Top Essential Oils Do’s and Don’ts – Episode 33

Empowering You Organically – Season 5 – Episode 33

Title: Top 6 Organic Essential Oils and their Do’s & Don’ts

Hosts: Jonathan Hunsaker & TeriAnn Trevenen

Guest: None

Description: Join us for a dive into the power of essential oils in our daily lives. The interest in essential oils is rapidly on the rise according to Google Trends. The trend line is fascinating.  Why? What makes essential oils so sought after? They work! Organixx carries a line of organic and pure essential oils. Today we will share the top 3 uses of the top single essential oils in our line.

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Lavender

Lavender oil is believed to have antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. We’ve all heard by now that lavender promotes deeper sleep, but did you know…

• There’s promising research for breast health too. 2014 Iranian research published in the journal Nutrition and Cancer found that lavender oil kills breast cancer cells but leaves healthy cells unharmed. It’s important to note that this study was on cells in a petri dish, not on humans. The researchers concluded that: “L. angustifolia has cytotoxic and apoptotic effects in HeLa and MCF-7 cell lines, and apoptosis is proposed as the possible mechanism of action.”1
• Stops the itch and burn of insect bites. Even fire ants! Put a drop of lavender oil on a bee sting, mosquito, or other bug bites to stop pain, itching, and reduce swelling. Reapply as necessary. Lavender oil works really well for this, especially if applied immediately.
• Use it as a flavor booster. Add a drop of high-quality lavender oil suitable for consumption to brownie batter, chocolate icing, cookie dough, dessert recipes, raw chocolate, or even salad dressings. It’s absolutely delicious.

Is Lavender Oil Safe?

Using diluted lavender oil topically or in aromatherapy is generally considered safe for most adults but may not be recommended for children. Applying pure lavender oil to your skin (especially open wounds) may also cause irritation, so we recommend infusing it with a carrier oil, such as olive oil or coconut oil. Dissolving it in water also works.

Be careful not to rub lavender oil in your eyes and mucous membranes. If this happens, wash it out immediately. Lavender oil may also cause allergic reactions in people with unusually sensitive skin, so do a spot test before using it. Simply apply a drop of lavender oil to your arm and see if any reaction occurs.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) also warns against using lavender oil when taking medications like barbiturates, benzodiazepines and chloral hydrate, as it may increase their sedative effects and cause extreme drowsiness and sleepiness.

Tea Tree (Melaleuca)

This versatile oil possesses antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antifungal properties.

• Due to its potent anti-inflammatory benefits, tea tree oil helps to relieve inflammatory skin conditions, especially eczema and psoriasis. Dilute as necessary and apply to affected area two to three times daily.
• Tea tree oil has long been used as a natural bug repellent by native Australian aboriginal people. Chinese research in 2016 found tea tree to be effective against the cereal weevil, Sitophilus zeamais. The cereal weevil is considered to be an extremely destructive pest to stored cereals all over the world. Tea tree also helps to relieve the pain, itching, and inflammation of insect bites.
• If it’s an extra-hot day and your deodorant has failed, apply again, but this time with a drop or two of tea tree oil to help kill bacteria. Tea tree oil’s potent antibacterial properties are well proven with dozens of research studies.

Is Tea Tree Oil Safe?

The answer is yes, as long as it is applied topically in appropriate doses and NOT swallowed. This oil may irritate your skin, especially if used for the first time. We recommend starting with low concentrations until you figure out your tolerance. Determine if you have an allergy to tea tree oil before using it by doing a skin test — apply a small amount to your inner arm to see if any reaction such as a rash or hives occurs.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) recommends avoiding oxidized oil, which has been exposed to air, because it may help trigger allergies more than fresh tea tree oil.  Avoid using undiluted tea tree oil as well and use tea tree oil-infused products instead to reduce your risk of skin irritation.

Lemon

The health benefits of lemon oil can be attributed to its stimulating, calming, astringent, detoxifying, antiseptic, disinfectant and antifungal properties. *Important to note: Lemon essential oil can make your skin more sensitive to sunlight.

• Lemon oil has a balancing effect on the oil glands of the scalp. Massage a drop or two of lemon oil into your scalp before you go to bed at night. Wash it out in the morning. Done over a period of weeks, you will notice much less oily hair. It will make your pillow smell nice and fresh too!
• Diffuse lemon oil to help kill airborne bacteria. Research carried out by Dr. Jean Valnet (co-author of the book The Practice of Aromatherapy: A Classic Compendium of Plant Medicines and Their Healing Properties) shows that diffused lemon oil can rapidly kill off the bacteria that causes meningococcal infections, typhoid fever, staph infections, pneumonia, diphtheria, and tuberculosis.
• Several essential oils are haemostatic, i.e. they help to stop bleeding by speeding up the coagulation of the blood. The most useful of these is oil of Lemon, though Geranium and Rose have similar, though less powerful, effects.

Is Lemon Oil Safe?

