Essential Oils
What is an Essential Oil?
As with other plant-based medicine, essential oils have had a resurgence in popularity recently. However, similarly to herbs, they have existed as part of traditional culture for thousands of years. Used in medicinal therapy, aromatherapy, religious ceremonies, beauty treatments and of course food preparation; Essential oils are an integral part of Ayurvedic practices as well as playing a dominant role in Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Iranian, Chinese and Western Culture. Rene Gattefosse, a French chemist, is credited as the first to coin the phrase “aromatherapy” as he studied and researched essential oils thoroughly in the 19th century.
Plants contain volatile aromatic compounds (often referred to as oils) that are highly concentrated and therefore, extremely potent. The function they perform for the plant itself is one of protection and defence; they help the plant to survive against harsh environmental conditions, insects and other predators.
The word volatile can give a negative impression as we associate it with a lack of stability. In the case of essential oils, volatile merely refers to the ability of the oil to change state quickly. For the purpose of aromatherapy, for example, this is beneficial as it means that the essential oil is able to disperse quickly through the air.
This has huge positive implications for therapeutic purposes as it means that the aroma will interact quickly with the sensors in the brain. Essential oils are able to pass what is known as the the blood brain barrier because of their small molecular size. The blood brain barrier is the most secure tissue barrier in the body. It is highly selective in order to protect the fragile tissues of the central nervous system. This barrier only allows passage of certain compounds that are crucial to brain function (glucose, some amino acids amongst select others). The fact that essential oils are able to bypass this barrier, where many other treatments cannot, is hugely beneficial for therapeutic purposes. Many of the treatments we receive, supplements we take etc. can be ineffective because of their inability to do just this.
Therapeutic Uses for Wellbeing
In practice, I use essential oils to compliment herbal medicine and other naturopathic approaches as part of a tailored, client program.
There are a huge range of essential oils, each with their own unique chemical composition that can be useful for treatment and the individual; on a physical, emotional and mental level. As with herbal medicine (because they all come from plants!) each oil will have a particular affinity to an organ, body system, emotion and person. This will be taken into account when recommendations are made. Essential oils are physiologically active, which means they directly influence the body. Unique structural features of essential oils allow them to be active both on the surface of cells and within cells. In other words they can be ingested, inhaled or applied topically.
Essential oils are useful in supporting a wide range of conditions; skin disorders, digestive function, stress, depression, anxiety, energy to name a few. For one-to-one clients, they will be incorporated into treatment programs as appropriate.
As with any treatment, always seek advice from a practitioner with respect to dosage and application in order to avoid toxicity and achieve optimal results.
Recommended Oils
Personalised recommendations are always made with the intention of working together to achieve the best result for you. If my recommendation includes essential oils, you are welcome to source these from wherever you choose. However, I am an advocate for Doterra Essential oils which I have found to be the best on the market, through trial and testing; both on myself and my clients. Doterra oils are superior to others due to a number of factors involved in the process of harvesting, distillation and quality testing; to the latter point the oils are all CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade®. It is surprisingly easy to claim a much lower quality of oil is an essential oil so it’s important to do your research to make sure you’re not wasting money or time, in improving your health. Doterra oils are available to buy through me if you choose.
