I was recently explaining the many benefits of Saje's immune remedy to my mom, who has a compromised immune system and for whom getting a cold can be life threatening. She promptly replied, “has that been proven?” I wouldn't classify my mom as a particularly scientific person, but she vocalized what I believe is on most peoples minds when exploring aromatherapy, that is; What is it exactly? What is its history? And what is the science behind it? Can we really trust it? I know from almost three years of regular use, yes you can trust it. But I am going to give a brief overview of the history and science of essential oils in this article, as well as highlight a couple of my must have essential oils, in hopes of answering some common questions about aromatherapy. My goal is to keep this accessible to anyone who is interested in knowing more about the practice of aromatherapy and its history.
I think the term 'Aromatherapy' undermines the practice somewhat and misleads us, it actually has only a little to do with scent, and only somewhat to do with our sense of smell. While nice smells are a wonderful side effect, and there is an important branch of study called Aroma Genera that studies emotions and memories associated with different natural scents from oils, that psychological part of aromatherapy is only a third of the equation. The other two thirds are made up of essential oils pharmacological (chemistry) and physiological (physical), effects. Aromatherapy was coined by a French Chemist named Rene Maurice Gattefosse in the 1920s working in his family's cosmetic lab, working mostly with essential oils for perfumery. He was badly burnt in a lab explosion and thrust his arm into a bucket of lavender oil, only to find that is eased the pain, healed very quickly and he had no scarring. This prompted him to conduct years of research and experiments on oils, particularly lavender, and he was able to replicate the same results over and over. As with seemingly so many things, Western Europe is leaps and bounds ahead of us in North America in this field today, with aromatherapy as an integral part of the medical field.
The chemistry of oils is complex, it can vary depending on a crop, as well as when and where it's grown. Each oil (which isn't actually an oil by the way, it is a non-oily liquid form of a plant that is either cold pressed or steam distilled from the plant), contains hundreds of chemical components that all work together, including trace minerals that are impossible to reproduce synthetically. This makes it challenging to study. Oils have been used for thousands of years, going as far back as cave drawings found in France, and their effects observed and replicated over and over throughout that time. In recent years, scientific research has concluded that all essential oils are antibacterial and antifungal to some degree. Some examples include:
- Cinnamon essential oil kills Typhus bacillus (Typhoid Fever) at a dilution rate of 1:300.
- Chamomile essential oil has bacteriostatic properties due to the amount of azulene in it, which is effective against Staphylococcus and Hemolyticbeta streptococcus (causes scarlet and rheumatic fever), at a dilution 1:2000. Infected wounds have been healed using a dilution of 1:17000.
- Lemon essential oil neutralizes Meningecoccus, Typhus bacillus, Pheumococcus and Staphylococcus within 5-20 minutes.
- Airborne spray tests have been performed with 210 germs, 12 moulds and 8 staphylococcus, within 30 minutes essential oils destroyed all moulds and staphylococcus.
In terms of how this complex chemistry affects the human body, that is the pharmacological and physiological effect of oils. Oils are categorized into two main groups, hydrocarbons and oxygenated compounds. They can then be subdivided further into groups that perform specific functions within the body. An example of just two are oxides (such as eucalyptus), which are stimulants, and esters (such as chamomile), which slow down the nervous system. Therefore physiologically speaking, all oils either sedate or stimulate. There are some that are adaptogens, that is they “simply adapt to what the body needs in terms of the pharacological and physiological actions” (Essence of Thyme College of Holistic Studies), i.e. eucalyptus either heats or cools depending on body temperature.
Most of the pharmacological and physiological effects take place through topical application. Science has shown that due to the extremely small size of the oils molecules, they are immediately absorbed into the circulatory system on contact where they are carried to various systems and organs, they stay in our body for 4 to 10 hours and get expelled through the lungs (breath), skin (sweat), or urine.
Inhalation is the other form of application and, as mentioned earlier, this has more to do with psychological studies of memory, etc., but it also has physiological connection. The olfactory system is our self regenerating, complex, sense of smell and it connects directly to the brain. “When essential oils are inhaled, their molecules penetrate the limbic system in the brain, the place responsible for our memories and emotions, and the brain in turn releases neurchemicals causing positive changes throughout the body. (Essence of Thyme College of Holistic Studies).”
Of course, given the known chemical effects of essential oils, safety concerns, while minimal, are relevant and one should be cautious. A recommended guide that is backed by loads of research and widely used is the recently published new edition of Essential Oil Safety: A Guide for Health Care Professionals by Robert Tisserand. One simple example of safety concerns with oils is use during pregnancy, as the small molecules can cross membranes into the placenta.
All of this information leads to an obvious question, if it's proven that essential oils 'work', so to speak, through thousands of years of results and more recent scientific studies, then why aren't they used in mainstream medicine in North America? Well they are, kind of. But perhaps not the way they should be. Essential oils come directly, unaltered, from nature, this means they can't be patented. As well, as mentioned, nature is volatile, with slight variations in chemical makeup depending on many external factors. These two combined make it difficult for pharmaceutical companies to make money. Therefore they attempt to pinpoint the primary chemical that has the desired effect and extract it or synthetically reproduce it, i.e. vicks vapo rub uses a synthetic eucalyptus oil extract. The problem is the hundreds of other supporting chemicals in the oils that are left out and therefore they are not as effective. I am not proposing that pharmaceuticals should never be used, however I believe they should not be used in less effective synthetic copies of oils just to make money, including using advertising that tricks the general public into thinking they are using something natural. This is why when I am sick with a cold or flu, or trying to prevent getting sick, I stick with my pure real oils.
I have a few 'go to' Saje products, which includes my immune roll on and diffuser blend, lemon and eucalyptus oils. Using just the immune blend my husband and I have been sick once in two years, and when we were, we were sick for half the time as our friends and family. Our 11 month old son had never been sick. I also use the Safe hands lotion regularly. For my lemon oil uses see my previous blog, top ten uses for lemon oil, and below are my tips for eucalyptus from the Essence of Thyme College of Holistic Studies aromatherapy class I attended, as well as some general information about it:
Eucalyptus is a very strong expectorant, meaning it's great for anything respiratory related, it improves breathing and opens the lungs. It is also an excellent immune stimulant (it is a main ingredient in Saje's immune oil!). It can cool a fever and be used as an antiseptic for cuts, burns, bites and wounds.
Uses:
- Add 20 drops to 60 ml of carrier oil for massage.
- Add 5-10 drops into nebulizer/diffuser.
- 2-3 drops on your shower floor for a sauna effect.
- For a power house cleaning solution add 30 drops each of lemon, tea tree and eucalyptus oils to 120 ml water.
- Cough and Cold remedy for infants under 2 years old:
Add to 60 ml of water in spray bottle (hint: add oils first so it doesn't over flow), 2 drops eucalyptus (top note), 3 drops Rosemary (middle note), and 1 drop cedarwood (base note). Shake before use.
This has been a brief crash course in the science and history of aromatherapy, however hopefully it has been enough to ease your worries, answers some questions, and possibly peak your curiosity for further exploration.
And remember..."Magic is nature unimpeded." ~Jane Roberts
Sources:
- Personal experience
- Introduction to Aromatherapy class & booklet given by Aromatherapist, Colleen Thompson (Essence of Thyme College of Holistic Studies)
- nuworldbotanticals.com (Science Behind Aromatherapy)
- aromatherapynaturalhealing.com (History of Aromatherpy)
- experience-essential-oils.com (The Chemistry of Essential Oils Reveals Aromatherapy as a True Science)