Saturday, January 23, 2016

Thoughts on Essential Oils

Lately I've been using essential oils more than ever.  My latest enthusiasm was sparked by a few scientific and medical studies.
Now I've always loved the aromas associated with pure oils, and I search for the most pure and most powerful when I am buying.  And I'm familiar with many of the traditional uses of essential oils; after all they have been used in human societies for thousands of years. So, yes, I use lavender for calming and lemon for cleaning and eucalyptus for breathing difficulties and frankincense for everything! But essential oils have also been used for at least hundreds of years to combat bacteria, fungi and viruses; and what caught my attention was several studies published by the National Institute of Health (NIH) on using essential oils as an antimicrobial strategy.  
You may or may not be familiar with the current frightening situation with hospital acquired infections--they are very difficult to treat because many of them are resistant to nearly every antibiotic in use.  Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (abbreviated MRSA) is one of the biggest problems in hospital infections, and is thought to be due to heavy use or overuse of antibiotics. Also related to the prominent use of antibiotics are hospital associated fungal infections, equally challenging to treat.  Over 500 studies have shown essential oils are effective against bacteria, viruses and fungi.  Several NIH studies tested a variety of essential oils on bacterial and fungal growth, including MRSA.  All of the oils had excellent antibacterial and antifungal action, but some were better than the rest.  Some of the top performers were lemon, lemongrass, cinnamon, melaleuca (tea tree), peppermint and clove.
Interestingly, other studies showed that essential oils effectively kill bacteria without promoting the acquisition of resistance as is such a huge problem with antibiotics. In addition, essential oils are easy to obtain, are inexpensive, have low toxicity (for humans, children, pets), and degrade quickly in water and soil making them environmentally friendly. With regards to toxicity, you might be interested to know that in one recent year there were no reported deaths associated with essential oils (and as far as I know there have never been any deaths associated with the proper use of essential oils), whereas prescription medications were associated with nearly 47,000 deaths.
One other interesting study was performed at the Vanderbilt Hospital Emergency Room. Essential oils were diffused as a strategy to manage staff stress.  The Vanderbilt ER found that not only did staff report less stress and a greater sense of well-being, the diffused oils were very popular with patients who found the aroma pleasant and surprising (it didn't "smell like a hospital") as well as relaxing and comforting.
Youthologie Aesthetic & Anti-Aging Medicine is committed to bringing you the very best in pure and powerful essential oils.  Stop by for a sample today!  Also, check our website frequently for events as we provide classes and information on essential oils and other products and procedures of interest to those who are engaged in optimizing their health and vitality!

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