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What Are Organic Essential Oils?
Essential oils are the subtle, volatile liquids that are distilled
from plants, shrubs, flowers, trees, bushes and seeds.
An ancient process, oil distillation is a delicate and precise
art that has been almost forgotten. Science is just now
re-discovering the incredible healing power of essential
oils, which are the life blood of the plant kingdom, and
beginning to acknowledge their value.
are chemically very complex, consisting of
hundreds of different chemical compounds. They are highly concentrated and far
more potent than dried herbs. The distillation of an entire plant may produce
only a single drop of essential oil.
are subtle, volatile liquids. They are
oxygenating and help transport nutrients to the cells of our bodies. Without
oxygen, nutrients cannot be assimilated; so the oxygenating essential oils can
help us maintain our health.
of the plant and the human blood share
several common properties: They fight infection, contain hormone-like compounds,
and initiate regeneration. Working as the chemical defense mechanism of the
plant, essential oils possess potent anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral
properties. They also ward off attacks by insects and animals. Both essential
oils and human blood contain hormone-like chemicals. The ability of some
essential oils to work as hormones helps them bring balance to many
physiological systems of the human body. Oils like clary sage and fennel, for
example, have an estrogenic action. Essential oils also play a role in
initiating the regeneration process for the plant, the same way the blood does
in the human body.
This similarity goes deeper.
have a unique ability to penetrate cell membranes and diffuse throughout the blood and
tissues. The lipid-soluble structure of essential oils is very similar to the
makeup of our cell membranes. The molecules of essential oils are also
relatively small, giving them the ability to easily penetrate the cells. When
topically applied to the feet or elsewhere, essential oils can travel throughout
the body in a matter of minutes.
Aromatherapy and Essential Oils
At first I was somewhat reticent to get involved with Essential Oils because it seemed a little bit too "New Age" for my liking. -- Actually it is very "Old Age".
Essential Oils are mentioned in the Bible almost 200 times.
We all know the Christmas story of how the three Wise Men presented to the Christ Child gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. You may also recall that in Exodus, God gave to Moses a formula for a holy anointing which included the oil
hyssopp.
Or, you may even recall that Mary Magdalene anointed Jesus' feet with spikenard. These anointing oils are healing oils.
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THE ESSENTIAL BEGINNING...(History)
According to the translation of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics
and Chinese manuscripts, priests and physicians were using
extracted oils from plants for healing thousands of years before
Christ. This makes essential oils the earliest known medicine,
pre-dating the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by some
6,000 years or more.
Highly revered, the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt routinely
exchanged Blue Lotus Oil with the kings of India for slaves,
gold and other precious goods. And so it is, essential oils
were at one time in history considered more valuable than
gold.
When King Tut's tomb was opened in 1922, 350 liters of oil
were discovered in alabaster jars. Plant waxes had solidified
in a thickened residue around the inside of the container
opening, leaving the liquefied oil in excellent condition.
In 1817 the 870 feet long Ebers Papyrus was discovered.
This scroll is now referred to as a medicinal scroll. It dated
back to 1500 B.C. and mentioned over 800 different
formulations of herbal prescriptions and remedies. Other
scrolls indicated that the Egyptians had a very high success
rate in treating 81 different diseases. Many mixtures contained
myrrh and honey. Myrrh is recognized today for its ability to
help with infections of the skin and throat and to regenerate
skin tissue. Myrrh was also used for embalming because of
its effectiveness in preventing bacterial growth.
Anchored in Scripture:
There are numerous references to these oils (or the plant
they are derived from) in the Bible. Some precious oils, such
as frankincense, myrrh, galbanum, rosemary, hyssop, cassia,
cinnamon and spikenard were used for anointing and healing
of the sick. There were three wise men (magi), who brought
gold, frankincense and myrrh to the Christ child. Clinical
research now shows that frankincense and myrrh are two of
the most powerful immune-stimulating substances available,
containing very high amounts of immune-stimulating
properties. Perhaps the three wise men were wise in ways
beyond our knowledge.