It is advisable not to use lemon oil without diluting it first, as it can irritate the skin. It must be used with a carrier oil for direct application to the skin. Effective carrier oils include coconut oil, olive oil, and jojoba oil.

There are findings showing that lemon oil may promote photosensitivity, which increases your sensitivity to the sun and may lead to sunburn and uneven darkening of the skin. We also recommend you avoid applying lemon oil and other citrus oils to your skin when outdoors, as blistering may occur.

People with sensitivities should use essential oils with caution. Reactions can vary from person to person. Some may experience skin reactions, while some may have respiratory problems. Consult your physician first before use. Pregnant women and children should also see a doctor before applying lemon oil.

Peppermint

According to a review conducted by the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, peppermint has significant antimicrobial and antiviral activities. It also works as a strong antioxidant, displays anti-tumor actions in lab studies, shows anti-allergenic potential and pain-killing effects helps to relax the gastrointestinal tract and may be chemopreventive.4

Note: Chemoprevention is the use of a medication, vitamin or supplement to stop cancer from happening. This is most often used for people who have a high risk of developing cancer.

• The high menthol content of peppermint makes it great for cooling off during hot flashes. At the first sign of a hot flash developing, place a drop at the back of the neck, at the base of the skull, or on the collarbones. Breathe it in. This has an instant cooling and calming effect.
• Peppermint oil not only relaxes skeletal muscles, it also helps to relax the muscles of the respiratory system. Inhaling the scent of peppermint helps to relieve congestion due to allergies and counteract the effects of pollen. Especially powerful when combined with lavender and lemon to ease seasonal allergies!
• Peppermint oil is superb for helping to relieve indigestion and heartburn. Put just one drop of peppermint oil into a glass of water and drink. It works much more quickly than peppermint tea due to the concentrated nature of peppermint oil. If it’s too strong for you, just dilute it and rub it across the tummy.

Is Peppermint Oil Safe?

Peppermint oil is safe in low amounts in most adults, but it can trigger side effects in people with sensitivities. It is important for the following individuals to either avoid using this essential oil or to use it carefully only with the help of a healthcare professional.

• Pregnant and nursing women — Peppermint oil or other similar products may have emmenagogue and abortifacient effects, so it would be wise not to use peppermint oil without your physician’s approval.
• Infants and children 7 years old and younger — Peppermint oil must not be used undiluted because there isn’t enough information regarding its safety for them.
• Diabetics — Using peppermint oil may raise your risk of low blood sugar levels or hypoglycemia.
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and hiatal hernia patients — Peppermint can relax the sphincter between the stomach and esophagus, and cause acid to move up to the esophagus.
• People with gallbladder problems — Peppermint oil may cause gallbladder inflammation; those diagnosed with gallstones should consult a physician before using peppermint oil.
• People taking antacids — These drugs can cause peppermint oil capsules to break down easily, increasing the risk of heartburn.

Eucalyptus

The healing benefits of Eucalyptus Oil can be attributed to its anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, decongestant, deodorant, and antiseptic qualities, among other valuable properties.

• Eucalyptus oil is known to be a vasodilator, meaning it dilates, or opens, blood vessels. In 1994, Austrian researchers discovered that eucalyptol, a phytochemical in eucalyptus oil (also known as 1,8-cineol) improved global blood flow to the brain, after only 20 minutes of inhalation.9 A newer study released in 2016 by Korean researchers found that eucalyptol is also able to pass through the blood-brain barrier. This research also found eucalyptol’s high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties to be helpful in the management of chronic conditions such as respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, and degenerative nerve and brain diseases.
• Some studies have shown that several different species of eucalyptus may help to reduce blood sugar levels in mice. Also because eucalyptus is such an excellent vasodilator, the entire body benefits from this increase in blood circulation. To help combat poor blood circulation, dilute eucalyptus oil and massage it into the legs, hands, and feet as needed.
• Eucalyptus oil’s anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and anti-phlegm properties work very quickly to open congested airways. Make a steam inhalation by boiling two cups of water, pour it into a large bowl, then let it cool for five minutes. Add a drop or two of eucalyptus oil. Then create a tent from a small towel draped over your head. Place your face over the bowl and carefully breathe in the vapor until you get some relief. This should only take a couple of minutes. This is great for bronchitis, head colds, chest colds, and asthma.

Is Eucalyptus Oil Safe?

Essential oils like eucalyptus oil are generally safe to use, but with specific precautions. Before using it, consult a holistic doctor to see if your condition would allow you to do so, and undergo an allergen patch test to check for possible allergic reactions and lower your risk for developing side effects.

In general, adults should not take eucalyptus oil orally except under a doctor’s supervision, and this oil mustn’t be given to children, especially those under 2 years old.

While eucalyptus oil is generally safe when applied to adult skin, refrain from applying the oil, salve or chest rub on the face or nose of a baby because of its potential side effects. Lastly, pregnant and breastfeeding women should also avoid using the oil as evidence is lacking regarding its safety for these groups of women.

Frankincense – The KING of essential oils!

