Essential oils have been around for several years, but I think that they have only recently become popular. My mom first brought them into our home when I was 14, which was 10 years ago. At the time, they were still relatively new. After we had used them and experienced firsthand their amazing healing powers, my siblings and I began to talk about them with our friends. We got a lot of weird looks and comments, but we didn’t mind much. My mom had also started making green smoothies around this time, so we had gotten used to people thinking that what we did was a bit different.
Over the years, I have continued to use essential oils and have introduced them to my husband. Recently, I was taking a peek at some and a thought struck me. What exactly are essential oils? What is the science behind them? How do they work? After doing research this week, I wanted to share these amazing natural remedies with you!
What are Essential Oils?
Simply put, essential oils are natural oils that are obtained from plants. This is done through several different distillation processes. They are distilled with either water or steam, by mechanical processing of citrus rinds, or by distillation of natural materials. After this process is completed, the oil is physically separated from the water phase. The thing about essential oils is that not all of them are equal in quality. This is due to the nature of the distillation process and whether or not the company dilutes the pure plant oil with bases or additives. For an oil to be a true, pure oil, it must be isolated by physical means only. The physical methods are the steam, steam/water and water process. The citrus and rinds process dilutes the oil and it is no longer pure. This is a reason why I recommend that you do your research and consider investing in these oils.
What is the Biological Role of Essential Oils?
The thing that I found fascinating in my research is the biological way that plants use these oils. Recent scientific studies have shown that plants produce these oils for a variety of purposes. The first is that they use these to attract bugs to help pollinate them and to disperse their pollen. Just like humans, these bugs are attracted to specific plants for their aroma, color, and physical structure. These bugs include bees, butterflies, and even beetles. The second is for preventing competing vegetation from growing in their region or area. One common example of this takes place in southern California, home to two dominant types of sage brush, Salvia Leucophylla and Artemisia Californica. Both of these plants release allelopathic terpenoids, which is the biological phenomenon by which organisms produce one or more biochemical that influence the growth and survival of those around them. The biochemical that the sage brush’s in California release are eucalyptol and camphor. Crazy right? I never knew that plants actually used the oils. I always thought that they were house in the plant, like buried treasure, just waiting to be extracted. As you can see, this is not the case!
How Do Essential Oils Work?
There are several different methods one can use essential oils. You can dilute them and apply them o the skin, inhale their aroma (aromatherapy), or ingest them by putting them in drinks or even food. The one thing that I would caution you about is that you ONLY ingest one’s that are of high grade/quality and ONLY if that company says that you can. Due to the nature of the oils, they can cause some issues if they are not of high quality. Another thing I want to point out is that some people are allergic to certain oils, regardless of the fact that these are amazing natural remedies. My sister had a severe reaction to a couple of them and she had a large rash on her arm. Due to the pain and the severity of the rash, my mom took her to see the doctor who said that it very similar to a chemical burn. I don’t want to scare anyone, but I do want to point out that anyone can have a sensitivity or reaction to anything, be it natural or conventional.
Now, on to their medicinal benefits. The most common way that these are used are in the practice of aromatherapy and rubbed on the skin. When inhaled, the aromas of the oils stimulate different areas of your limbic system, which is the part of the brain that controls mood and basic emotions. For example, if you are stressed you can put a couple drops of lavender essential oil in a diffuser to help you unwind. The second method is to dilute a couple of drops of an oil with a carrier oil and apply it to the skin. My favorite oil to do this with is Peppermint. Whenever my back hurts or my muscles are either sore or are very tight, I just apply a couple drops of this with some coconut oil on the effective areas. The result is a cool, tingling sensation and after a little bit the pain slowly melts away. It does take a bit and depending on the level of pain, I might have to apply the oil several times. But after some time, my pain subsides or goes away completely!
These are just a couple examples of the benefits of essential oils. There are so many that exist and can treat a multitude of aliments. These natural remedies are things that I highly recommend that you look into them!
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