Olive Leaf Extract

[froufox]

Yes that is how I have always interpreted it too actually - whenever I've gotten cold sores after taking olive leaf Ive always thought it was a good thing because the OL is working, not a worsening as such...it feels to me like the virus is being 'brought out' or as you say activated and then being dealt with by the olive leaf. I dont get just tingling though I get full blown cold sores but Ive never thought that I was getting worse and on those occasions it definitely feels good to get a cold sore!

To me its equivalent to "catching" a cold in my case as I never ever get the symptoms of a cold so I never appear to 'catch' colds it just goes straight to chronic and when I do get those symptoms I know its my immune system waking up and is a good thing as some of my chronic symptoms improve at the same time.

Same here Garcia re the nuts I sometimes get a flare up with them if I eat too many and also chocolate in my case too which is another trigger food for the same reason because of the arginine feeding the viruses.

Thats interesting & good that the OL didnt make your POTS any worse CFS since 1998.

 

[cfs since 1998]

This is probably a good time to mention that a lot of the time I take isoprinosine I get a herpes "activation", i.e. a tingling in my lips a few minutes later. It's a strong noticable reaction. I put activation in quotes, because it doesn't feel like the kind of activation you get from immuno-suppression, but rather as CFS98 said it feels like its waking-up the virus then killing it straight away. It feels good.

Conversely if I e.g. eat lots of nuts (high in arginine) I will get a proper herpes reactivation (with no killing) and a cold-sore. That most definitely does not feel good!

Thank you for mentioning that. Who says anecdotes are worthless? When you have a bunch of patients reporting the same patterns over and over, that means something.

I felt what seemed like a minor herx for only about two days when I started isoprinosine. I think it wasn't as severe as it might of otherwise been since I was on OLE for so long.

 

[Julia Rachel]

Hi asus389:
My specialist recommended "Wild Meditteranean Oregano Oil" to lower EBV Titers. This is different than the Olive Leaf Extract. We start next month AFTER bloodwrof has been done. Our EBV Titers have not dropped below 5.0 for the period we have been on Valcyte, so we are going to try the Wild Oregano Oil. I will let folks know if it works. This is the first I've heard of the olive Extract....I had only heard of the Wild Meditteranean Olive Oil, which you buy from a place in Portland, Oregon online and it costs 29.99 per bottle, 3 drops per day, the bottle should last one person 3-5 months.
Thank You for the Info!
Julia

 

[silicon]

I just noticed this thread, and was interested since I was wondering whether I should restart myself on olive leaf extract, which I had used for a while last year. Then I saw the comments warning those with low blood pressure to be cautious. So I guess I probably should never have taken it in the first place, since my pressure is low, and even got lower last year, after being fairly stable for many years. I guess that low blood pressure is such an obscure symptom (in the non-CFIDS world), that it's rare that warnings are given! Anyway, I appreciate the information and caution expressed in this thread...

 

[aquariusgirl]

Great thread.
On brands: I quit taking anything by NSI, after the 2008 report by consumerLabs. com that found their curcumin was tainted with lead. (I did some quick checking. I believe this is accurate, but pls do your own due diligence if you have concerns.)
I do worry about quality control with supplements, esp. stuff coming from China, but I think it's hard to avoid chinese products, I heard they make 70 percent of the global production of ascobic acid. I can't remember where I heard that.
Has anyone tried L-Lysine to combat herpes viruses?

 

[froufox]

Hi Aquariusgirl,

Thanks for the reminder about lead contamination of curcumin supplements, I'm taking turmeric/curcumin and had completely forgotten about that! I dont have access to the Consumer Lab report but I found this info on a forum where they say that the only other one that was contaminated was the one by Solgar. Another thing they found was that 2 other brands contained less curcumin than was described on the label. I am taking the New Chapter one which they also investigated but that one appears to be safe (hopefully anyway!).

http://talkpsoriasis.org/showthread.php?28522-Turmeric-Curcumin-beware-of-lead-contamination

Anyway yes buyer beware!!

I have tried Lysine but probably not for a long enough period to notice a difference in my symptoms and not specifically for herpes/cold sores. I do believe that it can work for herpes though so definitely worth a try and also worth cutting back on arginine rich foods too as they can feed viruses - I have certainly found that to be true over the years. I found this old study..

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/640102

 

[aquariusgirl]

CFSsince1998
any reason why you don't combine the OLE with Valtrex?