Frankincense essential oil is distilled from the resin of the Boswellia tree that grows in many regions within northern Africa and the Middle East. Oman, Somalia, and Ethiopia are the most prominent suppliers today.

Research shows that the natural plant chemical constituents in frankincense oil stimulate the immune system.2

But it supports so much more…

• Frankincense is a powerful health support for respiratory problems such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, and bronchitis. It even helps when suffering from laryngitis. Diffuse it into the room where you intend to spend some time. For best results, use an ultrasonic cool mist diffuser. Never heat essential oils because heating them diminishes their therapeutic effects.
• Whether your skin is dry and mature or oily and blotched with blemishes, frankincense oil has wonderful balancing qualities. It helps to reduce lines and wrinkles by tightening and toning skin, accelerates the healing of blemishes, skin ulcers and wounds, and stimulates cell regeneration. For anti-aging benefits, put several drops into your favorite night time moisturizer. For acne and blemishes, apply it neat directly on the problem area, unless you have very sensitive skin, then dilute.
• Use frankincense oil to help calm and center the mind, to promote spiritual awareness, and to cultivate a sense of inner peace while meditating. Frankincense contains compounds known as sesquiterpenes which work directly on the limbic system of the brain, the center of memory and emotions. Frankincense is calming, grounding, and centering to the nervous system. Diffuse it into your room, or just inhale directly from the bottle at the start of your meditation.

Is Frankincense Oil Safe?

Yes, frankincense oil is generally safe. Just make sure to undergo an allergen patch test before applying frankincense oil topically to see if you have any sensitivity to this oil.

For some groups of people, frankincense oil isn’t recommended, since it may trigger adverse reactions. If you’re pregnant or nursing, avoid using frankincense oil because it may trigger contractions, prompt menstruation and lead to a miscarriage. As for children, there is very limited information regarding the potential use of this oil for this age group, so if you’re a parent or guardian, do not let them use this oil.

How to Dilute Essential Oils

Although essential oils can be used neat (undiluted) in many cases, it is best (and more economical) to dilute essential oils before applying them to the body. Add a drop or two of your chosen oil to one-half to one teaspoonful of an organic carrier oil such as coconut, almond, hemp, or jojoba.

If using with children or pets, use even less essential oil because their smaller bodies cannot tolerate an adult dose. It’s best to consult a qualified aromatherapist before using essential oils with pets or children.

A Final Word About Quality

Always choose high quality, organic essential oil that has been properly distilled so that its phytochemical content is not compromised. Look for bottles labeled 100% pure oil and beware of cheap oils that may be diluted with potentially toxic chemical ingredients.

In addition to the powerful essential oils we touched on today, Organixx carries 6 more beautiful single oils just as powerful and effective to help you maintain optimal health;

•      Orange,
•      Grapefruit,
•      Oregano,
•      Geranium Rose,
•      Rosemary,
•      and Clove.

Be sure to grab your copy of 12 Top Essential Oils and Their Uses – 60+ tips and ideas on using essential oils for better health, wellness, home and so much more!

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Episode 33 – Top 6 Organic Essential Oils and their Do’s & Don’ts

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Episode 33 – Top 6 Organic Essential Oils and their Do’s & Don’ts

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Jonathan: Welcome everyone to another episode of Empowering You Organically. I’m your host Jonathan Hunsaker joined by my cohost TeriAnn Trevenen.

TeriAnn: Hey everyone.

Jonathan: Listen, today is a very special podcast. We have gotten a lot of emails, a lot of questions talking about essential oils. We want to just do a podcast here. We’re going to cover six of the most popular essential oils that people use. I use them every day. I know TeriAnn, you’re a big fan of oils. I’m just going to talk about the top six. We’re going to talk about the good, the bad, the ugly. I know there’s a lot more essential oils out there, so there will be future podcasts where we go even more in depth and cover more. But let’s get started, because this is what all of you want to hear about. TeriAnn, tell me a little bit about essential oils, and you, and how you use them.

TeriAnn: This is a really popular topic right now, essential oils have been around for a long time. But with the natural health movement moving forward in full force, essential oils have really come back on the scene. Rightfully so, they have so many amazing benefits, so many healing properties. They’re a hot, hot topic, and a hot trend right now. But they’re not just going to be a trend. I think oils are around to stay. So, I use oils in my house every day. I use them topically. I put them in my drinks from time to time. We diffuse them and we’re big oil believers. I have shelves of them in my bathroom where they’re just fully stocked. We have them on hand all the time. As we go through these six oils, you’re going to realize why oils are such a big deal, and why people are using them more and more.

TeriAnn: Before we jump into the oils, I just want to talk about a few things. First of all, if you have any health issues, skin issues, skin sensitivity, you should always consult with your doctor, your natural health practitioner before using something like essential oils. Whether it’s one that you would ingest or one that you would use topically. Some other things that you really need to be careful with, so pregnant women should be really careful with essential oils. You should absolutely consult with your doctor. Infants and children, you need to be very careful when it comes to essential oils. Diabetics, people with gallbladder problems and other things, if you have any health issues, and some of the oils it’s very specific if you have issues that you need to be really careful. Overall, if you have health issues or skin sensitivity, please make sure that you’re consulting with your doctor or your natural health practitioner. While essential oils are an amazing, amazing thing, as always, our bodies are all unique and individual, and we need to be careful with them. I just wanted to say that before we jump into it.

