Olive Leaf has strong yeast, farasite, and virus fighting properties
Olive Leaf: Uses & Benefits
Updated Jun. 18th, 2024 | Read Time: 2 Minutes | What You Will Learn:
- Top Health Benefits of Olive Leaf
- Quality Olive Leaf Supplement Varieties
- Cautions & Considerations
- Nutritional Information
- Reader Comments (6)
Olive is best known for its use in the kitchen as oil. However, the leaves of the plant are a good addition to the medicine cabinet. The extract of the leaf has been found to have antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and antiparasitic activity. Even new emerging viruses, like SARS, seem to be inactivated by compounds in olive leaf. It interferes with the microbe’s use of amino acids so that they cannot grow and multiply.
Top Health Benefits of Olive Leaf
Olive leaf also promotes the growth of beneficial organisms in your gastrointestinal tract, probiotics. Probiotic organisms protect us from infections with harmful microbes. The leaf is similar to the oil in that it has benefits for cardiovascular health by lowering blood pressure. It also has a beneficial effect on the high blood sugar levels that are seen in the condition of diabetes.
This extract may be recommended for decreasing colds, yeast infections, parasitic infections like tapeworm, hookworm, flatworm and roundworm, viral infections, bacterial infections, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Quality Olive Leaf Supplement Varieties
This extract is found as an encapsulated herb or liquid extract. These products should be standardized as an assurance of the amount of active ingredients they contain. This extract can be found in combination products for immune boosting, candidiasis, blood pressure regulation, heart health, and blood sugar control.
Cautions & Considerations
Diabetics, hypoglycemics, individuals on hypertensive medication and individuals with gallstones should use olive leaf supplements with caution.
My husband and my sister use olive leaf in place of oregano oil when he feels something coming on (like flu). They have found it to be most helpful. Some years ago my sister tested positive for a throat bacteria, being allergic to antibiotics, she took the olive leaf. After retesting in the lab, the hospital found no trace of the bacteria. Scientific enough for her to continue using it.
Hello Ladine,
Olive leaf is an excellent immune boosting supplement, much like oil of oregano and can be taken at the onset of cold and flu symptoms. Thank you for sharing your sisters experience with this supplement. It's always best to seek medical attention when dealing with a bacterial infection; however it's great to see she was working with her doctor. Probiotics are also an important part of maintaining good health when taking supplements such as these. Here's our article on probiotics that you may enjoy.
https://www.nationalnutrition.ca/articles/supplements/probiotics/
Have a healthy day!
Can you please explain how “Olive Leaf can aggravate gallstones” as noted in the Important Information area of your article?
Hello CJ,
Thank you for your question. Olive leaf extract contains compounds, such as oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol, which can stimulate the gallbladder to release bile. If someone is prone to gallstones, this increased release of bile may lead to increased cholesterol saturation in the gallbladder, potentially contributing to the formation of gallstones.
Moreover, gallstones are often formed when there is an imbalance in the composition of bile (though most gallstones are made up of cholesterol or bilirubin.) The excess release of bile that can result from olive leaf extract may potentially increase cholesterol concentration in the gallbladder, which can lead to the precipitation of cholesterol crystals and the formation of gallstones.
We hope that helps answer your question. If you'd like to learn more about gallstones, check out this article as well: https://www.nationalnutrition.ca/articles/health-concerns/gallstones/
Have a healthy day.
Wow! I had absolutely no idea that olive leaves had a place in the mdicine cabinet as well as the kitchen table. It is fascinating that even new, emergent viruses-including SARS!!!- have been shown to be inactivared with olive leaf. It is an amazing one-two punch that olive leaf also acts as a prebiotic/pobiotic support. I will have to do some more reading on olive leaf because it sure has some interesting (and health relevant!) effects
Hello Rachel,
Indeed, many items that are great for the kitchen also have a place in the medicine cabinet as well, after all food is thy medicine. We're thrilled you enjoyed learning about olive leaf and its advantages to health.
Happy learning!