 

[cfs since 1998]

any reason why you don't combine the OLE with Valtrex?

I don't have insurance with prescription drug coverage, and also I wanted to give the natural alternatives a try before proceeding with pharmaceuticals. Now that the patent on Valtrex has expired it's a bit cheaper, and it should continue to get cheaper as time goes on as more companies start manufacturing it. I have been considering starting it in the very near future, in a couple months perhaps.

BTW I have also stopped buying anything from NSI/Vitacost. I decided to give Natural Factors OLE a try, it seems like a quality brand, it's Canadian actually. And it's about a third cheaper than what I had been using. For some reason the capsules are really big though, and it upsets my stomach a little bit. So I don't know which is better. I still like Nature's Way for some reason.

 

[froufox]

CFS1998, just to let you know that I contacted San Francisco Herb Co recently the company that Mark Konlee mentioned in his article and they still exist and still sell whole olive leaves pretty cheaply - I think it was something like $10 for a pound. I won't be ordering from them myself though as you have to place an order for at least $300 outside of the US unfortunately.

 

[aquariusgirl]

froufoux.. problem with herbs, is how do know how much to use?

 

[froufox]

Hi Aquariusgirl, Mark Konlee gives instructions on this page (just over a 1/3 of the way down) and he reckons that 1 pound of the whole herb is a months worth - don't know how he worked that out, perhaps it was based on his observations of people with HIV and what dosage it took to make a difference clinically. I guess as with everything else whether its cap/tabs we are taking you have to experiment and find the right dosage for you. Maybe the company would have more advice..actually I'm pretty sure they said a pound for a months worth too when I rang them but it was a few weeks back now and my memory is a bit hazy.

http://www.keephopealive.org/report12.html

 

[Hysterical Woman]

I just noticed this thread, and was interested since I was wondering whether I should restart myself on olive leaf extract, which I had used for a while last year. Then I saw the comments warning those with low blood pressure to be cautious. So I guess I probably should never have taken it in the first place, since my pressure is low, and even got lower last year, after being fairly stable for many years. I guess that low blood pressure is such an obscure symptom (in the non-CFIDS world), that it's rare that warnings are given! Anyway, I appreciate the information and caution expressed in this thread...

Hi silicon,

Sometimes hard to know what to do since the blood pressure thing can be scary. Just some info that I have come across FWIW. One of my favorite books is "Herbal Remedies" by Hershoff and Rotelli. In this book they mention that olive leaf is contraindicated for people with gallbladder disease because it can cause cramps, but they don't say anything about low blood pressure. I have not done enough recent research on olive leaf to know this, but is it possible that it can lower the blood pressure for those who have high blood pressure but won't lower it past a certain point if you are low?

The reason that I ask this is because of research I have read regarding magnesium helping to lower blood pressure. In one of the clinical trials that one of the drug companies did, they claimed that their product worked better at lowering blood pressure than magnesium. They claimed this because magnesium did not lower blood pressure in people once they reached normal levels while the pharmaceutical continued to lower the pressure whether the patient had reached normal or not. Still, with blood pressure you have to be careful.

Also, I believe I have posted somewhere on this thread the problem I had with OLE in causing what my neighbor and I diagnosed as a "myclonic seizure" (neither of us are health care professionals!). I am very sensitive to lots of things: pharmaceuticals, herbs, supplements, etc. so I have to be ultra careful taking stuff. But I believe olive leaf was helping me with energy and cognitive problems and I would be taking it now if I weren't already taking inosine, artesunate, and wormwood.

Good Luck and please keep us updated on how you are doing.

Take care,

Hysterical

 

[kerrilyn]

I bought OLE (Natural Factors 500 mg capsules) on the wkend, but didn't read this thread about it and low blood pressure till now. I have low blood pressure. I haven't started taking them yet. It seems I always buy supplements and then find out more info later. Maybe I'll start at a lower dosage and go from there just in case. Does OLE have any drug or other supplement interactions?

 

[velha508]

Hi,

Has anyone experienced decreased stomach acid as a side effect of olive leaf? This seems to have happened to me and I am wondering if others have noted it also?

Thanks,
Velha

 

[Hysterical Woman]

Hi,

Has anyone experienced decreased stomach acid as a side effect of olive leaf? This seems to have happened to me and I am wondering if others have noted it also?

