What are Essential Oils?
According to different resources, Essential oils are simply the extracts from plant materials such as the leaves, petals, stems, roots, and bark. Essential oils are made by steam distilling, or by pressing these various parts of the plant to capture the compounds that produce fragrance.
For instance, the citrus oils must be COLD PRESSED. The essential oils in citrus fruit like the lemon, orange, grapefruit, or tangerines are very volatile, meaning the properties in this oil can be destroyed very easily by the heat in the steam distillation process. On the other hand, the distillation process is for the other plant parts such as the stems, leaves, flowers, and roots, to extract the plant properties.
For instance, the citrus oils must be COLD PRESSED. The essential oils in citrus fruit like the lemon, orange, grapefruit, or tangerines are very volatile, meaning the properties in this oil can be destroyed very easily by the heat in the steam distillation process. On the other hand, the distillation process is for the other plant parts such as the stems, leaves, flowers, and roots, to extract the plant properties.
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Potent and Powerful
Essential oils are the concentrated form of the actual plant. Packed in each little bottle is a substance that is 50 to 70 times more powerful than the plant it came from. For example it takes approximately 7 pounds of cilantro plant to make one 15mL bottle of cilantro essential oil. Contained in one drop of peppermint essential oil is equivalent to approximately 28 cups of peppermint tea.
Just a little bit of PURE essential oils really go a long way!
Since essential oils are super concentrated forms of plants, they are packed full of natural compounds that have been found to have biological effects. Essential oils are adaptogens, which means they help your body to naturally get what it needs when it needs it.
Like food, they give the body what it needs so your body can do what it was designed to do, which is to heal itself.
Just a little bit of PURE essential oils really go a long way!
Since essential oils are super concentrated forms of plants, they are packed full of natural compounds that have been found to have biological effects. Essential oils are adaptogens, which means they help your body to naturally get what it needs when it needs it.
Like food, they give the body what it needs so your body can do what it was designed to do, which is to heal itself.
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What Essential Oils are NOTEssential oils can be very helpful to our body's natural ability to heal itself, but they are NOT the cure for disease. Disease prevention starts with the foundation of a healthy lifestyle. You can click HERE to read about this healthy lifestyle. If the basic foundations for health are not observed, then essential oils may be just a bandaid. It's important to understand that True Wellness encompasses the entire lifestyle, and the entire person.
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Purity of Essential Oils
Essential oils, or essential oil isolates, are used in just about every product we use in our home and food. Because of the high demand, many of these flavorings or "scents" are produced in labs from isolated compounds, or synthetic versions of that found in nature. Unfortunately our bodies can't do much with fake compounds, and far better prefer the pure, natural substances directly from the plants themselves. This of course can cost much more to produce, and since people want CHEAP products, corners are cut and quality is compromised. More studies are showing the negative effects of fake "scents" and "fragrances" that our body care products and household products are full of. These have tested positive for many hormone disrupting chemicals.
Sayer Ji, founder of GreenMedInfo.com warns that consumers need to be at least five times more aware of a skin care product’s toxicity than that of food. Once you apply a cream, powder, deodorant, soap, shampoo, etc., they are not filtered by the body’s digestive system. They penetrate the skin and hit fat stores and the blood and lymphatic systems.
As consumers that want to make healthier choices, it goes far beyond our food prep and meals, we need to be aware of what we are putting on our body. Why not use proven pure essential oils with a high therapeutic value to not only add a natural scent to your regimen, but also help in giving support to your body's healing process?
Sayer Ji, founder of GreenMedInfo.com warns that consumers need to be at least five times more aware of a skin care product’s toxicity than that of food. Once you apply a cream, powder, deodorant, soap, shampoo, etc., they are not filtered by the body’s digestive system. They penetrate the skin and hit fat stores and the blood and lymphatic systems.
As consumers that want to make healthier choices, it goes far beyond our food prep and meals, we need to be aware of what we are putting on our body. Why not use proven pure essential oils with a high therapeutic value to not only add a natural scent to your regimen, but also help in giving support to your body's healing process?
A Higher Standard
Thankfully with the rise in popularity of essential oils (and a substantial increase in adulteration to meet demand) there's more research and testing by private and non-profit groups that recognize the need for a higher standard.
A bit of research and some common sense will reveal a lot about a company and the quality of their products. When it comes to essential oils, there are many companies popping into the market, ready to capitalize on your interests. All these companies claim to have pure essential oils, not to mention, there's a lot of confusing information on the internet!
