CAN ESSENTIAL OILS HELP YOU MANAGE CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS?
A look into Aromatherapy and how it can help you manage your chronic health conditions.
Chronic health conditions affect people all over the world and like me, they are searching for ways to help manage these conditions, there is hope – by bringing yourself back to balance with essential oils.
Essential oils have been used since ancient times as natural remedies to enhance your health and well-being. According to Dr. Eric Zielinski D.C. since the mid 1990's there has been thousands of research studies that have been conducted, and that science has finally caught up with what our ancestors knew all along. That plant base volatile organic compounds (essential oils) contain wonderful medicinal properties that can help keep our families free of sickness and disease.
Have you ever heard the term "Forest Bathing" ? This term was new to me too. I am an aromatherapist and I love reading all I can about aromatherapy so I picked up this book by Dr. Zielinski called "The Essential Oils Apothecary". In the book he talks about a presentation he watched that introduced "forest bathing" (the ancient Japanese practice of simply "being in nature") to people in Western civilization. Shinrin-yoku (shinrin meaning "forest" and yoku meaning "bath" in Japanese) refers to immersing yourself in the forest atmosphere and enjoying nature. The key to Shinrin-yoku is to connect with nature through your five senses. Forest bathing exposes you to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are being released into the air by the surrounding trees and plants. VOCs are the active chemical components emitted by the plants and flowers that gives them their distinct aroma. They are commonly referred to as "essential oils". Shown in multiple clinical trials, natural VOCs in nature have profound, measurable effect on enhancing immune function by increasing the quantity and activity of natural killer cells called white blood cells. Our white blood cells are a component of the first line of defense against tumors, inflammation and viral infections. If your not near a forest just by burning essential oils in your home your literally your bringing the outside in.
I don't know about you but I want to get back to nature. So if your on the search for less pharmaceuticals and are looking for a more natural solution then I would dive into learning more about aromatherapy.
Bring yourself back to balance with essential oils.
If you or a loved one have ever had to deal with chronic physical pain or illnesses you will know the battle and the frustration of not getting better. Chronic disease can lead to emotional ailments like fear, sadness, depression, stress and even spiritual pain. Suffering from chronic illness on a daily basis can be a real struggle. Sure there are medications available but they only alleviate the symptoms leaving you with some side effects of those medications and some don't even work that well. At the core of all chronic disease is the root mechanism, not the cause, the root mechanism is inflammation. What causes inflammation you may ask? There are a number of things, the root cause can be diet, stress, trauma which can trigger an emotional mental inflammatory response to it. There a lot of things that can cause inflammation. Look at body care most are filled with with chemicals and breathing in toxic chemicals known as artificial fragrances that triggers neurological inflammation. Essential oils by nature are anti-inflammatory and can help people manage the root cause and this could help you reduce your risk for chronic disease. There is nothing on our planet that has medicinal therapeutic effects and has such a profound immediate impact of the bodies physiology with zero side effects if used properly, like we see in essential oils. Essential oils should be in everybody’s medicine cabinet.
What are some risk factors of Chronic disease?
The leading chronic diseases arthritis, cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic fatigue, COPD, fatty liver, obesity, osteoporosis, sleep disorders, and type 2 diabetes are linked by common and preventable risk factors, according to the CDC and other global health authorities, including the following:
Tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.
Inadequate, unbalanced, nutrition, including diet, low in fruits and vegetables, and high in sugar, sodium, and processed foods.
Sedentary lifestyle
Alcohol abuse
There are other risk factors for chronic diseases that have emerged from major landmark studies. Chronic inflammation, toxic burden, genotoxins, over sanitization, stress, EMF exposure, comorbidities, social isolation and leaky skin!
Three ways to harness the therapeutic properties of essential oils.
You can use essential oils in three basic ways. You can inhale them, apply them to your skin or ingest them (I wouldn't use this option with essential oils, I prefer ingestion hydrosols). Inhalation is one of the oldest forms of aromatherapy and arguably the safest. Essential oils that are burned throughout the room are relatively risk free and in most cases are safe for people of all ages. Inhaling essential oils is the fasted route into the body for essential oils. When you breathe in essential oils VOCs the molecules are absorbed by the hairs inside your nostrils that have receptors, these then send a signal to your into the olfactory bulb in your limbic system. The amount that gets absorbed depends on the essential oils ‘bioavailability’, anywhere from 30% - 70% is actually absorbed into the body. The limbic system is a small part of the brain that deals with memories, emotions and stimulations. The hypothalamus is one of the most important and relevant parts of the limbic system, because this is where hormones are formed. These chemicals control important bodily functions like water percentage in the body, your sleep cycles, body temperature and food consumption. Here are some ways you can experience inhalation you can use an ultrasonic water diffuser, or for more direct effects can be obtained by using a nebulizer. You can breathe in steam directly by using a bowl, hot water with a few drops of essential oil, then put a towel over your head, (close your eyes so the oils don't burn them) and inhale the steam. You can inhale straight from the bottle or add a few drops of e.o. a tissue. A fun way to add oils into the air is by making your own essential oil room spray, if you haven’t made one yet. You should give it a try. Keep reading below for a simple recipe and start cleansing your air.
