicates the treatment is working effectively. This effect is more common in people suffering more serious and chronic conditions and even then is usually controlled by lowering the dose until the body can process the toxins of the dying infection.

Did you know?

-That some olive tree leaves contain compounds that enable the tree to live to 1,000 years.
-When taken orally, olive leaf extract may help protect the skin from UV-related sun damage. When applied topically, the extracts and oils are beneficial for hydration and rejuvenation. 

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