Recent excavation of the ancient city called Gilead, has
unearthed the remains of a fortress like building used for the
manufacture of balsam oil. This "balm of Gilead" noted in
Jeremiah 8:22, had long been famous in antiquity for its nearly
miraculous properties to HEAL WOUNDS. In fact, the balsam
oil of Gilead was so famous that the conquering Roman
emperor Titus (79-81 A.D.), after conquering Gilead, displayed
branches from Gilead's balsam trees in his triumphal march
through Rome.
So precious was this oil to the commerce of Gilead, the
exact manufacturing process was kept a closely guarded
secret. So much so, archaeologists uncovered an inscription
carved into the floor of a local synagogue that reads,
"Whoever reveals the secret of the village to the gentiles, the
one whose eyes roam over the entire earth and see's what is
concealed will uproot this person and his seed from under the
sun." (see Biblical Archaeology Review, Sep/Oct 1996 issue)
It should be noted when Joseph's brothers tried to sell him
to a caravan of Ishmaelites passing by, Their camels were
loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, purchased in Gilead, on
their way to Egypt (Gen. 37:25). And so it is, the use of
extracted plant oils was an established industry thousands of
years before Christ walked on the Earth.
The Plagues of Europe:
Essential oils were not produced in Europe until the 12th
century. Although Medieval Europeans lost touch with
personal cleanliness, which helped bring on the great plagues
of the 13th and 14th centuries, essential oils are still known
and talked about in relationship to the thieves who robbed the
bodies of the dead and were not infected. These robbers,
known as spice traders and perfumers, bathed in such oils as
pine, frankincense, balsam, clove, cinnamon and rosemary.
Imagine the knowledge and trust they must have had in the
oils, that they were willing to expose themselves to an
otherwise certain death.
Throughout early history, the ancients knew the value of
essential oils. What happened to the information about these
oils? Why is it we are only now beginning to re-discover
nature's amazing healing oils? During the Dark Ages and the
burning of the library in Alexandria (a center for man's
knowledge) and other places, much of this knowledge was
lost. It has only been through the cosmetic and perfume
industry that this valuable science has started to re-surface.
ESSENTIAL OILS
RE-DISCOVERED:
In 1920, a French cosmetic chemist named Rene-Maurice
Gattefosse, Ph.D., while working in his laboratory, had an
accident that resulted in third degree thermal burn of his hand
and forearm. He plunged his arm into a vat of lavender oil
thinking that it was water. To his surprise, the burning quickly
decreased and then stopped within a few moments. Over a
period of time, with the continual application of lavender oil,
the burn healed completely without a trace of a scar.
As a chemist, Dr. Gattefosse analyzed the essential oil of
lavender and discovered that it contained many substances
referred to as chemical constituents. As a result of this, he
determined that essential oils contained tremendous healing
properties.
He shared his experience with his colleague and friend, Dr.
Jean Valnet, a medical doctor in Paris, France. During World
War II, while serving as a medical physician in the French
Army at the China Wall, treating war victims, Dr. Valnet ran
out of antibiotics, so he decided to try using essential oils. To
his amazement, they had a powerful effect in reducing and
even stopping the infection, and he was able to save many of
the soldiers who otherwise might have died even with
antibiotics.
Dr. Valnet had two students who did their internship with
him who were responsible for expanding his work. Dr. Paul
Belaiche and Dr. Jean Claude Lapraz. They discovered that
essential oils contain antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and
antiseptic properties as well as being powerful oxygenators
with the ability to act as carrying agents in the delivery of
nutrients INTO the cells of the body.
One of the causes of disease in both plants and the human
body is the inability of nutrients to penetrate the cell wall.
Unless there is an adequate delivery agent to assist the cell to
receive needed nutrients, the cell becomes deprived of
nutrition, its wall thickens, thus preventing delivery of
nutrients. This causes cell deterioration, leading to cell
mutation, creating a host for bacteria and disease. If
your food supplement program has seemingly hit a
"wall of limitation," it may be for the above reason.
