How to Make an Olive Leaf Extract Tincture to Prevent Illness
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Wanna learn how to prevent and treat colds, flu and other sickness without going to the doctor? Keep reading to learn to make an awesome herbal tincture that will do just that!
It’s October and not only is it “autumn” or “fall”, but it’s also the season of sickness!!
I don’t care how much you seclude yourself on your homestead, but eventually you have to go to town and be around people, right??
And with being around people comes the inevitable exchange of germs…..
Years ago I started on a journey of learning more about natural and herbal methods to combat our regular rounds of colds and flu (and doing anything that might help Reece, our autistic son!)
I “discovered” a wonderful herb that we have used for over ten years now to help prevent and and treat the viruses and bacteria that we all get exposed to by living in this big ol’ world…
Olive Leaf Extract
The benefits of olive leaf extract are well documented and numerous.
According to the Olive Wellness Institute
- In vitro and animal studies show that olive leaf extract has some potential activity against the influenza virus 6
- Research suggests that olive leaf extract may reduce the infectivity and inhibit the replication of viruses that cause colds, influenza and lower respiratory tract infections – further clinical trials in humans are needed to validate these findings 6
- Olive leaf extract has been shown to stimulate phagocytosis – which may enhance the body’s response to a viral infection 6
- Gargling olive leaf tea may alleviate symptoms of a sore throat – potentially due to a reduction of inflammation and viral infectivity 6
- Possible antimicrobial effects in the gastrointestinal tract 18
- Evidence shows general antibacterial and antifungal activity 19
Not to mention it has anti-cancer properties, is anti inflammatory and may help with a host of health issues!
According to Webmd, olive leaf is used for treating viral, bacterial, and other infections including influenza, swine flu, the common cold, meningitis, Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), encephalitis, herpes, shingles, HIV/ARC/AIDS, and hepatitis B. Olive leaf is also used for pneumonia; chronic fatigue: tuberculosis (TB); gonorrhea; fever; malaria; dengue; “blood poisoning” (bacterial infections in the bloodstream); severe diarrhea; and infections in the teeth, ears, and urinary tract, and infections following surgery. Other uses include high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes, hay fever, improving kidney and digestive function, and increasing urine flow.
There was even an article on the Fox News site about the benefits of olive leaf extract!
Need anymore convincing??
Seriously, though, when our family takes olive leaf extract every day during the prime sickness months, we rarely even come down with a cold. If we slack off and start to feel the symptoms, if we take big dosages of it for a few days, usually the cold doesn’t even manifest itself and we move on with life.
But….
If we don’t take olive leaf extract regularly, we inevitably get sick just like everybody else!
For those of us who can swallow pills, we prefer the Seagate brand of olive leaf extract. It’s pretty reasonably priced. I usually pick it up at our local health food store, but it is available on Amazon 🙂
This bottles has 90 capsules. For a maintenance dose, we take 3 capsules a day. If we feel something coming on (tickle in our throat, drainage, etc) then we take 9 a day, 3 pills 3 times a day.
But, what do you do if you don’t like to swallow pills or you have kids who can’t swallow pills yet??
You buy or make a tincture 🙂
Here’s the liquid found on Amazon:
I prefer to make my own, though!
It’s much cheaper and according to Lindy, it tastes A LOT better!
So, here’s how you make an olive leaf extract tincture… (this method works for basically any herb that you want to make a tincture out of)
Step 1: Fill a quart mason jar about 3/4 full with the olive leaf herbs. I buy my olive leaves here. You don’t need to pack them in the jar.
Step 2: Fill the jar the rest of the way with vegetable glycerin.
Step 3: Screw the a regular metal canning lid and ring on the jar.
Step 4: Put a hot pad or small towel in the bottom of your crock pot.
Step 5: Place the quart jar on the hot pad in the crock pot.
Step 6: Fill the crock pot all the way with water. Ideally, if you have a tall crock pot, your jar should be submerged, but with oval crock pots, that may not happen, but fill it is full as you can.
Step 7: Put the lid on and turn the crock pot on low. If the lid won’t fit, place some foil and a towel over the top of it.
Step 8: Let it sit in the warm crock pot on low for 3 days. MAKE SURE YOU KEEP AN EYE ON THE WATER LEVEL! ADD WATER AS NEEDED- DO NOT LET IT RUN DRY OR YOUR JAR WILL EXPLODE! *Sidenote- I know this from *ahem* personal experience…
Step 9: After three days, strain the herbs out of the vegetable glycerin. I like to use a tea towel over a large bowl. It will be hot and very viscous, so be careful 🙂 *Update- this time around I used a metal strainer. There were some small pieces of olive leaf that made it into my tincture, but I’m not going to worry about it.
Step 10: Place your new olive leaf extract tincture in a glass jar and keep it in a dark cupboard. It will keep forever! (Well, not quite, but I use mine for a year or two!)
I like to store the bulk of mine in a quart mason jar, but then pore small portions of it, as needed, in a dark brown bottle with a dropper. It makes it very easy to give to my kids!
As far as dosages, this is what I do-
When Lindy was a toddler, I gave her about 3/4 of a dropper full every night before bed. If she started coming down with something or we had been exposed to sickness, I gave her that amount 3 times a day.
As she has gotten older and bigger, I have increased her dose accordingly. Generally speaking, I want her to take about 3 dropper fulls before bed (she weighs about 75 lbs and is 12 1/2 years old). Again, if she feels the symptoms of something or we’ve been exposed, I make her take that amount 3 times over the course of the day for a few days (until symptoms pass or we feel like the threat of whatever germs we may have been around is over).
Now, I will say this- we live in a fallen world and illness abounds and will always be around until Jesus comes back 🙂 So, this won’t cure or prevent EVERYTHING, but it will minimize how sick you and your family get this winter!
What herbs or supplements do you like to utilize this time of year to prevent or treat sickness??
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Thank you for the information on how to make olive leaf extract. I have an olive tree in my yard, and I am going to try it. Very informative!
You are so lucky!! I wish we could grow olive trees here….
Thanks for the information. I purchase my Olive Leaf Extract directly from the Seagate website. You can buy one and get one free. I buy the 250 capsules bottle. It’s the best price I’ve found. It has helped my wife tremendously. One time she was putting together gift baskets and used Spanish moss, which is a fungus, in the basket. A day later she started having issues with breathing and affecting her sinuses. She used the olive leaf and within a couple of days she was completely over her reaction to the fungus. Olive leaf has saved me from food poisoning on several occasions.
https://seagateproducts.com/collections/monthly-specials/products/olive-leaf-extract-450mg-250-v-caps