As more and more people look to natural remedies for curing ailments, essential oil therapy is enjoying a resurgence in popularity. Essential oils have been used throughout the centuries for medicinal purposes, but it is only with the help of modern chemistry that the value can be truly understood. The ancient civilizations that used essential oils didn’t know why they worked, they just knew they did. Interestingly, pharmaceutical science has tried to replicate many of the valuable properties found in essential oils but with limited success. The natural oils are much more complex than just one chemical compound and beyond human understanding.
Essential oils can be thought of as basically the life blood of the plant. The important chemicals are found in various parts of the plant including the root, seed, bark, leaves, stems, flowers, fruit, etc. Each plant oil has valuable properties, called its chemical constituents. The constituents are affected by a host of factors, such as growing conditions, part of the plant used, geographic region, and harvesting and processing techniques. The efficacy of the chemical constituent makes it crucial that the consumer demand the highest quality oils available. Just as with anything, quality makes a huge difference. There are a few companies that manufacture essential oils to these high standards and offer only pure, effective essential oils – Nature’s Sunshine and Doterra being two.
Getting the highest quality oil possible is critical if you are planning on using these for more than “perfume”. Any natural fragrance would obviously be better than a chemical air freshener or perfume, but there are far more therapeutic uses for essential oils than just smelling good. The purest, highest quality essential oils can have benefits in aromatherapy, can be applied to the skin and some can even be safely ingested. Again, anything put in or on the body should be known to be safe and pure to avoid undesirable effects and contaminants.
How do essential oils work? It comes down to several pathways. First, the blood-brain barrier. Amazingly, there are only about 2% of all “small molecule” pharmaceutical components that can cross this. However, in order to treat brain disorders a chemical has to get across this barrier. This is where the chemical constituents in essential oils come in. One constituent called sesquiterpenes – commonly found in frankincense and sandalwood- are known to cross the blood-brain barrier, and can interact with neurotransmitter receptors like the receptors that impact positive brain chemicals like dopamine and serotonin.
Another method of positively impacting the body is through the olfactory system – or smell. It has been found in research that the limbic system is responsible for processing emotion, memory and smell. This is where the art of aromatherapy is applied to impact the emotional and cognitive well being.
A third way is absorption through the skin. Since the skin is the largest organ it can be an effective medium for getting the beneficial constituents of the essential oils into the body. Common application spots for essential oil application are on the bottoms of the feet and back of the neck. The feet are used since there are many large pores on the feet and the neck is used because of the close proximity to the nose, lungs and brain.
Of what benefit are essential oils? Many have powerful antioxidant properties. Antioxidants help destroy free radicals. This is important because free-radicals and oxidative stress can cause damage to DNA, proteins and other cells. Oxidative stress is known to be the root cause of many common inflammatory diseases. Essential oils can also have antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic, antimicrobial, antiviral, antitumor and antiparasitic properties. These can be beneficial in immune support as well as fighting many conditions caused by these invaders. Some essential oils can aid in detoxifying the kidneys and liver.
There is a lot of new research on the benefits of essential oils, as well as centuries of anecdotal evidence from our ancestors, to show that these can be an effective tool in your natural health arsenal. Stop in the Canton Fitness Center if you have questions about essential oils or other natural health remedies. We carry Nature’s Sunshine products and you can find the link to Nature’s Sunshine on the www.CantonFitnessCenter website. Start on your path to better health – Naturally!