A bit of research and some common sense will reveal a lot about a company and the quality of their products. When it comes to essential oils, there are many companies popping into the market, ready to capitalize on your interests. All these companies claim to have pure essential oils, not to mention, there's a lot of confusing information on the internet!
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A great place to start is to read the article by ConsumersAdvocates.org and understand the research they conducted on the top 11 brands of essential oils: Ameo, Aromatics International, Artisan Aromatics, Aura Cacia, doTERRA, Eden's Garden, Mountain Rose Herbs, NOW, Plant Therapy, Rocky Mountain Oils, Young Living.
You can view that article HERE. The amount of effort and insight in this article is substantial, and I believe you will find it helpful in understanding how most companies get their essential oils (through third party brokers). |
You might be asking, "how can I know for sure that an essential oil is what the company claims?"
First of all you want to make sure a company is able to back up its claims with good proof. If you want to get a really good essential oil that not only has the purity, but also the efficacy you would expect, here are a few things you'll want to consider:
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Purity:
This is of the utmost importance! While most essential oils are full of synthetics and fillers, and sometimes unbeknownst to you, these substances can disrupt your body's desire for health at a cellular level. Third party testing, from a reputable testing company, is essential in proving a company's claims to purity. Understanding the testing process and what is being tested is also important. Good testing practices would include testing for: impurities, synthetics, heavy metals, and microbe contamination. Adulteration usually happens in the hands of the brokers. These individuals are the "middle-man" who purchase product from the farmers/distillers, then resell to the distributors who take the brokers word that what they purchased are indeed pure. |
Efficacy:
Efficacy is the effectiveness of a substance. The efficacy of an essential oil is based on its potency and that is determined by the following: First: The region in which the a plant is grown must be considered. Certain plants thrive in certain parts of the world, and where a plant grows determines its chemistry. To get the best chemistry of the medicinal properties of a plant, the chemistry of the plant must be studied in different regions of the world to determine the best environment. Second: The chemistry of a plant also changes throughout its life-cycle. The timing of harvest must revolve around the timing of the strength of the desired chemical constituents. Third: Distillation time must also be considered. Since every plant, and it's fragility, is different, the time of distillation after harvest must be monitored and done in a timely manner to preserve the desired chemistry. |
Cost:
While cost can sometimes be a determinant of the quality, there are exceptions. Because there is a lot that goes into producing good quality essential oils, it's important to avoid the cheaper oils. With that in mind, just because a company sells their oils for a higher dollar does not always mean they are higher quality. You still want too test and prove whether that company can back up it's claims. I know of a company that claims to have top quality oils, and a price that might reflect that, but through rigorous testing have proven to be selling adulterated essential oils. One major red flag to look out for is if a company hides behind law suites. When a company threatens to sue anyone who dares to bring out inconsistencies in their ethical practices, that should be a sign that you probably aren't getting what you're paying for. |
Essential Oil Purity from a Biblical Perspective
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As a Christian, my first question to ask is, "does purity matter to the LORD?"
This question can be answered by reading 1Corinthians 6:19-20 "what? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's"
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Aside from the Old Testament Tabernacle, we have another beautiful example of the importance of purity which is found in the New Testament. John 12:3 and Mark 14:3 both speak of the substance that Mary anointed Jesus with, which was the "ointment of spikenard". When we look at the original language, spikenard can be literally translated to "Pure, Genuine, or Unadulterated Lavender".
Just as the Father ordained that Christ would have only a pure, unadulterated substance to anoint His body temple, so are we to use this as an example of how to treat our body temple. It is even more important for us today to follow this example, since this day in age man has been adulterating our essential oils, skin care, and body care products with cheap synthetic "fragrances" that are full of hormone disruptors and toxins that build up on our body systems.
Thankfully, in recent years, truly pure and potent essential oils are being chosen and tested in research facilities for their benefits to human health and wellness.
Just as the Father ordained that Christ would have only a pure, unadulterated substance to anoint His body temple, so are we to use this as an example of how to treat our body temple. It is even more important for us today to follow this example, since this day in age man has been adulterating our essential oils, skin care, and body care products with cheap synthetic "fragrances" that are full of hormone disruptors and toxins that build up on our body systems.
Thankfully, in recent years, truly pure and potent essential oils are being chosen and tested in research facilities for their benefits to human health and wellness.