One of the many incredible aspects of the oils is their
amazing ability to penetrate and carry nutrients through the
cell wall to the cell nucleus. They literally "fly" through the
thickest cell walls. This is so due to the oxygenating
molecules found in the oils which transport the nutrients, then
delivers them through the cell for feeding the nucleus. The oils
are nature's most effective catalyst and delivery agent for
feeding cells.
FREQUENCY OF ESSENTIAL OILS.
The effectiveness of essential oils cannot be fully understood
without some understanding of frequency. Frequency is the
measurable rate of electrical energy flow that is constant
between any two points. Everything has frequency. Dr. Robert
O. Becker in his book "The Body
Electric" establishes that the
human body has an electrical frequency and that much about
a person's health can be determined by it.
In 1992 Bruce Tainio of Tainio Technology, built the first frequency
monitor in the world. Using one of these monitors, Gary Young
determined that throughout the day the human body has a frequency
range of approximately 62 MHz - 72 MHz (megahertz). Different
parts of the body may be higher at different times such as when
studying, the brain frequency may go up into the nineties. When
the average frequency of the body drops below the normal range,
a person may become more susceptible to disease. For instance,
if the frequency drops to 58 MHz for an extended period of time,
they may become more susceptible to cold and flu symptoms,
at 55 MHz, a person may become more susceptible to Candida,
and 42 MHz a person may become more susceptible to the growth
of cancer cells.
According to Dr. Royal R. Rife, every disease has a frequency.
He has found that certain frequencies can prevent the development
of disease and that others would destroy diseases. Substances of
higher frequency will destroy diseases of lower frequency.
The study of frequencies raises important questions, concerning
the frequencies of substances we breath and absorb. Many
pollutants lower healthy frequency. Young found processed/canned
foods have a very low frequency, while fresh produce has up to
15 MHz, dry herbs from 12-22 MHz and fresh herbs from 20-27 MHz.
Essential OIls start at 52 MHz and go as high as 320 MHz, which is
the frequency of Rose oil. Clinical research shows that essential
oils have the highest frequency of any natural substance known to man,
creating an environment in which disease, bacteria, virus, fungus,
etc., CANNOT live.
Research by Dr. Bruce Tainio has shown that if the frequency of
the right and left brain lobes varied more than 3 MHz, headache
would begin. If the frequency varied more than 10 MHz, a substantial
or migraine-type headache would develop.
There is still much research to be conducted, but the
premise is if we can keep
the body frequency high enough and
well oxygenated, we will be free of disease.
USING ESSENTIAL
OILS...
Further research has shown that with their immune-stimulating
properties, essential oils enhance and support the building of
the immune system, whether they be inhaled or applied on
the body topically. Even those who contract a cold or the flu
recover 70 percent faster using essential oils.
Diffusing the Oils Into the Atmosphere:
Perhaps one of the greatest attributes of essential oils is
their ability to purify the air we breathe. When diffused in the
home they release oxygenating molecules into the atmosphere
where they stay suspended for several hours to destroy and
prevent bacteria, fungus, mold, and freshen the air with natural
fragrances. In addition to removing dust from the air, the diffused
oils allow us to breathe in their wonderful antiviral, antibacterial
and antiseptic properties.
This is the most perfect way to improve our home environment,
either to help us relax, relieve tension and headaches, dispel
odors, or just create an atmosphere of peace and harmony.
If you have children, or suffer from Emphysema, Sinusitis,
Asthma, and allergies, diffusing essential oils into your home
will make an essential difference for you and your family's health.
Topical Application of the Oils:
There is a misconception that pure essential oils should first
be diluted before applying them topically on the skin. Pure
oils, with the exception of those containing the natural
chemical constituent known as "phenol," (such as with
cinnamon, clove or oregano) may be applied "neat" (undiluted)
directly on the skin. Oils containing phenol can cause an
irritation or burning sensation. Users of essential oils should
always test an unknown oil first on a small area of skin to
determine sensitivity.
CAUTION: Because many commercially available EO's have
been adulterated with solvents and/or man-made chemicals,
you should not apply EO's directly to the skin...unless you
know them to be safe.
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