Raynauds

by Karen
(Ohio)

Question:
I take thyroid meds for under-activity. I have Raynauds and normal blood pressure. Is taking Olive leaf something I should be considering?

Answer:
Olive leaf could help with some of the symptoms associated with Raynauds.

As far as hypothyroidism is concerned, I have no idea whether it will have any effect on the condition or medication or not.
If you want to try it I would suggest small doses or Olive leaf tea to start with.
You may be pleasantly surprised!

Raynaud's disease

by Manish Patel
(Atlanta, GA USA)

Question:
Is it safe to take olive leaf extract if I have Raynaud's disease ?

I am confused as I have read it in several articles that olive leaf extract is an immune booster. If this is true then how does it help in autoimmune disease?

Answer:
It is true that Olive Leaf Extract stimulates phagocytosis, the engulfing of "harmful foreign particles, bacteria, and dead or dying cell" - to quote Wikipedia - by phagocytes which are cells in our blood forming part of our immune systems.

This is different to the immune system perceiving your own cells to be invaders and attacking them.
I believe this happens when your system is overwhelmed with pathogens, causing your immune-system to release "the big guns" to put it crudely, to try to deal with the situation and causing collateral damage.

Olive leaf also targets pathogens apart from your own immune system, leaving your own cells alone in the process.

Reynaud's disease does not appear to be an autoimmune disease and as olive leaf is among other things a vaso-dilator, it may help solve the problem in more than one way.
One could try small doses to see if there are any adverse reactions, then slowly build to bigger doses to ameliorate the problem.