Essential Oils - Powerful Therapeutic Agents

Published: Wed, 09/21/11

 
 
 
Sponsored by: The School of Natural Healing & Christopher Publications
September 21, 2011
 
Essential Oils - Powerful Therapeutic Agents
By Riley Alexander M.H. - Utah
 
Truthfully, my first experience with essential oils wasn't very fun. I was in 5th grade and I took a bottle of Cinnamon oil to school to finish a project with some friends. None of us 5th graders knew anything about essential oils let alone essential oils high in phenols (oils like cinnamon, clove or oregano) and let's just say the situation didn't turn out very well! That was the day I learned a valuable lesson...Use oils with caution!

Essential oils have been called the spirit, soul, essence or lifeblood of a plant and have been used medicinally and therapeutically throughout history. In a nutshell, essential oils are aromatic and potent liquids extracted from various parts of plants using heat, water, pressure, chemicals, gas and/or other liquid. However, the quality and therapeutic value of an essential oil varies widely due to the extraction method(s) used, and of course the quality of plants used, which can vary with conditions like location, weather, altitude, soil and species.

Although Dr. Christopher didn't talk much about essential oils, he knew how powerful and beneficial they were. In one lecture while explaining how to make a peppermint tea, he mentioned that the lid must be left on the pan while steeping the tea or the "volatile oils" (essential oil) would escape with the steam and in this case much of the value was in the oil.

Not only do most essential oils smell good (notice I wrote most oils for those of you familiar with valerian oil), but they work for us on a subconscious level. For example, when we smell an essential oil, the olfactory nerves which are cranial nerves (nerves that originate directly from the brain) located on the roof of the nasal cavity pass along sensations as nerve impulses straight to the brain from the nose. So although we may just be thinking "this smells good" it can be benefiting us as well!

Just like any other product on the market there are variances between the qualities of these oils. So it's important to have trustworthy sources and ask questions if needed. Here are some quick tips on things I have learned over the years when it came to finding the right oils. Don't worry, you're not taking tips from the 5th-grade-Riley.
  1. Avoid "food grade" essential oils if you're using oils therapeutically. Think of essential oils like olive oil, the best olive oil comes from the first pressing of the olives. Each pressing afterword leads to a decline in the quality of oil. The same goes for essential oils and distillations. Food grade oils, meant for internal use are not 1st distillations and will not yield the same results as 1st distillations. The most commonly redistilled oil is likely peppermint as it changes its smell.
  2. Be aware of which oils are "absolute" or "concrete" essential oils like Jasmine for example, as they have been solvent extracted and usually immersed in acetone or a petroleum byproduct. Marcel Lavabre (author of aromatherapy workbook) wrote, "Unfortunately, such oils always contain some traces of solvent and are therefore not suitable for aromatherapy...they should not be used for aromatherapy."
  3. Lastly, use only essential oil deriving from a single species to assure cheaper species have not been added to dilute a more expensive species that share similar smells.
To wrap it up, essential oils when used correctly are safe, effective and make perfect additions to any natural regimen for supporting better health. Plus... they smell awesome!
 
Riley Alexander is a Master Herbalist Graduate from the School of Natural Healing who has also received his certificate in aromatherapy and is now studying for his certificate in iridology. Riley currently works for Wholistic Botanicals (Manufacturers of all Dr. Christopher's formulas).
Herb Walk with David Christopher M.H. - Sept. 24th
Master Herbalist & Director of The School of Natural Healing, David Christopher is going to lead a local herb walk Saturday, September 24th, 2011 at 11:30am in Springville Utah. The plants are especially beautiful this year with all the rain we have had. We look forward to seeing you there.
 
Those interested in participating please meet in Ginger's Cafe (Main Street, Springville, UT). The cost is $20.00 for students and $40.00 for non-students. To sign up and for further questions please contact The School of Natural Healing: 1-800-372-8255.
 
Come meet us in Salt Lake!
Come hear David speak and visit the Staff of The School of Natural Healing at one of these two events. There will be great Special Events pricing and packages! We look forward to meeting you!
  • Salt Lake City, UT October 7-8, Self-Reliance Expo. David will be a featured speaker Friday and Saturday.
  • You can find us in booth #312.
Christopher Publications Affiliate Program & Newsletters
We are excited to announce that Christopher Publications has started an affiliate program - allowing you to earn money when you refer people to our website.  For details and to sign-up... click here. 

For many years Dr. Christopher published a monthly newsletter that covered everything from heart troubles to back pain; garlic to alfalfa and everything in between.  These publications were not available for many years, but Christopher Publications has scanned all of them in and they are now available for you to download instantly. For more information or to purchase the newsletters... click here. 

Healthy Maple Nut Ice Cream   
 
Submitted by Yvonne Salcido MH - "The maple nut ice cream is a family favorite! I made it up and it has been voted our #1 dessert.  The cashews make it creamier, but if you don't have them it works well without too and of coarse you can use walnuts... personally I like to mix them!"
 
Ingredients:
10-12 Pitted Dates
1/2 C. Pure Maple Syrup
1/2 C. Raw Cashews
Almond Milk or Raw Goats Milk
3/4 to 1 C. Chopped Pecans
 
Directions:
Soak Dates and Cashews in 1 cup Almond Milk for a couple hours. Put all ingredients in Vita-mix then fill to 4 cup line with almond milk and blend. Stir in chopped Pecans. Pour in ice cream maker to freeze!
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