What is the worst case scenario for the bird flu or just how bad could it get? A question I have always wanted the answer to. Well history is always the best teacher and we have an excellent historical teacher from 1918. The answer there is the bird flu of 1918, and that teacher is foreboding. Called the aquatic bird flu that actually started in China (sound familiar) then somehow got into Kansas not Europe. Isn't that interesting? It started among US Cavalry horses then moved to American troopers assigned to those mounts, stationed in Kansas. These Cavalry soldiers were shipped to the battle fields of Europe to take part in the fighting. Some of those soldiers arrived infected with the virus. This flu circulated throughout the densely packed cities of Europe then made its way back to America and did the same there. In a little over a years time it had run its course and 40 to 50 million people were dead.
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In 1918 the big cities like London had a million people. Today our mega cities have 10 plus million people and a very fast transport system. Any new bird flu virus can travel in infected people across the world in a matter of days.
Herb
Why can't modern medicine help us?
Scientifically Tested Olive Leaf Herb Is Known To Kill Every Virus And Germ Known To Man
Until the bird flu virus of today mutates to its human infecting form, no scientific steps can be taken to create a serum. Only then can science develop the serum and begin to make large batches. This takes considerable amounts of time and fertile chicken eggs and there are not many around. Under optimal conditions modern science takes at least 6 months, minimum. Remember I just said above, it only takes days to move the virus across the world. So even with all the pharmaceutical companies around the world creating this serum only a small part of the world's population would be protected. I hate to make this sound worse, but the virus can also mutate into other human infecting forms and other serums must be developed.
The Herbal Solution to a Bird Flu Epidemic
You can see how bad it can get and how little modern medicine can do. There has really been little progress since 1918. So what can be done to protect yourself and your family? Here is the answer that has been around for ages. Olive leaf tincture is the answer to bird flu and all other germs and virus infections. But do not take my word for it, here is some of the history of this very powerful herb and what modern science found when they looked at it.
History of Olive Leaf as Herbal Medicine
I personally believe that God was referring to the olive tree in Ezekiel 47:12, God spoke of a tree: "The fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine."
The ancient Egyptians may have been the first to put the olive leaf to practical use. They regarded it as a symbol of heavenly power, and in keeping with that belief, they extracted its oil and used it to mummify their kings. The Egyptians and later cultures also found, and there is documentation, that the olive leaf was a great herbal medicine for the relief of fevers (sounds like viral infections to me).
The knowledge of the medicinal properties of the tree (Olea europaea) date back to the early 1800's where it was used in liquid form as a very effective treatment for malarial infections. According to the 1854 Pharmaceutical Journal of Provincial Transactions, pages 353 and 354(a), the doctors at that time stated that the properties of the tree, Olea europaea, deserved more extensive investigation.
In the early 1900's, a bitter compound was found in the leaves of certain olive trees called "Oleuropein." This compound was determined to be part of the olive tree's powerful disease resistant structure. In 1962, European researchers recorded that oleuropein had the ability to lower blood pressure in animals, increase blood flow in the coronary arteries, relieve arrhythmias and prevent intestinal muscle spasms. A Dutch researcher found the chemical responsible for olive leafs healing power was elenolic acid which has strong antiviral, bacterial and antiparasitic properties.
Modern Medicine Finds That Olive Leaf is a Powerful Medicine
In the late 60's and early 70's, The Upjohn Companies' test studies were published by The American Society for Microbiology in regards to a new multifunctional monoterpene which they had isolated from various parts of the olive tree. The compound was called calcium elenolate, a crystalline salt form of elenolic acid. When they tested this compound it was found to be virucidal against all viruses for which it was tested. The compound acted effectively at low concentrations without any harmful influence on host cell mechanisms. It was also found to be extremely safe and nontoxic, even at high doses. While it worked extremely well in-vitro, it was unsuccessful in-vitro. When injected into the blood stream, the compound bound quickly to the blood serum protein and rendered itself ineffective. They were unable to overcome this problem and terminated their research. During this same period, other companies had interest in the compound and performed various tests, but also lost interest. Then in 1990, interest was renewed and the process of bringing the remarkable product Olive Leaf Extract to market began.
A safety study on calcium elenolate was laboratory tested with animals and published by The Upjohn Company in 1970. The study concluded that even in doses several hundred times higher than recommended, no toxic or other adverse side effects appeared..
Recent Australian studies show that liquid olive leaf extract made from fresh olive leaves has up to 40 times more antioxidants than even the very best extra virgin olive oils. This same fresh Olive Leaf Extract also has 5 times more antioxidant power than Vitamin C, 28 times more antioxidant power than Noni juices and 6 times more than Goji juices.
The Power of Olive Leaves
Effective against fever and helpful for nervous tension; great immune booster and viral/bacterial killer. Researchers credit a number of unique properties possessed by the olive leaf compound for the broad killing power: an ability to interfere with critical amino acid production essential for viruses, an ability to contain viral infection and/or spread by inactivating viruses or by preventing virus shedding, budding or assembly at the cell membrane, and the ability to directly penetrate infected cells and stop viral replication in the case of retroviruses. It is able to neutralize the production of reverse transcriptase and protease (an enzyme found in retroviruses that enable the virus to make DNA from viral RNA). These enzymes are essential for a retrovirus, such as HIV, to alter the RNA of a healthy cell. It can stimulate phagocytosis, an immune system response in which immune cells ingest harmful microorganisms and foreign matter.
