Description: Doctor of Homeopathic Medicine, Registered Holistic Nutritionist
I discovered essential oils about 10 years ago when I had a headache. A friend from homeopathic college recommended I add essential oils to my repertoire. Always willing to try something new, I quickly incorporated it into my daily routine. I added some lavender and peppermint oil to the base of my skull and added a drop of each to cupped hands and inhaled. Almost instantly, I felt relief and was instantly hooked.
Used in cultures for over a thousand years, essential oils are defined in The Life Essential book as the “extracted volatile, aromatic compounds found in the leaves, flowers, bark, stems, roots, resin, seeds of plants or pith of citrus fruits” (9). Due to the molecular size of an essential oil’s active compounds, they can more readily pass through the skin, into the bloodstream or even crossing the blood-brain barrier, and penetrate the cell membrane (9). With a wide variety of functional chemical const
There are a variety of collection methods for essential oils such as steam distillation, cold pressing, solvent extractions, etc. and not all oils are created the same. I have included a link at the bottom of this article from consumersadvocate.org which includes a review of some of the top essential oil companies. Since there are hundreds of essential oils, I’ve decided to create a list of the top 5 oils you will be able to use on a regular basis. If you are new to essential oils, this will be especia