Tincture of Black Leaf

Olive Leaf

Olive Leaf

Olea europaea · the leaf that keeps the tree healthy

If you've ever wondered how olive trees live for centuries, shrugging off pests and disease, the answer is in the leaf. People have reached for olive leaf for a very long time: for sore throats and the miseries that come with colds, flu, and pneumonia, and for the stubborn yeast and fungal troubles like Candida, systemic yeast, and leaky gut. It also pairs well with Mullein when the trouble is in the chest.

The history is a good story on its own. In Biblical times, olive leaf was believed to have remarkable healing properties. By the Colonial era it was being used against tropical fevers like malaria and dengue; a "tea" made by boiling down olive leaves was a well-known home recipe in 1850s England for travelers coming home from the tropics. Eventually scientists isolated the substance responsible and named it oleuropein. It turned out to be the very compound that makes the olive tree itself so hardy.

By the 1960s, researchers had traced oleuropein's active ingredient to elenolic acid, and studies since have pointed to a whole host of benefits: increased cardiovascular flow, lower blood pressure, calmer heart rhythm, lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, lower blood sugar, and fewer muscle spasms. On the microbial side, olive leaf was found to be extremely effective against harmful bacteria and parasitic protozoa, and in the lab it stopped the replication of every virus tested against it.

Black Walnut hull

Black Walnut

Juglans nigra · from the green outer husk

Not the nut you'd put in a brownie. What we use is the green outer husk, the part most people throw away, because that's where the good stuff lives. Black walnut behaves a lot like olive leaf in its antimicrobial action, and the traditional understanding is that it oxygenates the blood, which is how it is said to make life hard for parasites. The Chinese have used black walnut extract for centuries against tapeworm. The husk is also rich in a natural, organic form of iodine, which is where its old reputation as an antiseptic comes from. Taken internally it has long been used for constipation, and it's one of the herbs people reach for first when the trouble is fungal or parasitic. (The NIH has a good summary of the health benefits of walnuts.)

On the skin, it has a long folk history too: eczema, psoriasis, herpes, impetigo, acne, dandruff, itch, boils, shingles, and fungal conditions like ringworm. It's been used as a gargle for sore throats, relaxed uvula, hoarseness, tonsillitis, and similar ailments. And it is a famous vermifuge, which is the old word for something that helps clear worms and parasites out of the gut.

Cayenne

Cayenne

Capsicum annuum · the fruit of a tropical shrub

Yes, the same pepper that's in your spice rack. Cayenne comes from the fruit of Capsicum annuum, and folk medicine has leaned on it for fevers, sore throats, chest infections, asthma, and upset digestion. More recently, studies have shown it can reduce the risk of developing arteriosclerosis by lowering blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and parts of the world where people eat cayenne every day show far less cardiovascular disease. Its best-known ingredient, capsaicin, is widely used for everyday aches (arthritis, for instance) because it works on both inflammation and as a nerve-blocking agent. Heart health, toothache, and clearing stuffy mucous membranes round out its traditional uses.