TeriAnn: The other thing I want to say really quickly is that when it comes to essential oils, you have to be careful how you’re using them. Some essential oils are much more powerful than other essential oils. Peppermint is a very powerful and strong essential oil. You have to be careful when it comes to using oils with children, or people who are much more sensitive to dilute them. Just be really careful to know how to use each oil in what way as best to use the oil. We’re going to talk about the amazing benefits, but definitely do your homework on how you should be using the oils and be careful if you have health issues.

Jonathan: It’s somewhat of a catch 22, right? Because essential oils can help with so many health issues, yet they can also irritate other health issues if not used properly. Definitely do that. The other thing is really consider diluting your essential oils. When you get that little bottle, it is very highly distilled. It’s very potent. Diluted it first, try it out. Dilute it with another carrier oil like coconut oil, or almond, or hemp. Put one drop with a half a teaspoon to a full teaspoon. Put a little bit of a drop on your skin and see how that feels. See if you have a little bit of a reaction there as well. Consider that diluting the essential oil is essential. Especially for kids, especially for pets, things like that. Just be smart when you use them. They are extremely effective. We use them around my house all the time for all sorts of reasons. You have to know what you’re using them for, why you’re using them, and you got to be smart when you’re using them.

TeriAnn: One thing that I say to people too, really quickly. With supplements, people always ask how should I take supplements. Obviously we’re pretty well versed with supplements by now. People always say, how do I take supplements? I always say, start and use one at a time. Start using it and see how it feels, and make sure it doesn’t impact you negatively. Then you have to take it for long periods of time to see how it benefits you and your health overall. Essential oils are no different. Just like supplements are a powerful, powerful natural healer, and a powerful addition to your nutrition, some supplements aren’t for everyone. Some essential oils aren’t for everyone. Don’t just go out of the gate and start using ten essential oils all at once. Then you’re like, I don’t feel good. You may not have a good reaction to one oil. If you start using ten oils all at once, how do you know which one it is? Just like I recommend with supplements, be very careful. These are powerful tools, but you have to use them in the right way. Just be very careful when it comes to that.

TeriAnn: With that, let’s get to our very first one. Let’s talk about lavender. Lavender is my favorite essential oil by far and   way. We use it in our house daily, especially at night when we’re going to bed. We’ll rub it on our pillows, we diffuse it in the air. I absolutely love lavender essential oil and I love the smell. Lavender oil is believed to have anti septic and anti-inflammatory properties. There’s a lot of research around breast health and how it benefits people when it comes to their breast health, and when it comes to killing breast cancer cells. It stops the itch and burn of insect bites. I get a lot of bug bites where I live. I’m always putting lavender on there and try to keep it handy wherever I go. It’s great for that. Also, as a flavor booster, lavender is used in a lot of different ways to cook. You can put a drop of lavender oil in brownie batter, chocolate icing, cookie dough, dessert recipes, even salad dressing. It has a really good flavor and smell. I can’t say enough good things about lavender. Again, it’s my favorite essential oil.

Jonathan: It’s a go to around here with two and four year old girls. It goes in the diffuser in the evening time just to help calm everybody down a little bit, get everybody ready for bed. The other place I keep it is in the kitchen. It’s phenomenal for burns. While it’s great to add some flavor, it’s great as I’m trying to fumble around and burn myself, to have some lavender handy. Put a little bit right on there and you literally don’t blister. It can take the burn away. It can still feel burnt. It can still have a hot feeling when you first burn yourself. The next day you don’t even know that you burned yourself. It’s phenomenal for healing that, for like you said, the insect bites. Down here in Texas we have fire ants, so it’s great for the fire ant bites. I just think lavender is phenomenal. Again, with kids, I would dilute it a little bit. My daughters, we have a batch that we have diluted. For myself, I use it just straight. I think lavender is phenomenal.

TeriAnn: One other thing we forgot to say at the beginning too that I just remembered as I was reading through a bit of our notes was, be really careful when you’re using essential oils. I forget this sometimes, and this is so bad. I’ll have put some on my finger to rub it somewhere and then you touch your eyes. Be so careful when you’re using essential oils. I’ve made that mistake one too many times. It’s very powerful. You should never be putting essential oils in your eyes or close to your eyes for any reason. I forgot to say that at the beginning, but I’ve made that mistake so many times. Rookie mistake for sure. Always make sure it’s not on your fingers after you use it for something. The next one is tea tree. This one is really powerful when it comes to anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-fungal benefits. Due to its potent anti-inflammatory benefits, tea tree oil helps to relieve inflammatory skin conditions, especially eczema and psoriasis.