Topical use is another way to experience the benefits of these amazing oils. Instead of breathing in the air droplets of these oils topical use is much more direct to inhalation. This is a very targeted way of using the Oils, as you will apply them exactly where you need support. For example, if you have any type of digestive discomfort, you can apply essential oils on your stomach, with a carrier oil of course. There was research that shows that once essential oils are diluted and applied to the skin, the individual components can be detected in the blood stream with in 5 mins. Wow! Super fast! If you are wanting to know a proper way of diluting essential oils check out "How to dilute essential oils for safe use". With the topical application, the oil is absorbed through the layers of your skin, while inhalation moves quickly through the thinner mucus membranes. Knowing your oil and the goal you have in mind can help you determine which application is more appropriate.
Internal use of essential oils is the most controversial way of taking oils. Many essential oils are safe for ingestion. Let me mention that many Aromatherapy's believe essential oil should never be ingested, and most will suggest to only train professionals utilize internal methods. I am in aromatherapist and I prefer ingesting hydrosols instead, its a much safer route that so many people can take advantage of. Did you know that the flavors of your favorite coca cola or flavored ice cream contains essential oils? It is a matter of dosage, the most basic forms of ingestion is in culinary doses. Take cinnamon for example. You could use cinnamon bark essential oil in a cake batter, but you would only need one drop for the whole batch versus a teaspoon or more of the bark powder. Another common internal preparation is to combine it into a drink. Remember that oil and water do not mix, so simply adding one drop to water will leave that drop undiluted. Some oils are irritants, and all oils are very strong, so it's best to be safe and dilute it first into some coconut milk, honey (beware on adding e.o.'s to anything that is liquid, I made a honey cough syrup by adding essential oils to the syrup, then taking a teaspoon full. It's still burned my throat.) If it was me I would just stick with hydrosols because its a floral water and will blend extremely well with water or another liquid.
Let's stop with the toxic lifestyle!
Using essential oils, while living a fast food lifestyle is like taking one step forward and two steps back. In other words, for essential oils to help you enjoy abundant health and wellness, free from chronic disease, it is vital to use them within the context of a healthy lifestyle by creating a toxin, free home, even down to your emotional and spiritual well-being. I am going to give you a few simple recipes to help you start to free yourself and family from toxins.
SWEET EARTH SPRITZER RECIPE
10 drops organic 190-proof grain alcohol
5 drops cardamom essential oil
5 drops Palo Santos essential oil
5 drops a pink pepper, essential oil or pepper if you have it
5 drops of vetiver essential oil
10 drops witch hazel
Distilled water, as needed
Mix green alcohol, Essential, oils and witch hazel in a 1 oz bottle.
Fill with distilled water and shake gently to mix well.
Use, as you normally would an aerosol spray for an invigorating, aromatic escape into promote overall health and vitality.
These essential oils also work great in a diffuser just one drop of each oil to your diffuser.
BASIC BODY OIL RECIPE
(You can pre-make the base oils below the add 1 oz of the blend to your essential oils)
54 ounces organic virgin coconut oil melted
16 ounces organic sweet almond oil
8 ounces jojoba oil
4 ounces vitamin E oil
Mix base oil with your choice of essential oils
12 drops essential oils of your choice
In a glass bowl, mix the base oil and essential oils thoroughly.
Use as a moisturizer or body or massage oil.
Store any leftover oil in a glass jar or lotion container.
SLEEPY TIME TEA RECIPE
1 tablespoon. A.H. (Aromatherapy Hydrosol) German chamomile
1 teaspoon A.H. Angelica
1 teaspoon honey
One slice of fresh lemon
Put Hydro sauce, and honey in a mug, fill with hot, not boiling, water, and add the lemon slice.
You can also add German chamomile hydrosol to hot milk, but omit the lemon. This is especially good for people with peptic ulcers.
Sip and have a restful sleep. Good Night.
I hope that this post inspires you to move towards a toxic free life style and you start to feel that you have an active roll in how you feel. That there is hope! Let's drop what is not serving us to live an abundant life and utilize what God provided us on this earth. Until next time my friends where next week we will dive into more ways to add these VOCs to our everyday life.