17 February 2009 No Comment

A friend of mine, who doesn’t take the same products that I do, told me that when he feels a cold coming on, he takes 4-5 olive leaf capsules. He told me that his daughter was sick, he popped some of this herb and that he did not catch her cold.

I’m currently in school as a single mom going through a divorce. I can’t afford to get sick now because I can’t miss any school. Besides, getting sick is no fun. My toddler son, unfortunately, picked up a cold from somewhere, and he became the sickest I’ve ever seen him. I didn’t want to get his phlegmy cough, runny nose and lethargy, so I went to the store and picked up some olive leaf capsules. I didn’t know what kind to get, so I just picked a bottle and took 3 or 4 with a meal. I also ordered a bottle from Nature’s Sunshine since I was running out of products and it was time to place an order anyway.

The Nature’s Sunshine product (Olive Leaf Extract Concentrate) ended up having nearly twice the amount of listed ingredient as the one I bought from the local store, and I know that the quality is excellent. When my package arrived, I took 3 or 4 of those a day during the week my son was sick.

So, how did I do? I had a sore throat for most of the week, and my nose started running just a tad (never so much that I had to carry tissues), but the symptoms never went beyond that. I was amazed. Four-year-olds love to climb on you and snuggle and pick their nose and then hand you food, and I didn’t get sick. I was BEAT last week, too, between all of my responsibilities. I’ve become a believer.

How does it work? Supposedly, olive leaf is good for the immune system. More importantly, it has antimicrobial properties, so it’s helpful for fighting viruses and fungal infections. Most of the products I take when I feel a cold coming on only boost my immune system, but they can’t actually fight the bug that’s attacking me and trying to make me sick. It looks like olive leaf extract is different from immune system vitamins and minerals and mushrooms.

If you give this a shot, please comment and let me know what your results are. Be sure to take it as soon as you begin noticing symptoms.