TeriAnn: It’s also a natural bug repellent. With the summer months coming and mosquitoes coming in, and all those nasty bugs that are out there, tea tree is great as a natural bug repellent. If it’s an extra hot day and your deodorant has failed, you can apply it again, but this time with a drop or two of tea tree oil to help kill the bacteria. That was new to me and something that I didn’t know. It definitely that benefit of natural bug repellent is something that needs to be on people’s minds right now. All of those bug repellents that we use that have so many chemicals and toxins in them, you might as well be using tea tree and something that’s natural.

Jonathan: It’s a challenge for us here. We’ve had a lot of rain this spring here in Texas. I have a little creek that goes through the property. It feels like two days ago the mosquitoes came out. They are bigger and badder than ever. I don’t want to spray a bunch of poison on myself and my daughters to keep them away. They feast on me. Tea tree, yeah. It’s one of the ones we mix tea tree with some other oils to get a really good bug repellent. I think it works phenomenally. Another thing is I use it to just spray around when I’m outside, whenever I’m going to go outside on the patio, things like that just to have that to keep bugs away, not even necessarily spraying it on ourselves.

TeriAnn: One other thing on tea tree oil, this is one of the oils that you should not swallow or ingest. You have to be careful with some of the oils. Some you can use like we talked about lavender, but you have to be careful with some of the oils and really know your information on it.

TeriAnn: The next one is lemon. The smell of lemon is by far in a way one of my very favorite smells. I love lemon desserts. I love lemon everything. I just can’t get enough of the smell. I love it in cleaning, for cleaning and things like that it’s just such a good smell. Lemon oil has a balancing effect on the oil glands of the scalp. If you massage a drop or two of lemon oil into your scalp before you go to bed at night, then wash it out in the morning, over a period of a few weeks you’ll notice much less oily hair. It will make your pillow smell nice and fresh too, which is awesome. Especially if you love lemon scent as much as I do. Then you can diffuse lemon oil to help kill airborne bacteria. So, it’s really good for that as well. While we’re on the conversation of bacteria, in diffusing it you can also use it for cleaning as well. Put a lemon essential oil in homemade cleaning product. A lot of good information out there about homemade cleaning products, instead of buying those products from the store that are super toxic.

TeriAnn: Lemon is definitely good not only for the scent, but also killing bacteria. On the topic of killing air born bacteria, it’s been show that diffused lemon oil can rapidly kill off the bacteria that causes typhoid fever, staph infections, pneumonia, diphtheria, and tuberculosis. Also, several essential oils including lemon are hemostatic. They help to stop bleeding by speeding up the coagulation of the blood. That was new for me. I actually didn’t know that. So very, very powerful benefits.

Jonathan: I love lemon. Especially for the cleaning. It reminds me of a meme. I don’t know if I saw it on Facebook or what. It had a lemonade that said made with artificial lemon flavor. Then there was a cleaning product that said made with real lemons. It’s like, I don’t know. I don’t know where we are right now as a society. Still, let’s not go down that rabbit hole. I love the smell of lemon too. I think it’s a super easy way to add some lemon flavor. Put a drop into water to help the flavor there. For cleaning, lemon is another top one that we use around here all the time.

TeriAnn: One thing to touch on with lemon essential oil as far as a risk with the essential oil or any of the citrus essential oils, there are findings that show lemon oil may promote photo sensitivity, which increases your sensitivity to the sun, and may lead to sunburn and uneven darkening of the skin. Also, it’s recommended to avoid applying lemon oil and other citrus oils to your skin when outdoors, because it can cause blistering. Be very careful with the citrus essential oils when it comes to sun exposure. Just with the sun burns and the blistering, especially if you’re using essential oils on kids. Even if they’re diluted, you run that risk. It’s really dangerous, so being very careful with the citrus oils in that sense.

TeriAnn: The next one is peppermint. Peppermint works as a strong antioxidant, displays anti-tumor actions in lab studies, shows anti allergenic potential, and pain killing effect, and helps to relax the gastral intestinal tract, and may be chemo preventative. Chemo prevention just for those of you who don’t know, is the use of a medication, vitamin, or supplement to stop cancer from happening. This is most often used for people who have a high risk of developing cancer. It has all these amazing benefits. Peppermint is another one that I just absolutely love the smell of peppermint. It reminds me of Christmas. It makes me feel happy. It’s a happy oil. I think it’s a happy oil. It just brings all of those good memories of the holiday for me. Peppermint with the high menthol content makes it great for cooling off during hot flashes. If you struggle with hot flashes, a great thing to use is peppermint oil. It also relaxes skeletal muscles and relax the muscles of the respiratory system.

TeriAnn: Inhaling the scent of peppermint helps to relieve congestion due to allergies and counteract the effects of pollen. I need to be using peppermint for this reason because I have the worst allergies right now. It’s killing me. Especially powerful when combined with lavender and lemon to ease seasonal allergies. Think about putting that in the diffuser. Just letting that blow around your house before you go outside. You’re armed with all of that goodness before that allergy is trying to hit and take over. Peppermint oil is also superb for helping to relieve indigestion and heartburn.

