Olive leaf extract and kidney disease

[jbird915]

Can someone who has Alports disease and a kidney transplant of 23 years using
all the anti rejection drugs for that many years take Olive leaf extract?  He has
high blood pressure so thought that Olive leaf extract might be a good alternative
to the taking high blood pressure pills, another drug to 'not' have to take.
Please advise, thank you!

[Dipstar09]

ive had a kidney transplant for 3.5 yrs frm my father and have been taking olive leaf extract, feeling better got rid of fungus and viruses.

[bbowes]

Can you comment how much olive leaf you take? Also, comment on other natural remedies that you have used safely to keep you healthy that don't conflict with the immuno suppressants. Thank you.

[Paxiled]

This thread is pretty old, though the above comment is recent.  You might get more results if you make a new post.  Generally, unless it's part of a formula for the urinary tract, you wouldn't take this or any "anti" herb on a regular basis.  It's main use is as an anti-viral, so if you don't currently have a virus you wouldn't take it -- not sure there's any evidence it prevents one from getting a virus in the first place.  It's not an immune-system booster and you don't take immunes system boosters on a regular basis unless you perhaps have a chronic immune system problem, but olive leaf doesn't, again, boost the immune system, it has some anti-viral effect.  It's not much of an anti-fungal.  And I doubt there's much research on how it interferes with immuno-suppresssant drugs.  This would take a lot of study that you can do on your own by contacting schools of naturopathy or The American Herbal Products Association and see if there are any materials about this.  I'd also talk with a practitioner of integrated medicine who might know more about the use of both drugs and herbs.  Most docs don't know this and most herbalists don't either, they tend to live in their own worlds.  Some have crossed over, so to speak, but again, I'm guessing not a lot of research is out there -- seriously, how many people with kidney transplants are taking olive leaf?  I'm guessing not many.  Now, I don't have a transplant, but I only use olive leaf when I have a cold or other virus to shorten its duration.  

[random_dude11]

check your potassium  , calcium and magnesium levels they play a role in blood pressure management , magnisuim  acts as a calcium channel blocker in the body.

co enzyme q 10 has been proven to help blood pressure and keep the heart healthy good luck , turmeric has been show to reduce the level of inflammation markers in the body as well as transplanted organs so may be good for blood pressure and inflammation if there is any

hope this helps    

[Mishapookie]

I use Olive leaf extract on a regular basis and I have noticed several things.. and anecdoctally, the higher the dosage the more the Herxheimers Reaction, of course, I ... not having a kidney issue can take vitamin C to neutralize that reaction, but I would hazard a kidney issue might cause too much an overburden unless you started out at a small amount of olive leaf extract and very slowly build up tolerance.  Secondly, it does affect blood pressure very well for some people, not for others.  My cousin had to stop using it as her high blood pressure dropped too low when she had a kidney infection but didn't want to go to the doctor...after her first dose of olive leaf extract.  Third, it does affect sugar levels so if a person is diabetic, they need to consider the diabetes meds they are on as they can cause a stronger response than on their own.  Fourth, if having kidney issues there are many herbal supplements that people with compromised kidneys need to stay away from depending on the chemical content.  Not sure if Olive leaf extract is one of these herbals.

[LizWilson12]

Olive Leaf extract does not help that much.  

[Paxiled]

i guess you have some study that shows this.  Don't know any physicians other than the tiny number who practice integrated medicine who use olive leaf or even know what it does, so the sample size of physician use would have to be tiny, infinitesimal.  Now, if you had said naturopaths or herbalists or the like, well, maybe, but they don't have the money to do such an experiment.  Plus, olive leaf is mostly anti-viral, not that strong as an anti-bacterial agent or anti-fungal.  Other herbs would be used for that.  Not saying you don't have some material on it, it just sounds pretty implausible to me given how weak the action of the proper amount of herb would be -- you'd have to take an awful lot to get that strong an action or we would never have had to invent antibiotics.  Again, maybe you're right, I'd always err on the side of caution, and I did advise getting a professional opinion given this person's complex problems.  Just saying I'm dubious this anti-viral could cause so much die-off.

[gymdandee]

Olive leaf use causes the death of microbes. The liver, kidneys, intestines and skin. To deal with, and remove them. This causes Herxheimers Reaction, which can have a variety of symptoms, but basically makes one feel ill or under the weather due to a treatment's effect upon the body.

"Herxheimer reaction," occurs when the olive leaf components kills large numbers of harmful germs rather quickly. Then, the patient's membranes absorb toxic products from these dead microorganisms. The large amount of foreign antigens triggers an increasing immune response, in addition to interfering with usual biochemical processes, and these immune effects can temporarily worsen a person's symptoms. Physicians using olive leaf extract believe that this die-off reaction indicates that the treatment is working. Die-off therefore suggests that the patient is having an good response to a properly designed treatment program. I don't think someone with a transplant should take it!

[Paxiled]

Olive leaf isn't really the best thing for high blood pressure.  Don't have any idea why the above recommends against "the extract."  Perhaps he was misled that all extracts still have alcohol in them.  Olive leaf extract is available in an alcohol extract form, but most take it in capsule form as a standardized extract.  The amount of alcohol in this form (or any other) is minimal, because only drops are taken at a time, so it's not like drinking a lot of alcohol.  But again, taking olive leaf by itself won't do much for blood pressure.  A formula would be better.  The best I've seen is the linden mistletoe formula from Herb Pharm, but this is an alcohol extract, not a capsule.  The main herb for lowering blood pressure is hawthorn, but it works better mixed with other herbs.  Olive leaf might be one of them, but it wouldn't be the primary herb -- as a primary herb olive leaf is used largely as an anti-viral.  By making a tea out of the tincture, you can burn off most of the alcohol.  But this is something that should be discussed with a professional, perhaps a physician who specializes in integrated medicine or a naturopath working in conjunction with the specialists.  I know regular docs are hostile to natural medicine, so it will be hard to do this, but there are going to many contraindications with someone this ill that don't apply to the rest of us.  Good luck.

[gymdandee]

The best I could tell you is people with severe liver or kidney disease should avoid the extract. Try the following

http://www.resperate.com/us/welcome/index.aspx