Summary of conditions for which olive leaf extract acts as a microbial and anti-viral agent
AIDS Amoebiasis Anthrax Athlete's Foot Bladder Infection Campylobacter Chicken Pox Chlamydia Cholera Common Cold Cold Sore (herpes simplex) Cryptosporidiosis Cytomegalovirus Diarrheal Disease Diphtheria Ear Infection Ebola Sudan Virus E. Coli Epstein-Barr Virus Flu (influenza) Gastric Ulcers (from H. Pylori) Genital Herpes/Warts Giardia Gonorrhea Group B Strep Hantavirus Hepatitis A, B, C Herpes Zoster (shingles) Lyme Disease Malaria Measles Meningitis (bacterial) Meningitis (viral) Mononucleosis Pinworms Pneumonia (bacterial) Pneumonia (viral) Polio Pork Tapeworm Rabies Rheumatic Fever Ringworm Retrovirus infection Roundworm Rotavirus Infection RSV Staphylococcal Food Poisoning Strep Throat Syphilis Tuberculosis Thrush Toxic Shock Syndrome Trichinosis Typhoid Fever Urinary Tract Infections Vaginal Yeast Infections
Die-Off Syndrome
There are no negative side effects with Olive leaf extract but it does have a healthy side effect called the Herxheimer or "Die-Off" effect. Here is what takes place during a die-off effect. In the body there are microbes or viruses that somehow manage to evade the body's immune system. Upon exposure to olive leaf tincture these microbes and viruses are destroyed which is a good thing for the person. After the microbe virus death, their cell-wall proteins are absorbed through the weakened mucous membrane, which surrounds them. The body recognizes these as toxins and begins its natural processes to get rid of them. If present in too large of numbers for the eliminative system to handle, the individual may develop symptoms that include headaches, swelling in the mouth, throat, sinuses, and lymphatic's, rashes, fatigue, diarrhea, muscle/joint achiness, or other flu-like symptoms. The severity will vary from person to person, depending on the extent of their condition, the state of their immune and eliminatory systems, and how much olive leaf extract is being consumed.
The die off effect is desirable as it indicates that the body is being cleared of these hazardous microbes and viruses. Anyone who experiences these unpleasant effects generally feels fabulously well afterwards many times better than ever before.
If you feel the effects and you would like to minimize them, there are some easy things you can do. Many physicians recommend that an individual consume plenty of water in between usages of the product. Water keeps the lymphatic system and the kidneys functioning properly and more capable of handling the excess toxins. Another way to reduce the effects is to cut back on the dose of tincture that you are taking or go off it completely for a day or two before slowly increasing the dose once again. It can take anywhere from a couple of days to a week to completely rid the body of the excess toxins.
Why Olive Leaf Tincture?
A good question, and the answer makes common sense. Tinctures are made from the ground herb combined with pure grain alcohol. The alcohol acts as a solvent extracting the active healing ingredients out of the herb. The alcohol is then pressed out of the herb, all the valuable active herbal ingredients are now in the alcohol, the herbal pulp is discarded. This process can be done with one or a combination of herbs. In an alcohol tincture form the herb(s) are easily assimilated by the body to immediately begin the healing process such as killing germs or viruses.
Dosage
There is no official dose for taking olive leaf tincture even though it has been around for thousands of years of use and testing. The most popular amount for a maintenance dose is 2 droppers full twice daily on an empty stomach before meals. For conditions such as the common cold, flu, sinus infections, and basic respiratory tract infections, the dose is 2 droppers full every 2 hours. For acute infections such as sore throat, swollen glands, fever, etc., the recommendation is 3 droppers full every 2 hours.
Safety of Olive Leaf Tincture
From all indications over the thousands of years of use by professional and nonprofessional people; Olive leaf tincture appears to be an extremely safe supplement that can effectively aid the body in improving immune function and fighting infection by various microbes and viruses. To my knowledge and through my research I have not found one single negative case involving the use of olive leaf tincture.
Shelf Life
Alcohol acts as a preservative and if stored in a cool, dark place, tinctures can last indefinitely. I have herbal tinctures that have lasted 15 years and were just as strong as when I first used them. As I said above, avoid heat, sunlight, and exposure to air, and your tinctures will keep their "just picked" freshness for as long as you own them.
Caution:
Don't take olive leaf with antibiotics as they can be inactivated by olive leaf.
Don't take olive leaf with Warfarin (Coumadin) this drug can cause internal bleeding.
Olive leaf naturally relaxes blood vessels and capillaries which could increase Coumadin's side effect.
References:
The main reference for the information in this article was taken from Doctor Jack Ritchason's Book "Olive Leaf Extract" Woodland publishing, Pleasant Grove, Utah. 1999
Nature's multi-functional force against infections and cardiovascular disease? by Amanda Jackson Ph.D.
Positive Health Publications LTD 1994-2002
Handbook of Medicinal Herbs, by James A. Duke, Pub. CRP Second Edition 2007
Scientifically Tested Olive Leaf Herb Is Known To Kill Every Virus And Germ Known To Man
Paul Blake is a doctor of herbal medicine and a master herbalist. He used naturopathic medicine to treat his own case of cancer eighteen years ago. Visit Paul's website on Herbal Remedies, Natural Healing Herbs for more interesting information on improving your health, or for more information on the powerful Olive Leaf herb.