Jonathan: Peppermint is one of my favorite flavors as well, as well as scents. I love peppermint. I absolutely, I mean when I’m stuffy or we’re getting through the flu and cold season, why do the Vick’s vapor rub on your chest and all of that when you can just put a little bit of peppermint oil in your diffuser? It has you breathe so much easier. The rare occasions I get massages, which I wish I got more often, it’s great to put right there on the face cradle. It keeps everything breathing. It really relaxes you, allows you to get really dep breaths, and get in that meditation space when somebody is giving you a massage. Like you said, it relaxes skeletal muscles. I think peppermint is phenomenal. Peppermint is one of those ones that has a little bit more risk to it as well because it is so potent. I know there’s some warnings around it in terms of if you’re pregnant, or nursing women shouldn’t use it. Infants seven years, old and younger. Just being more cautious. Definitely diluting it down, not using it in its full potency.

Jonathan: Diabetics should consider doing some more research, asking their doctor before they use peppermint oil. People with gallbladder problems, taking anti acids. Peppermint, it’s a strong oil. I love it for that reason, and also do a little bit of research before you use peppermint. Make sure you dilute it. As with everything, test out a little bit at a time. See how you react, see how it works for you. Then make it more and more potent as you need to or want to.

TeriAnn: For sure. With peppermint, one of the things I love to do just a tip, when I have really bad cold, which hasn’t happened for a long time for me, knock on wood. Diluting it down and I’ll put it right here on my neck. Just rub below here and all of that. First of all, it’s going right here. You get a lot of congestion all around here when a cold happens. It just breathing it in from there. Putting it anywhere on your face is just going to be way too strong. I find that putting it under my neck just right on my neck where my lymph nodes are, I breathe it in, I smell it, and it clears everything up. You can put it on your chest as well. That just works for me. I love peppermint for that reason. Really good when it comes to having a cold.

TeriAnn: The next oil is eucalyptus. The healing benefits of eucalyptus oil can be attributed to its anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, decongestant, deodorant, and anti-septic qualities among other valuable properties. It’s high anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties are found to be helpful in the management of chronic conditions such as respiratory disease, cardio vascular disease, and degenerative nerve and brain disease. Eucalyptus helps reduce blood sugar levels as well. Again, we already touched on anti-inflammatory, anti-septic, and anti-phlegm properties to open up congested airways. I just want to point out, I don’t know if anyone’s noticed a common theme yet. Anti-inflammatory, we’ve talked about inflammation so many times on the podcast. One of the things we talk about a lot, especially when it comes to supplementation is having proper nutrition, supplementing with our diet, exercise, good sleep helps with keeping inflammation down. Inflammation is what triggers our body, shows us what’s going on, shows us what’s wrong. It’s the sign that somethings wrong with our body. With essential oils, here we’ve touched time, and time, and time again with their anti-inflammatory properties.

TeriAnn: 20:52 Take note. I mean when we talk about essential oils like we talked about in the beginning, they’re coming back on the scene in such a big way because they are so powerful. Their benefits are so powerful. When something has anti-inflammatory benefits, we’ve got to listen up because that’s something that can really help us with our overall long term health. Not to take away from eucalyptus, but that’s just something that popped into my mind. We’ve touched on it time, and time, and time again. I think it was important to note.

Jonathan: Really quickly, eucalyptus is another one of those not to ingest. It’s just better just to stay away from ingesting it. Again, while it’s great for the decongestion properties, if you’re using it on kids, really dilute it down in a big way first. Again, it’s another strong, potent oil, similar to peppermint.

TeriAnn: Before we go to our last oil, I just want to share really quickly. My favorite way to use essential oils 100%, and it happens every single day in my house, is when we go to bed, we diffuse lavender, which we already talked about. Its calming effects, and how much it relaxes your body. Also, peppermint, which we talked about that relaxing the body, opening up the airways. I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this, but I think everyone gets a little bit more congested at night. You’re laying down, things aren’t moving as much, you’re not breathing as well. In our house, for use we do the lavender, peppermint, and we do eucalyptus. All of these amazing benefits coming out of the diffuser and it smells like a spa. That’s why first and foremost, I love that concoction. Those three together smells incredible. Just think of all of those amazing benefits while you’re sleeping to help you be relaxed, be calm, all of those things that come from diffusing those things into the air, and getting a good night sleep. That’s something we do every single day in our house. My favorite way to use essential oils hands down.

Jonathan: I think it’s a great tip. I as well, we use essential oils every night. If we’re not using lavender, we actually use an essential oil blend that we make at Organixx called a relax. It’s interesting. We’re going to do a whole podcast I think on blends and talking about them. For a quick plug, anyway, Organixx does sell USDA certified organic essential oils. We sell blends. We’re doing this podcast, we’re talking to you about know this and know that. You feel like you have to go to school sometimes just to understand all of the essential oils that are out there. We also make it easy because we create some blends. We have a relax blend, or we have an Exxhale blend, or we have a breathe blend. All these different things, you don’t have to know all the science. It’s like, hey Relaxx. I want to relax. Let me throw some of the in the diffuser. It’s already blended up, all the best essential oils to help you relax. I’m just always going to do quick plugs when it comes up, but that’s what we use too. Listen, I’m looking for simplicity. My daughters are two and four years old.