Thanks,
Velha

Hi Velha,

Interesting observation. I haven't seen anything on line or in books I looked in that talk about olive leaf lowering stomach acid. However, that doesn't mean it isn't happening! Why do you think it is lowering the acid?

Thanks for sharing,

Hysterical

 

[liverock]

Does OLE have any drug or other supplement interactions?

It interacts mainly with blood thinning and platelet drugs such as Coumadin and Plavix.

http://www.olivus.com/cautions_olive_leaf.htm

 

[cfs since 1998]

CFS1998, just to let you know that I contacted San Francisco Herb Co recently the company that Mark Konlee mentioned in his article and they still exist and still sell whole olive leaves pretty cheaply - I think it was something like $10 for a pound. I won't be ordering from them myself though as you have to place an order for at least $300 outside of the US unfortunately.

Mountainroseherbs.com also sells it. They have whole dried leaves as well as ground leaves, although the ground leaves have been out of stock. There are a couple of other internet sites selling it as well.

froufoux.. problem with herbs, is how do know how much to use?

I think that the goal with OLE is to get a certain amount of oleuropein, using two to four doses per day of between 200 and 300mg or so for each dose. Olive leaf powder has about 6 to 9% oleuropein, the Positive Health News link that has been posted has instructions on how to make extracts and how much oleuropein you'll end up with.

I have not done enough recent research on olive leaf to know this, but is it possible that it can lower the blood pressure for those who have high blood pressure but won't lower it past a certain point if you are low?

The reason that I ask this is because of research I have read regarding magnesium helping to lower blood pressure. In one of the clinical trials that one of the drug companies did, they claimed that their product worked better at lowering blood pressure than magnesium. They claimed this because magnesium did not lower blood pressure in people once they reached normal levels while the pharmaceutical continued to lower the pressure whether the patient had reached normal or not. Still, with blood pressure you have to be careful.

Also, I believe I have posted somewhere on this thread the problem I had with OLE in causing what my neighbor and I diagnosed as a "myclonic seizure" (neither of us are health care professionals!). I am very sensitive to lots of things: pharmaceuticals, herbs, supplements, etc. so I have to be ultra careful taking stuff. But I believe olive leaf was helping me with energy and cognitive problems and I would be taking it now if I weren't already taking inosine, artesunate, and wormwood.

That is pretty underhanded of that pharmaceutical company--but it's expected I guess. Anyway, I have taken as much as 30 capsules per day of olive leaf extract and have not had any noticeable drop in blood pressure, although I haven't measured it. Surely if my blood pressure was going down my orthostatic symptoms would be worse, and they haven't been.

I bought OLE (Natural Factors 500 mg capsules) on the wkend, but didn't read this thread about it and low blood pressure till now. I have low blood pressure. I haven't started taking them yet. It seems I always buy supplements and then find out more info later. Maybe I'll start at a lower dosage and go from there just in case. Does OLE have any drug or other supplement interactions?

Possibly diabetic medications and medications that thin the blood or prevent platelet aggregation.

Has anyone experienced decreased stomach acid as a side effect of olive leaf? This seems to have happened to me and I am wondering if others have noted it also?

I do not know about stomach acid, but I did have trouble with digestion, especially at higher doses. My food just barely digested at all. I was about to fix this problem completely by taking a probiotic in between the OLE and eating -- e.g. I take OLE, wait 45 minutes to an hour, take the probiotic, wait another 45-60 minutes, then eat... kind of inconvenient but it works very well. I think this is due to olive leaf having an antibiotic effect and killing the good bacteria. I don't know why it would decrease stomach acid, but it should be taken on an empty stomach.

 

[silicon]

Hi silicon,

Sometimes hard to know what to do since the blood pressure thing can be scary. Just some info that I have come across FWIW. One of my favorite books is "Herbal Remedies" by Hershoff and Rotelli. In this book they mention that olive leaf is contraindicated for people with gallbladder disease because it can cause cramps, but they don't say anything about low blood pressure. I have not done enough recent research on olive leaf to know this, but is it possible that it can lower the blood pressure for those who have high blood pressure but won't lower it past a certain point if you are low?

The reason that I ask this is because of research I have read regarding magnesium helping to lower blood pressure. In one of the clinical trials that one of the drug companies did, they claimed that their product worked better at lowering blood pressure than magnesium. They claimed this because magnesium did not lower blood pressure in people once they reached normal levels while the pharmaceutical continued to lower the pressure whether the patient had reached normal or not. Still, with blood pressure you have to be careful.

