Seems these days everyone has a gimmick working. I don’t say that in a bad way necessarily. There is a huge influx of MLMs…Multi-level Marketing companies… emerging on several fronts. One of the most disputed, at least socially online, is that of the various essential oil companies. Seems everyone has an opinion about Eos and their effectiveness in ‘modern medicine’.
I don’t dispute that some of the purveyors of ‘essential oil pharmaceuticals’ are simply a modern day reincarnation of the snake oil salesmen of times gone by. But to lump all essential oils into the snake oil category is throwing the baby out with the bath water so to speak. Essential oils have been around for multiple generations, dating back easily to Biblical times in common practice and usage.
Essential oils are merely the steam or mechanically-distilled oils from plant material. Purity varies with the manner of distillation, same as one OTC varies from another in quality and performance. Because there is essentially no oversight committee or FDA approval standardized for each herbal or oil extracted, there are countless snake oil salesmen hitting the market looking to capitalize on the excitement of the current fad. That doesn’t limit their value as an alternative medicine, it just means you need to do a great deal more research on your own…as you should with any medical treatments, whether at home or thru a licensed practitioner.
Right now, with a few coughs and such developing around the homestead, I have Thieves oil diffusing intermittently. Thieves oil is a blend of clove, lemon, rosemary, cinnamon bark, and eucalyptus. From an herbal standpoint, clove is one of the most antiseptic, antifungal, antiviral plant extract around. Lemon promotes circulation and lymphatic function. Cinnamon bark is known to be antiseptic, as well as antiviral, and antibacterial like clove. Eucalyptus is similarly connected with antiviral, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. Rosemary contains a high level of cineole, an ingredient in many antiseptic drugs.
Homemade Thieves Oil recipe
50 Uses for Thieves Oil
Yesterday I sprained my ankle…aches to even walk much on it. I can’t just lay out all day and let the homestead or children operate themselves. Life goes on one way or the other. I could down some Tylenol or ibuprofen, rub a little deep muscle ointment in and go on, but I chose to massage a few drops of an oil blend in instead. A cure-all? No. It still aches, but it’s manageable and I’m moving on. The ingredients in my oil blend rival those of just about every deep muscle rub on the market at your local pharmacy counter, except there is no ‘magical’ FDA approval behind my EO, and no fancy packaging or added chemical enhancements.
Whether or not you use herbal medicines or essential oils or you choose to run to Walgreen’s and grab one of their selections, you need to study for yourself what is available for your particular need. Not everyone who grabs a Tylenol finds comfort from a headache, same as not everyone grabbing for their oils will find relief. Not every product works the same for every person. We are all created differently in that respect. Research for yourself, educate yourself. Just because your upline gave you a sales pitch and a product brochure doesn’t mean you have knowledge. Just because your doctor says boo to alternative medicines doesn’t mean they don’t have value.
Aromatherapy and Essential Oils an excellent overview from The National Cancer Institute
The value and effectiveness of any medicine is more in your ability to learn how to apply it than in who suggests it.
3 comments:
I agree! The oils do seem to be a craze, but one I have wanted to learn about for several years. I did sign up to "sell" for an oil company, mainly because I get my personal oils at cost. Its fun to learn new things and if it can eliminate some of the pills I have to take, then that's even better! Have a great day! d
Very informative and interesting post. Thank you. :- )
I agree Donna. I've always been interested in finding alternatives, and herbs and oils have a long history of use. I think too many people focus on the fact they are the "latest fad" and forget they have been around in practical use for many generations, more than OTCs. The fact so many MLMs have jumped on board seems to be giving them a bad taste in the minds of some people and that's a shame. I agree with you...if I can find something to decrease the number of needed RX and OTC meds, I'm very interested!
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