I firmly believe that in every locale, there are potentially medicinal plants that will be of value to you. However, it means letting go of thinking there are certain herbs that you must have – for example, in the US I had easy access to plantain, dandelion, and burdock, and it’s a mental shift for me to not feel like I need them when those were well within my comfort zone.
Here in Israel, there are olive trees all over. And I already knew that olive leaves were good for you, since I bought them a couple of years ago as part of a big herb order. Seeing the abundance of olive trees here on our very first day prompted me to learn more about how I could include this in my natural medicine chest.
First of all,a little about olive leaves (the following is from the Bulk Herb Store website, where I ordered my herbs from): Olive leaf is a natural antibiotic and antioxidant that can help or prevent many diseases. The active compounds have been reported to act as an anti-microbial agent, which slows invaders enough for the body’s natural immune system to react. It exhibits powerful anti-parasitic and anti-fungal properties that fight over one hundred viral and bacterial conditions. The result is a natural antibiotic and antioxidant with similar effects to garlic and onions… It also works to lower high blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, improve respiratory response, improve skin health, heart disease and fatigue. Olive leaf can rejuvenate your vitality and energy, enhance your immune system, supports your cardiovascular system and promote general health and well-being.
An easy way to use olive leaves is by making tea with them – just brew the leaves with some water, mix in a little sweetener, and drink up! I also used a concentrated olive leaf tea to wash down ds12’s foot when he had cellulitis. Be warned that the effective ingredient in the olive leaf is bitter, which is why I suggested sweetener!
So that’s one way to use it, but I like something even faster – having a big family means that I have to find ways to accomplish what I need to as effectively as possible. There’s also a limit to how much tea you can drink, and when you’re really under the weather, it’s likely you’d like something that will be powerful and effective, without leaving you bloating and running to empty your bladder every fifteen minutes.
Enter olive leaf tincture. (Read here to learn how amazing olive leaves are – I felt so lucky after learning all about them that I can easily harvest them for free here.) Making a tincture means that you draw out the medicinal qualities of the herb, and simultaneously preserve it for long term use. Ideally this can be done with alcohol, though in the past I’ve chosen to use vinegar and glycerin to make tinctures, since I thought my kids would prefer those flavors. Alcohol stores the best, though.
The instructions for making olive leaf extract/tincture are ridiculously easy:
1) Wash the leaves well, chop finely or shred in a food processor, then place in a glass jar.
2) Cover with 80% proof vodka. (A funny story – I asked dh to pick up some vodka at the store for me to make this. When he went to get it, an elderly Russian man approvingly commented to my husband, who tried to explain that he was getting it for medicinal purposes. I had also asked dh to pick up some lemon juice for salads, and when a little later in the store the same elderly man saw dh holding the bottles of vodka and lemon juice, the man smiled knowingly and smirked, “Right, medicinal.” )
If you’re using fresh leaves, then the ration of leaves to vodka is 1:2 or 3; ie, if you’re using 8 ounces of leaves, then you’d need to cover them with 16 – 24 oz of vodka. If you’re using dried leaves, the ratio is 1 leaves: 5 vodka.
3) Seal the glass, and let it sit in a dark place for at least two weeks, but up to six weeks. (Mine was ‘brewing’ for almost four weeks.) Shake it every once in a while and make sure the leaves are all covered by liquid; add more vodka if you need to.
4) After two weeks, you can now strain it out. If you have those wonderful amber colored dropper bottles (like I did, but gave away before we moved, sniff!), then pour it in there for easy use.
5) Use your tincture! Here’s a good site with information about how to determine your dosage.
Avivah
(This post is part of Monday Mania, Homestead Barn Hop, Traditional Tuesdays, and Real Food Wednesday.)
Thanks for posting this. We have many olive trees here in the east county of San Diego. I will definitely be giving this a try.
Hi, Nancy, welcome! It’s always fun to make use of local resources – enjoy!
That’s so empowering to use wild plants from your local area!!! I love olive leaf too, but there are no olive trees here :(……..in fact the only things wild in abundance here are dandelion and saw palmetto…..btw, I save and reuse those amber bottles. whenever I finish a tincture that was bought I reuse the bottle 🙂
I also saved my tincture bottles! Between those I bought brand new and those I had recycled, I had a good sized collection. I try not to think too much about all the things I left behind that I have to do without now, though. 🙂 Now I’m using recycled food jars instead of my canning jars, and I have very small honey jars that I’m using instead of tincture jars. It doesn’t have a dropper top, but it works.
Dandelion wine us awesome.
Thanks for stopping by Traditional Tuesdays. We have dandelion, plantain and burdock available in the yard, as well as woodland nettles. I’m hoping to get chaste berry and elderberry trees planted soon.
Hi, Kerry Ann, thanks for stopping by!
That’s great that you’re expanding the medicinal herbs you have available at home – and elderberry is wonderful! I was hoping I’d find some locally to harvest but no luck yet. In the past I made a wonderful syrup that was great for keeping the winter colds at bay. http://oceansofjoy.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/how-to-make-elderberry-syrup/
Is this safe to give to kids with all that alcohol?
The amount you give is quite small, just a few drops. But if you put it in a hot drink (eg tea), the alcohol will evaporate and there’s no issue at all.
Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasures’ Make Your Own! Monday link-up.
Check back later tonight when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts! 🙂
Thanks for making me know how to make a tincture. Soon i will make it.
Have you tried drying the leaves in a dehydrater and then grinding into powder and use in smoothies or vegie juice, I have quiet a few olive trees in my yard and am thinking of doing that, any thoughts on this. Thanks
Hi, Jessie, welcome! No, I haven’t tried that but I think it would work really well. Since they have a bitter flavor, you’d have to add in something to cover the flavor.
Hi Avivah,
for sure I will try make my own olive leaf tincture due to become an owner of 30 years old olive trees (on Istria peninsula, the northern peninsula of Adriatic sea). But I have a question: can I use “just” 40% alk. vodka ? Thanks
Hi, Jana, welcome! How wonderful that you’ll soon have your own trees! (Does that come with a home or just the trees?)
I’ve seen mixed responses on using 40% alcohol; some say it’s fine, some say that your tincture will spoil. So I don’t know what to tell you!
Hi Avivah, thank you very much for your response. I am actually local herb producer ( histriabotanica.si ) but I love olive trees, so we have them now 🙂 our house is actually 10 km away from olive trees … not so romantic …
Olive leaf recommended by friend and still to try. I have one young olive tree in a pot but need to bring indoors for winter……..scotland does not favour the olive tree.
I have a question. I’m nowhere near any olive trees but I’d love to add it to my garden. I was going to order either seedlings or seeds so I can get one planted ASAP I was just wondering if there is a specific kind of olive tree that is better than others. And there seem to be very many. Which do you use?
I don’t know about specific varieties of olive leaves, Elizabeth. When I lived where olive trees weren’t native, I bought whatever variety was being sold by the herb store at the time.