N u t r i t i o n   N e w s l e t t e r
"equipping you for better health choices"

Winter 2001

NATURE'S ANTIBIOTIC

"But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God;  I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever."  Psalm 52:8

The humble olive tree has always symbolized peace and tranquility.  Olive fruit has been consumed since Biblical times, olive oil a staple to some of us. Recently, the Olive Leaf has turned over an important leaf of healing.  An ancient tree entering modern medicine, as an effective antimicrobial to ward off infectious diseases. The active therapeutic agent in Olive Leaf is oleuropein. As in any herb, there are also a grouping of other synergistic components, that work together to form a strong defense.  A six percent oleuropein range is a viable and effective range to insure optimal bioavailability.  These levels are stable and allows for other active attributes to play their part in therapeutic activity.
In 1969, the Upjohn Company in Michigan, uncovered this oleuropein.  It stopped the growth of every virus, bacteria, fungus, yeast and protozoon, they tested (Diseases, 2nd edition, Springhouse PA: Springhouse Corporation, 1995, p. 145).  Pretty impressive!  The Upjohn people identified a new constituent in Olive Leaf, which was calcium salt of elenolic acid, marked in chemistry as calcium elenolate. The Upjohn Company being the pharmaceutical giant that it is, wanted to patent this new "plant drug."  It would be oleuropein's calcium elenolate compound.  But no virucide patents were available (Walker, Morton, Dr. Olive Leaf, p. 41).  Some of the very impressive dead microbes were: coxsackievirus,( an infectious disease with infantile paralysis or meningitis, thought to be caused by a virus, and in most cases clears up), the parain-
fluenza 3 virus, the herpesvirus, the pseudorabies virus, vesicular stomatitis virus, encephalomyo- carditis virus, Newcastle disease virus, poloivirus, and the Sindbis virus.  For a more in-depth study, see cited Disease , 2nd edition. Another good trait for this Olive Leaf is it's safety.  No adverse side effects has been found in toxicity testing on animals or human subjects (Elliot, G. A.;  Buthala, D. A.; De Young, E. N. "Preliminary safety studies with calcium elenolate, an anti-viral agent."  Antimicrobical Agents and Chemotherapy 173-176, 1969).

OLIVE LEAF LEAVES AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT

A most remarkable trait that this oldest living species has is it's ability to change with it's environment.  When it is dry, the leaves on the trees curl inward to save the moisture.  When rain comes, the leaves open  to a flat
posture.   The olive tree, Olea europae, is resistant to insect and other microbe attack.  A unique immunity to such an attack, is given  because of certain biochemical, called glycosides,  These glycosides are death to invaders (Asaka Y.; Kamikawa, Tk.; Sakamoto, H. "Structures of seco-iridoids from Ligstrum obtusifolium."  Chemical Letters 00: 141-144, 1972). Added resistance comes from the foliage and good amounts of oleanolic acid, which sets up a protective barrier to unwanted microbes. We have all heard the saying, "fifty is not old for a tree." Well, how about eight hundred years old? On the Mediterranean coast, in Europe, and in Africa trees tower to a grand old age.  This age ranges from three hundred to eight hundred years old.  WOW! But the best fruit is said to come from a young tree of eighty years old.  So see, eighty is prime (Walker, Morton, Dr. Olive Tree Extract, pp62-63).

OLIVE LEAF AND AIDS

An encouraging report in Positive Health News, written by Mark Konlee, he states, "Protease inhibitors are rapidly bringing new hope and breathing new life into people with AIDS (PWAs long exhausted by AZT monotheraphy (Knolee M. "Protease inhibitors-Back to Eden."  Positive Health News 11:2, Spring 1996)."  Protease inhibitors are substances that stop the viability of enzymes.  These catalysis agents break down toxins from human immunodeficiency virus, also break down tissue protein, thus breaking down muscles, ligaments and general skin tissue. 

Wanting to stop these destructive enzymes, olive leaf is equipped to halt these enzymes.  In 1996 the PWAs found that olive leaf was a natural protease inhibitor. Patients used four capsules daily, results varied, some HIV patients overnight relief, especially with painful lymph nodes. Increased energy was always observed, and most convincing were the laboratory tests showing a lower HIV count, and in some cases a nondectectable count ("Scientist reports that HIV in the presence of HHV-6A replicates 10 t0 15 times faster."  Positive Health News, Report No. 10, Winter 1995, p.11).

For more in-depth reading see Chapter 8, in
Doctor Morton Walker's book, Olive Leaf Extract.

Olive Leaf can be purchased under immunity section.

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