When we say ‘immune booster’ most people automatically think of Echinacea, simply because it is one of the most advertised products on the market.  Echinacea is certainly not the be-all of immune boosters and other beneficial products are often overlooked favour of what is familiar.  Always remember when taking herbal supplements that over time the body builds up a resistance to the active ingredients and echinacea is no different..  If you have been using it winter after winter, day in and day out, then it is defiitely time to expose your body to something new.  Also, echinacea is an immune system stimulant and so should be avoided by people auto-immune issues. 

Olive leaf (Olea europaea) has the following benefits:

STIMULATES THE IMMUNE RESPONSE:
Olive Leaf activates  ‘natural killer cells’ to stimulate phagocytosis – the ‘pac man’ of the immune process that
assist the cleanup operation. 
 
KILLS VIRUSES DIRECTLY:  Olive Leaf interferes with the amino acid production needed to keep viruses alive.
It is able to inactivate viruses by interfering with virus shedding, budding or assembly at the cell membrane.
Olive Leaf is able to penetrates infected host cells and inhibit viral replication. 
 
ASSISTS THE IMMUNE CELLS:  it immobilises germs (viruses, bacteria and most disease causing pathogens) thereby decreasing the spread of the infection; it acts like an antibody that flags down the ‘killer cells’ to quickly kill the germ it has caught.
 
KILLS OTHER GERMS:  Olive leaf extract has been shown to be effective against the following microorganisms:  Herpes virus, E. Coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella, Staph, Influenza A, Coxcackie, and Candida Albicans, many other organisms: bacteria, viruses & other microbes.

FEVER REDUCING:  Historically, Olive Leaf has been used since the 19th century for lowering fevers, particularly in reducing the symptoms of Malria.
 
OTHER HEALTH BENEFITS:  Olive Leaf reduces LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure & blood sugar.  It improves blood flow the coronory vessels and can be anti-arrhythmic.  Assists  improving chronic fatigue syndrome and is a  powerful antioxidant 

Olive leaf is available in capules and tinctures