Category: Young Living Essential Oils

A close look at Frankincense

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From the Epoch Times, comes this great article. Epoch Times is a good source for news is you aren’t familiar with them.

The Healing Powers of Frankincense

Frankincense, a popular essential oil, has been revered for millennia for religious, medicinal, and beautification purposes. A literal testament to its value comes from the Bible, where many know it as one of the three gifts the wise men brought to the birth of Jesus.

Frankincense comes from the Boswellia tree, which is native to Africa, much of the Middle East, parts of India, and Pakistan. An incision is made in the trunk of the Boswellia tree, which exudes a milky sap that hardens upon contact with the air, turning it into a resin. The resin also can be steam-distilled, producing a fragrant essential oil.

Frankincense Throughout History
The ancient Egyptians used frankincense resin as incense in religious rituals and for beautification by charring it and grinding it into a powder for eyeliner and tattoos. The Egyptian Ebers Papyrus, dated to 1500 B.C., prescribes frankincense resin for throat infections and asthma attacks.

The Iranian physician Avicenna (980–1037) recommended frankincense for tumors, ulcers, and fevers in his ancient medical texts.

There are earlier medicinal references to frankincense in the Chinese herbal manuscript, the Ming Yi Bie Lu, in the 6th century.

Several mentions of frankincense are found in both the Old and New Testaments of the Judeo-Christian bible, sometimes in regard to its use as an offering, and other times as a metaphor for what it means to endure without grievance.

Frankincense also had various uses in everyday life. Melted incense resin was used to repair pots and jars, creating a watertight seal, and the bark of the Boswellia tree made dye for cotton and leather clothing.

Frankincense in Chinese Medicine
In Chinese medicine, frankincense is the herb ru xiang and has been used medicinally for thousands of years. It has pungent, bitter, and warming properties and works specifically on the liver, heart, and spleen. Frankincense is in a class of herbs that move blood, strongly stimulating blood flow.

In the Eastern view, many health problems are caused by a “stagnation” or blockage of either qi (energy) or blood flow. When qi and blood are flowing freely in our bodies, the system is balanced, and we are healthy. But, when there is a blockage in this flow, problems arise. Pain is one example. Pain is a symptom of a blockage or “stagnation” of the qi or blood flow. Frankincense is often prescribed for pain because of its strong blood-moving properties and ability to break up stagnation.

Tumors, cysts, and other masses are considered accumulations of blood in Chinese medicine. The thinking is that if the blockage goes untreated for long enough, it will accumulate into a mass or tumor. Because of its powerful blood-moving actions, ru xiang is used to treat tumors and other masses. A lot of scientific research is being dedicated to its cytotoxic, anti-tumor effects.

Frankincense and Cancer
Research has been affirming frankincense and its potential effectiveness against cancer. In one study published in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, frankincense essential oil induced cell death in human pancreatic cancer cells. This research is hopeful as it might offer a more natural alternative to chemo and radiation therapy for pancreatic cancer, an often aggressive cancer with a poor prognosis. In a research review published in 2016, researchers noted that the boswellic acids of frankincense have an antiproliferative effect on tumors.

“They inhibit proliferation of tumor cells of the leukaemia and glioblastoma subset. They have an anti-tumour effect since they inhibit topoisomerase I and II-alpha and stimulate programmed cell death (apoptosis),” they wrote.

Contraindications
Frankincense shouldn’t be used in pregnancy and should be used with caution for those with digestive problems because of its strong moving actions and potential toxicity. For these reasons, long-term use isn’t recommended.

As an additional warning, if you are considering taking frankincense internally, be sure that you are using a 100-percent pure oil that is labeled for internal use and not an aromatic or scented oil, and do so under the supervision of a health care professional.

Frankincense’s Everyday Uses
Frankincense is an incredibly versatile oil with many practical uses. You can use the oil topically on the skin, or put a few drops in a carrier oil such as coconut, jojoba, almond, or avocado for pain or inflammation. To reap its beneficial effects, you can also add a few drops to an essential oil diffuser or vaporizer.

Frankincense and Health
Frankincense has antiseptic, astringent, anti–inflammatory, disinfectant, digestive, diuretic, and expectorant properties. It’s known as the king of oils because it benefits every system in the body. It strengthens the immune system and helps the body to absorb nutrients. Frankincense helps healthy cell regeneration and keeps existing cells and tissues at optimum levels, giving it a wide variety of applications in medicine to treat a multitude of conditions.

Here are some ways you can use frankincense essential oil at home.