Jonathan: It’s sometimes just easier to grab something pre mixed, throw it in the diffuser, turn it on, and know that everybody is one their way to calm this hopefully.

TeriAnn: Hopefully.

Jonathan: Hopefully.

TeriAnn: Hopefully is the key when it comes to kids and sleeping. Last, but certainly not least frankincense, which is the king of essential oils. Such a powerful, powerful essential oil. It is distilled from the resin of the Boswellia tree that grows in many regions within northern Africa, and the Middle East. Research shows that the natural plant chemical constituents in frankincense oil simulate the immune system. Our immune system is so important to our health. But it supports so much more. Frankincense is a powerful health support for respiratory problems such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, and bronchitis. Also whether your skin is dry and mature, or oily and blotched with blemishes, frankincense oil has wonderful balancing qualities when it comes to your skin. It helps to reduce lines and wrinkles by tightening and toning your skin, accelerates the healing of blemishes, skin ulcers and wounds, and stimulates cell regeneration.

TeriAnn: For anti-aging benefits, put several drops into your favorite night time moisturizer. For acne and blemishes, apply it directly on the problem area unless you have very sensitive skin. Then of course, you would dilute. Also, you can use frankincense oil to help calm and center the mind to promote spiritual awareness, and to cultivate a sense of inner peace while meditating. Frankincense contains compounds known as sesquiterpenes, which work directly on the limbic system of the brain, the center of memory and emotions. Frankincense is calming, grounding, and centering to the nervous system. Diffuse it into your room or just inhale directly from the bottle at the start of your meditation. That makes me just want to go meditate right now. It’s been a long day and I’m like, I just want to go grab my frankincense and sit down and just go to my Zen place. That just made me calm reading it. But frankincense is such a powerful, powerful essential oil. I think it’s often overlooked. We talk about lavender and lemon, and grapefruit, and orange, and peppermint, and all those ones that we all know about. Frankincense has a lot of powerful, powerful benefits.

Jonathan: Frankincense is phenomenal. It’s also not cheap. When you look at all of the oils out there, frankincense would usually come in a much smaller bottle, if it’s a quality frankincense. It’s very potent. You don’t need as much of it. It doesn’t come in as big of a bottle as you’re going to find with some of the other ones. Speaking of that, I think it’s important that we do talk about the quality of essential oils. Listen, if you go to Amazon and you type in essential oils. You’re going to get results for lavender for four dollars probably. Frankincense for eight dollars. There may be a drop of frankincense in that bottle. Then all the rest of it might be coconut oil or something else. Who knows what’s mixed in there? For the most part in life and with a lot of things, you get what you paid for number one. Number two: there’s certain things you should look for.

Jonathan: One of those things for me is a USDA certified organic oil. We’ve talked about over and over, and over again the benefits of organic produce, organic foods, organic supplements. Your essential oils are no different. You’re diffusing those into the air, you’re breathing them in. Make sure that you’re only breathing in a pure, clean oil that is, excuse me. USDA certified organic. The other again, is the purity and is it diluted. How much is it diluted? All of these make a big difference. I encourage you not to just go to Amazon, do a search and buy the cheapest one. Go to a reputable company, make sure that you’re getting a quality oil. I’m also going to share Organixx at one point, we were selling a lot of USDA certified essential oils. Being a small company, it was challenging. We had probably 30 plus different oils and the inventory, and we’re just a small company. We actually did away with our oils last year, most of them other than our top five, top six. We have gotten so many emails about people asking us to bring our oils back, that they’re the best ones on the market, they’re the cleanest ones, they feel the biggest difference.

Jonathan: Whether they’re comparing them to Young Living or doTERRA or any of the other essential oils out there. They want us to bring back the USDA certified. Part of this podcast is to announce that as well. We have back our top 12 USDA certified essential oils at Organixx.com. O-R-G-A-N-I-X-X dot com. They’re phenomenal. We also have our blends. The other thing that we’re doing is anybody who purchases a bottle of our essential oils, we have a complete how to guide on how to use the essential oils. We’re going to give you tons of different ways to use the different oils, all of it’s free. Just to really educate and welcome back the oils back into our line and give all of you back everything you’ve been begging for, for the last 12 months. Just had to do my plugs there to talk about us, and really to educate, to make sure that when you go down the route of essential oils, get high quality ones. Do research on the company. Don’t just go to Amazon and say, here’s one for $2.99, it’s got to be a good lavender. It likely is not.

