The
Essentials of Essential Oils
By Ryan Durand, DC
Most have
heard about essential oils and their potential health benefits. Today, they play an important part in the
trend towards a healthier lifestyle and are utilized for many purposes in achieving
this end. In the past, essential oils
were used for food preparation, perfume and bathing, and antibacterial agents
and medicine. Many of the ’fathers’ of
modern day medicine utilized essential oils in their care of their
patients. Both Hypocrites and Galen
utilized various combinations of essential oils in treatment of their Roman and
Greek people. Roman soldiers would even
carry a tincture of myrrh into battle with them in the event of receiving a
wound. At that time, modern medicine did
not exist. There were no tablets or
creams available to be prescribed. There are even references in the Bible to
the use of essential oils with frankincense and myrrh being possibly the most
famous being given by the wise men to Mary mother of Jesus.
Ancient
versus modern medicine
Modern medicine is the derivative of a
natural source (plant, micro- organism, etc.) concentrated down from its
original source into a tablet or pill.
Much time, energy, and resources are used to create the medicine of
today and the discovery of these drugs have shaped our modern world. There
can be no argument that the advent of such drugs has led to an increase in life
expectancy and a decrease in disease.
Research has shown that Essential oils can be as effective in treating
common place ailments today. Tea tree
oil is shown to be as effective as common place acne medications, antibacterial
to MRSA and other ’super bugs’, and for several rashes and dermatitis type
skin conditions. Sandalwood oil is
used for skin cancer prevention. Peppermint oil is effective in decreasing
irritable bowel syndrome.
Aromatherapy can reduce anxiety and pain. Thyme reduces inflammation. Lavender is used for inflammation,
anxiety and insomnia reduction. There are many more examples of the effects of
these botanicals on common place ailments but, the fact remains that these are
the purest forms of these substances.
Drugs take the component that is found to be most effective
and concentrates it into a tablet. Who
is to say that some of the lesser impactful components of that plant were not
just as vital in promoting the healing effects of the primary ingredient? With so many known side effects to drugs,
maybe, the balance is now out of whack due to most impactful ingredient not
being kept in order. Time will
tell. Whenever research compares an
essential oil to the drug counterpart for a specific ailment most often, the
drug is quicker to act but also has higher side effect occurrence compared to
the essential oil. This point should be
made that essential oils too, have side effects associated with them and proper
use and recommendations from a doctor should always be maintained.
What now?
It is always recommended that one should
consult their doctor before they make any medical changes. Never stop
taking medications prescribed to them without their doctor’s consent. Essential
oils can be an excellent alternative to prescription drugs. in some
cases, for more common place ailments, essential oils can be used in place of
OTC drugs. Many oils can be used as a
topical agent, ingested, and/or diffused in the air as mist. However, some can only be used one way and
should never be ingested, for example.
It is important to consult your doctor before use and follow the oil
instructions. The nature of their natural composition makes risk of side
effects low and, in many cases, negligible but, care must still be taken. The key to usage of essential oil is
education and purity. Many companies put out a decent product. In my experience, Young Living and doTerra are two of the higher quality brands
with reputations of having the highest quality and standards for purity second
to none. Many less expensive brands dilute their oils or add in additives
for increasing shelf life, lowering cost, etc.
If an oil truly is 100% pure, it will last many years providing it
remains pure and is not corrupted. This
would be another benefit to buying products more on the expensive side.
In summary medicine is a vital component to our health system. Essential oils have been used for centuries
and possibly before the written word as medicine. They can be utilized to treat common place
ailments in a more natural way. Care
should be taken to only take oils as they are recommended. Quality is vital to
the effectiveness of the oil with purity being of utmost importance.
References
Al-Shuneigat, J., Cox, S. D., & Markham, J.
L. (2005). Effects of a topical essential oil-containing formulation on
biofilm-forming coagulase-negative staphylococci. Letters
in Applied Microbiology, 41(1), 52-55.
Bassett,
I. B., Pannowitz, D. L., & Barnetson, R. S. (1990). A comparative study of
tea-tree oil versus benzoylperoxide in the treatment of acne. Med J
Aust, 153(8), 455-458.
Brady, A., Loughlin, R.,
Gilpin, D., Kearney, P., & Tunney, M. (2006). In vitro activity of tea-tree
oil against clinical skin isolates of meticillin-resistant and -sensitive
staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci growing
planktonically and as biofilms. Journal of Medical Microbiology, 55(Pt 10),
1375-1380.
Burt, S.
A. (2003). Antibacterial activity of selected plant essential oils against
Escherichia coli O157:H7. Letters in Applied Microbiology 36, 162-7.
Caelli, M., Porteous, J., Carlson, C. F.,
Heller, R., & Riley, T. V. (2001). Tea tree oil as an alternative topical
decolonization agent for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. The
International Journal of Aromatherapy, 11(2).
[Originally published in The Journal of Hospital Infection (2000), 46, 236-237.]
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