News of the coronavirus outbreak has taken over media outlets in a flurry. While the spread is coming on much faster with Coronavirus, influenza has proved to be far more deadly up to this point.
This flu season has claimed the lives of more than 8,000 people in the U.S. alone, which is significantly more than the death toll for victims of the coronavirus around the globe. The World Health Organization estimates that the flu kills up to 650,000 people per year worldwide.
Influenza does more harm than the public acknowledges. A recent, extreme case of influenza wreaking havoc caused schools in the United States to close for a few days. An outbreak among the students eventually reached school staff and left the administration to take immediate action. It is easy to contract the flu and spread it around.
Protecting yourself from the flu is a yearly endeavor, as it hospitalizes and kills more than any other seasonal illness. Many people search for natural ingredients, supplements, and non-toxins to help the immune system. We want to look at one: hydroxytyrosol.
How Can Hydroxytyrosol Work Against Influenza?
Hydroxytyrosol, a phenolic compound, produces an antiviral effect on the influenza virus. It appears to involve a morphological change of the virus – meaning hydroxytyrosol (HT) disrupts the way the virus attaches to a healthy cell.
HT can deactivate influenza A viruses, so they become non-infective, although some of the virus remains. Additionally, subtypes of the virus become inactivated as well, including: Swine flu (H1N1), H3N2, H5N1, and H9N2. HT has also inactivated Newcastle disease virus but not bovine rotavirus, and fowl adenovirus.
Inactivation of the virus suggests that the antiviral effect of HT might require the presence of a viral envelope. The envelope serves as a protective outer layer when the virus is between host cells. HT is the key factor in making viruses non-infective.
What are the Effects of Hydroxytyrosol?
In observing the cells inoculated with the HT-inactivated H9N2 virus, neither viral mRNA nor viral protein was detected. An electron microscopic analysis revealed morphological abnormalities in the HT-treated H9N2 virus — indicating HT stopped the virus from attaching itself to a healthy cell.
Most structures found in the HT-treated virus were atypical of complete influenza cells, known as virions, and localization of hemagglutinin – a binder of the flu to a cell – which was not confined on the cell’s surface.
These observations suggest that the structure of the H9N2 virus could be disrupted and combated by hydroxytyrosol. This essentially stops the virus from taking a toll on your health and protects you from illness.
Why Should you Take Olea25® hydroxytyrosol supplement?
Olea25® is a highly therapeutic food grade polyphenol that is sourced from organic olive leaves. Olea25® contains hydroxytyrosol, a phenolic compound packed with antioxidants. It is naturally sourced from olive leaf extract with medicinal benefits from A-Z.
As explained above, hydroxytyrosol has properties that fight against the flu and stop viruses from successfully attaching to your healthy cells. HT is a phenolic compound that makes up polyphenols, which are micronutrients from plant-based foods.
As well as being rich with antioxidants, polyphenols can also aid in other health issues such as: digestion issues, weight management difficulties, diabetes, neurodegenerative disease, and cardiovascular diseases.
If you are seeking a natural aid against influenza, consider adding Olea25® to your daily supplement routine.