TeriAnn: Let me just touch on a couple of things on top of what you said. Before we close out the king of essential oils, which is frankincense, I just want to really drive home that frankincense is the king of essential oils not only for all those things I talked about, but more importantly to note what I said at the very beginning. Its powerful benefits when it comes to the immune system. It is why it is the king of essential oils. It is so powerful when it comes to your immune system and keeping you healthy. We don’t have time to go through all of these amazing stories I’ve heard in the past of what frankincense oil has done for people when it comes to their health, and the healing benefits of frankincense oil. I would definitely encourage you to do your homework when it comes to frankincense oil. Really fascinating benefits there when it comes to frankincense, especially when it comes to your immune system. Just to touch really quickly on what Jonathan said.

TeriAnn: When it comes to your quality of your essential oils, make sure like he said, to choose high quality, organic essential oils that have been properly distilled so that it’s phytochemical content is not compromised. We’ve talked about phytochemicals in the past. Those are the really powerful nutrients in foods. Obviously in oils that are coming from foods and other sources that you’re really getting those high quality oils, again that have been properly distilled. Look for bottles that are labeled 100% pure oil, and be aware of cheap oils like Jonathan was talking about that may be diluted with potentially toxic and chemical ingredients. We talk about this with supplements, but it’s the same with essential oils. Why are you taking a supplement to benefit your health if there’s toxins and garbage in there that’s just going to counter balance everything you’re doing? Same with essential oils. Make sure that you’re using oils that don’t have chemicals and toxins in there, things that are masked because you’re just not getting the most benefit out of it. It may even be doing damage in that sense. Just being really careful with that.

TeriAnn: To wrap this up, we have covered today lavender, lemon, peppermint, eucalyptus, frankincense, and what did I miss? What was the last one that I missed? Tea tree. And tea tree. Those are six of the essential oils that we covered today. The other six that you can snag from Organixx right now, orange, grapefruit, oregano, geranium rose, rosemary, and clove. All which have amazing, amazing benefits. One other thing is we will always have show notes to talk more about what we’ve been doing there. I’m actually going to make it a point to put in the show notes which essential oils you cannot ingest. I think it’s really important for people to know that. Out of those that we sell here at Organixx, we will make a list of those that you can’t ingest. Because we talked about be careful with that, but I want to provide that information so you can find that in the show notes for the 12 that we provide at Organixx.

Jonathan: In addition to the 12, we also have five blends. We mentioned that before. We have Relaxx, Exxhale, Breathe, and a couple others. We also have Magi-Complex essential oil, which is very interesting. It is a mix of turmeric oil, myrrh, and frankincense. We have a supplement like that, but this is an essential oil that we’ve heard some claims on it that we’re not allowed to repeat, because then it becomes a medical product. We’ve heard from people that put it on their skin, whether they’re getting injections or shots, or different things like that, the anti-inflammatory uses of it. Our Magi-Complex essential oil is a one of a kind. You won’t find it anywhere else on the market. Again, we know a lot of this is overwhelming. Whether you buy one bottle or you buy 20 bottles from us, everybody is going to get our 12 top essential oils and their uses how to guide. There’s 60 plus tips and ideas on how to use it, how not to use it, all of that different stuff. Just to help educate you so that you feel like you can go into it knowledgeably and get the benefits from the oils.

Jonathan: With all that said, stay tuned. We’re going to do some future podcasts talking about some other essential oils that we have, talking about some other uses. Just really doing better education on how to use them, diffuse them, all of that. Because essential oils are powerful. We all use them in our lives here at Organixx. I know TeriAnn uses them. I use them and if you’re not using them at home, I think they could absolutely be a big upgrade to your life. TeriAnn, you have anything? Any last words you want to share?

TeriAnn: No, I think we covered a lot of really good information today. Hopefully this has been extremely helpful for everyone and educated them a little bit further when it comes to essential oils.

Jonathan: Agreed. As always, please subscribe if you’re not subscribed to us on iTunes. That way you will not miss a future episode. Always go to empoweringyouorganically.com to watch us on video if you please, to get all of the show notes, to get the Cliff Notes, to get any references, any resources, even the transcript of this entire show if you prefer to read it or skim through it at a future date. Get access to all of our previous shows. This is a 100% free podcast that we create just to education you and hopefully upgrade your life in one way or another. Thank you very much for listening, and we’ll see you on the next episode.

TeriAnn: Thanks everyone.

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Episode 33 – Top 6 Organic Essential Oils and their Do’s & Don’ts

Organixx Essential Oils – 100% Pure, Organic, Non-GMO

1 Comparative studies of cytotoxic and apoptotic properties of different extracts and the essential oil of Lavandula angustifolia on malignant and normal cells.

2 Immunomodulatory activity of biopolymeric fraction BOS 2000 from Boswellia serrata.

3 Insecticidal Activity of Melaleuca alternifolia Essential Oil and RNA-Seq Analysis of Sitophilus zeamais Transcriptome in Response to Oil Fumigation.

4 A review of the bioactivity and potential health benefits of peppermint tea (Mentha piperita L.).

National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy – Safety Information