I'm not a doctor, chemist or scientist, but I am an oil-obsessed mom. Luckily, I have some sweet friends who are more qualified than I am, who have gifted me with loads of education.

 

Some of you know that if you have a headache you can put peppermint along your forehead or in the roof of your mouth to make the pain go away.. but, how does it do that!?

I feel there's a huge need for education, so here we go!

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What are essential oils?

 

Essential oils are the aromatic, volatile liquids distilled from plants. The oil can be obtained from the roots, seeds, shrub, flowers, leaves and trees and bring health and healing to the body. EO's were mankind's first medicine.

You'll often hear essential oils are the "life blood" of a plant. What does that mean?

The chemistry is extremely complex and powerful.

 

The way our blood helps our body to regulate itself, oxygenate, and heal our bodies -- that's what an essential oil does inside of a plant. Essential oils are used by plants in somewhat the same way blood is used by humans. They fight infection, contain hormone-like compounds, initiate cellular regeneration and work as chemical defense against fungal, viral and animal foes. Essential oils have a similar structure to some compounds found in blood and tissues, allowing them to be compatible with our own physiology.

A single drop of essential oil contains 40 million trillion molecules!!! JUST WOW. These volatile molecules are extraordinarily small -- so small that they can cross the blood brain barrier!

The human body is composed of around 100 trillion cells. When you use 1 drop of essential oil, within 26 minutes every cell in your body will have 400,000 molecules of that essential oil loving all over it. AMAZING, right?

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Aromatic, Topical & Internal use

 

The EO's from Young Living are all therapeutic grade oils that can be diffused, applied topically or ingested.

Aromatically - The olfactory system, your 'smell' sense, is the only sense directly connected to the brain. Have you ever noticed, it's difficult to smell something and think about it before having a response? The signal does not travel first to the thought centers; each sensing cell is in direct contact with the brain, so the physiological response to smell is quick and powerful.

The olfactory region of the brain is closely associated with the limbic region (your brain's headquarters) - the center of emotions, memory, sex drive (hubba hubba) and intuition. The limbic system is also connected to parts of the brain that control heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure and stress levels. Further, the olfactory region connects to the hypothalamus, which controls the entire hormonal system by influencing the pituitary. This gives us a good idea as to why the aromatic compounds of plants - essential oils - can have an 'aromatherapeutic' effect. If we inhale an oil that has calming properties, our brain is literally receiving the message to CHILL THE FRIG OUT.

Topically - When you're applying an oil topically, there's a really cool phenomena called Therapy Localization. This is when you touch a certain area of your body and your brain responds by opening up the blood vessels, sending more blood to that region. You're effectively telling your brain "Hey, brain, I know you're sending out a gazillion messages per second, but can you concentrate on this area right here for a minute? That would be awesome."

For the most part when you using an oil topically, you apply it to the area of need. If your stomach hurts, put an oil on your stomach to help with digestive issues. If your back hurts, rub oils on your back. If you want to support body systems, or your body as a whole (such as for your immune system), you can apply oils to your feet. Yup, your feet. They have HUGE pores and since they're usually a bit sweatier than the rest of your body, they'll absorb the oils quicker and your entire cellular makeup will be affected.

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Internally - You always want to make sure the essential oils you use are the purest available and that they come from plants that are safe for human consumption. Fortunately, Young Living has a line of essential oils specifically labeled for internal use with directions on how to do so safely. 

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Ingesting oils has been a growing debate among the essential oil community for many years, but excluding this method of application would eliminate perhaps the most powerful mode of administration. The ever-expanding body of essential oil research continues to confirm the safety of internal application. You just need to do your research!

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Some essential oils should not be used internally. Take Wintergreen, for example, an oil characterized by high amounts of the constituent methyl salicylate. It is not recommend for internal use. 

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Research has now begun to validate the efficacy and safety of internal use. From improving emotional status to protecting vital organs, internal use of essential oils is an exciting field that is developing at an accelerating rate. 

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Dispelling some myths

I'm going to only share a video from Lindsay Elmore, pharmacist and product educator. 

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Quality and Purity - Why It's So Important

There's no governing body over essential oils. This means companies can put whatever they want on the label and no one will hold them accountable.

When you're buying essential oils, you want the purest of the pure. Synthetic products, man-made versions of naturally occurring chemical compounds, are incredibly dangerous if used the way you would use natural, safe essential oils.

When you buy a loaf of bread at the store, and it says 100% whole grain on the label. You understand that they are highlighting an ingredient and that It's not completely 100% whole grain, right? That's the same thing with the essential oils at the market down the street from you. Sure, they are considerably cheaper – but that's exactly why. That bottle of Lavender that says 100% pure essential oil, may only contain 1 drop of pure Lavender essential oil, and the rest is filler.

Young Living has their Seed to Seal promise. No other company can even come close to topping the quality that Young Living has perfected over 20 years. They own their own farms all over the globe. From the moment they choose the land that they're going to plant on and select the best quality seeds they are hands on through every step in the process. They hand-pick their weeds and use essential oils for pest control. They harvest them. They extract and distill the oil. They bottle the oil. They package the oils and products and ship them. They test them, and send them to a 3rd party to be sure they're of the highest quality with no adulterants or fillers.

You can even go to any of Young Living's farms and see the process of oils being made! You can walk through the Lavender fields, watch the oils being distilled and then see them being packaged and shipped. You can view the lab testing for purity. They're an open book! And that quality is unmatched, industry-wide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information, go to seedtoseal.com

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