Also, I believe I have posted somewhere on this thread the problem I had with OLE in causing what my neighbor and I diagnosed as a "myclonic seizure" (neither of us are health care professionals!). I am very sensitive to lots of things: pharmaceuticals, herbs, supplements, etc. so I have to be ultra careful taking stuff. But I believe olive leaf was helping me with energy and cognitive problems and I would be taking it now if I weren't already taking inosine, artesunate, and wormwood.

Good Luck and please keep us updated on how you are doing.

Take care,

Hysterical

Hi Hysterical,

I think your point is well taken regarding OLE and lowering blood pressure--chances are it probably doesn't lower blood pressure when it is already low (similar to the magnesium example you gave). On the other hand, it seems that low blood pressure is a fairly obscure symptom that is rarely considered by supplement-makers, so it's easy for me to be paranoid. I also am taking a lot of supplements, and was glad to eliminate something from my program. I may revisit OLE in the future--I am currently taking a mixture of boiled Chinese herbs (from my acupuncturist)--which I imagine have all sorts of good properties (even including allegedly to raise my blood pressure, of all things, since I started complaining about it). And I am also taking inosine, and occasionally artesunate.

By the way, HW, I couldn't find your post on your "myclonic seizure"...

Peace and Health,
silicon

 

[Hysterical Woman]

Hi Hysterical,

I think your point is well taken regarding OLE and lowering blood pressure--chances are it probably doesn't lower blood pressure when it is already low (similar to the magnesium example you gave). On the other hand, it seems that low blood pressure is a fairly obscure symptom that is rarely considered by supplement-makers, so it's easy for me to be paranoid. I also am taking a lot of supplements, and was glad to eliminate something from my program. I may revisit OLE in the future--I am currently taking a mixture of boiled Chinese herbs (from my acupuncturist)--which I imagine have all sorts of good properties (even including allegedly to raise my blood pressure, of all things, since I started complaining about it). And I am also taking inosine, and occasionally artesunate.

By the way, HW, I couldn't find your post on your "myclonic seizure"...

Peace and Health,
silicon

Hi silicon,

My post referencing my possible myclonic seizure was here:

http://forums.aboutmecfs.org/showth...&p=24541&highlight=myclonic+seizure#post24541

It's just a quick statement but here is a little about the evolution of it. As I have posted before I am very sensitive to many medications/herbs/supplements so I usually try to start slow. I had have problem with herbs in extract (usually stronger) form before so when I started taking olive leaf I looked for a company that I could get just olive leaf capsules from (not extract). I found that at olivus.com and took the leaf form for a couple of bottles worth before I "graduated" to the extract. I was doing fine on the extract but was taking it right after meals.

One day in the middle of the afternoon I realized that I had not taken the herb after lunch and took it at that time on an empty stomach - big different (for me). About 30 min. after taking it I was watching TV when I noticed partial blindness in one of my eyes. For example, when I looked at the screen guide, the first letter of the name of each program was missing, I was also very dizzy and felt very spacey. I wandered out into my front yard with the intention of going over to my neighbor across the street. I felt slightly better when walking around so I continued to do that going back and forth from her yard to my yard. I did that for about 15 min. and was slightly better. I came inside and called her and described what was happening. She said she had a similiar reaction to a medication she was taking and her doc said it was a myclonic seizure. I did not follow up with my doctor so I don't know if that was it or not. I went back to taking just the olive leaf itself for a while (not the extract) but stopped when I started taking inosine and later artesunate. I am not good at taking large numbers of things at once.

That is probably more information than you wanted to know.:Retro smile:

I understand completely about being on many different things at once and being concerned about interaction. In the thread I recently posted regarding how magnesium has helped me, one of the reasons I list for magnesium having such a positive impact on me is that I wasn't on a lot of other medications/herbs/supplements that might interfere with the magnesium absorption. It also made it easier for me to identify what the magnesium was helping with.

Thread is here:

http://forums.aboutmecfs.org/showth...nsomnia-heart-palpitations-muscle-cramps-pain


Take care,

HW

 

[chrisssteeven]

I take it every morning (a large teaspoon) and in the evening before going to bed. I still get colds and other winter bugs, but they are no where near as bad as in previous years when I did not take it. I can still function and am not bed ridden.

The taste is a bit much for me, so I drink a small amount of water after having it, to get the taste out of my mouth. I use Olive Leaf Australia brand too.