Unsolicited Anecdotal Advice:
Brought to you by Olive Leaf Extract
Before you judge me, call me some hippy-dippy-root-eating weirdo (although that's true), listen to my story.
We got the flu in December. Judah got it first and he had it for 6 days! Each of the other boys dropped like flies (except 1); me and my husband got it too. Thankfully, it was before Christmas and thankfully, we learned about this crazy little supplement.
Whenever we get sick, our first go-to is our chiropractor. We want to help our body fight sickness as naturally as much as possible. Midweek, I headed up there with 2 sick kids and 1 sick mama. My chiropractor suggested taking some of Olive Leaf Extract (OLE). It was from the maker Premier Research Lab, who we had worked closely with when we were dealing with Elijah's gut issues. So, I didn't really hesitate to grab it and give it a try. All we had were the capsules, but I put it in smoothies for the boys and made Eric and I take them.
No joke, Eric's flu lasted 15 hours. Judah's had lasted SIX DAYS! The difference was that OLE.
Manny was the only one who didn't get sick and I seriously credit it to his taking the OLE as a preventative. (I mean, any time one kid gets something, it usually dominoes through the whole family.)
For additional evidence, I submit to you my best friend's family (who also has 4 kids). They got the flu and used OLE. There flu was cut down to less than 12 hours. She just used it with a bug that went through her house last week and experienced the same thing!
Anyway, I don't sell this stuff or anything, so it truly is a Public Service Announcement. I think there is some research about OLE being anti-viral, which is an amazing feat.
Below is what we use and how we use it.
Liquid Essential Oil Form:
The bottle says 40 drops mixed in a shot of juice.
For the kids, we use 20-30 drops.
The bottle says 3 times per day
Capsule Form:
Open the capsules and put it in smoothies
Or, just take it orally like a normal pill
The bottle says 3 times per day
Zinc:
Find it and take it the minute you get sick!
You can find the homeopathic kind or something
like Zicam, which is over the counter.
The packages say every 3 hours.
If you are local, you can find this stuff at NutraFoods in Royal Oak or at the Natural Food Patch in Ferndale.
**Disclaimer** I am not a doctor. Ask your doctor if you are concerned, although for real, I think that ingesting part of an olive plant would be the most benign thing you could possibly take. If it makes you feel worse, don't be an idiot. Stop taking it. Read the packages too. Also, like I said, this is anecdotal. Take at your own risk. If you are anything like me though, you will try anything once. :)
