Essential Oils
Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash
Essential oils are the fragrant oils found within various parts of a plant, including the leaves, flowers, bark, roots, stems, seeds and fruits. These unique aromatic compounds occur naturally in plants to help them adapt to changing internal and external environments, control infections, heal wounds, attract pollinators and repel dangers. By extracting essential oils, we are able to access the most powerful healing compounds of a plant into a single oil that is 40-50 times more potent than the plant itself. This is why plant oils have been used for centuries in traditional medicine.
The resources listed below provide descriptions of the many uses and benefits of essential oils. When purchasing essential oils it is important to keep in mind that high quality and therapeutic-grade ones will be (i) pure - no additives, chemicals or synthetic oils, (ii) extracted by steam distillation, CO2 extraction or mechanical cold pressing, (iii) guaranteed to be the species indicated through gas chromatographic analysis and (iv) tested and verified by a third party and independent lab. All pure essential oils will include the plant's botanical name on the label (e.g. Commiphora Myrrha is the botanical name for myrrh.)
As with any complementary therapy and full wellness support, it is important to fully research and form your own opinion on whether Essential Oils are right for you in partnership with a qualified healthcare professional. Below are some resource links to help you get started.
Informative Articles
Aromatherapy Practitioners
Essential Oil Guides
AromaWeb
AromaWeb is an informational website that supplies extensive content and coverage of essential oil usage and the field of holistic aromatherapy.
Books
Full Disclosure: Connect4Hope has an affiliate marketing relationship with Amazon.com
by Kurt Schnaubelt Ph.D.
Vendors
Below is a list of Essential Oil vendors used by Connect4Hope community members and the thrivers featured in our Stories of Hope.
RMO guarantees that each of its oils is 100% pure, natural, authentic and free of adulterants. RMO supports this guarantee by conducting multiple rounds of Gas Chromatography (GC) / Mass Spectrometry (MS) testing and providing GC/MS test results free of charge through its website for every essential oil. RMO's external GC/MS testing process is verified through an independent, third party lab, then further scrutinized by an in-house chemist, who runs additional internal analysis to ensure quality with organoleptic, Refractive Index and various other tests.
While not all RMO essential oils are certified organic, all are grown on organic standards farms. Each RMO essential oil has passed pesticide testing by a third party lab and is the purest, most therapeutic essential oil available. RMO only works with quality farmers and suppliers who are experts in their craft. Everything from growing, harvesting, distillation, shipping, storage, testing, and bottling is done with exceptionally high standards.
Full Disclosure: Connect4Hope has an affiliate marketing relationship with Rocky Mountain Oils.
Clary Sage
By Christine Ruggeri, CHHC
Frankincense
by Robert Tisserand
This article contains important information regarding (i) published scientific studies on frankincense oil and cancer and (ii) boswellic acid, which is the antitumoral active ingredient in frankincense gum resin. It is important to note that frankincense extracts (which are sold in capsule form) contain 40-60% boswellic acid. However, frankincense essential oils do NOT contain boswellic acid.
https://tisserandinstitute.org/frankincense-oil-and-cancer-in-perspective/
by Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DMN, CNS
Lavender
By Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DMN, CNS