Stress
A few drops of frankincense essential oil in the bath will calm the nervous system and help you relax, making it a great thing to do right before bed to ensure a restful, rejuvenating sleep. This aspect of frankincense also has been studied by researchers. In one study on rats published in the Journal of Oleo Science in 2019, researchers declared, “Frankincense essential oil can counter the effects of stress by effectively relieving sleep debt and maintaining antioxidant capacity without increasing oxidative stress, and, therefore, may be beneficial in the management of stress.”

Skin Conditions
Known for its ability to treat skin conditions and heal wounds, frankincense is also an astringent and helps protect skin cells. It reduces acne and the size of pores, heals blemishes, prevents wrinkles, and lifts and tightens skin naturally. You can use it topically anywhere you have loose skin (six drops to an ounce of carrier oil on the skin). Frankincense also strengthens gums and hair roots, stops bleeding from wounds on the skin, speeds healing of cuts, acne, insect bites, and boils.

Oral Hygiene
Frankincense prevents tooth decay, cavities, bad breath, as well as oral infections. Reseach published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology in 2018 found that “The antimicrobial properties of essential oil derived from frankincense, a compound with well-known traditional use, showed that it possesses a clear potential as a natural antimicrobial agent.” It also helps to strengthen gums. You can add a drop of Frankincense oil to your toothpaste to help improve oral health.

Anti-Inflammatory
Research has shown that frankincense reduces inflammation, in particular helping to inhibit the breakdown of cartilage and painful swelling associated with both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Pain Killer
You can use frankincense oil directly on the skin or with a carrier oil such as coconut or jojoba for pain relief because of its blood-moving, as well as anti-inflammatory, properties.

Colds and Respiratory Health
Frankincense breaks up phlegm in the respiratory tract and the lungs, relieves congestion, and eases bronchitis. Add a few drops of the essential oil to a diffuser or vaporizer to clear the respiratory tract. Diffusing frankincense will also deodorize and disinfect your home of germs, bacteria, and viruses.

As you can see, frankincense has many health benefits. The fact that so many cultures have been using it for centuries is a testament to its healing prowess. When using essential oils externally, always ensure that you are getting high-quality, organic oils. They are very concentrated, so a drop or two goes a long way. If you are interested in using frankincense internally, be sure to do so under the supervision of a health care practitioner. Frankincense is a wonderful addition to your life and your home and is yet another example of how nature can heal us, body, mind, and spirit.

Young Living essential oils has excellent frankincense oils, as well as blends that contain frankincense. If you have questions or need to order, just use the contact form. I’ll be glad to help you.

 

 

Intentional Spaces

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Sharing a email that could be helpful in these crazy stressful times.

Enhance your space with the aromas of essential oils. Why essential oils? Smell is the only sense that has a direct connection to the limbic lobe of the brain, the emotional control center. A scent can evoke an emotion or memory before we are consciously aware of it! Now visualize the room or space you want to focus your intentions on. What type of environment do you want create? What are you using this space for? Then think of aromas you love that will support your desired outcome. Add a few drops in your diffuser and enjoy the benefits! Here are a few essential oils to consider as you create intentional spaces.

Not all Essential oils are created equally

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From Dr. Doug Corrigan:

When you see a $6.99 price tag on a big bottle of essential oil at Target, Amazon, Walmart, or any other vendor, it’s quite natural to feel tempted to purchase it and use it throughout your home. After all, oil is oil, right? Well, like most things, the story is much more complicated than that.

What’s to stop a company from artificially synthesizing some of the constituents found in an essential oil and then using these synthesized constituents to approximate a natural essential oil through reconstitution? What’s to stop a company from using these cheaper and more readily available forms of the constituents to adulterate a natural oil to increase their profits? Nothing.

These types of games are routinely played.

The chemistry of artificially synthesizing molecules that replicate the scents of natural sources has been developed extensively by the perfume, scent, and flavoring industries, which are gargantuan. The infrastructure is extensive and the chemistry is well-established, making this pathway the cheaper option.

To give you an example: In the picture below I show you how they can take turpentine, derived from pine trees, and then chemically convert that to many of the terpenes that are found naturally in essential oils. They can then use these compounds to build an oil completely from scratch; or they can use any one of these artificial constituents to adulterate a natural essential oil to make it cheaper.

For the chemistry geeks who want to keep following along, they take resin from pine trees, and steam distill it to extract turpentine. Turpentine is mainly a mixture of alpha and beta pinene. They fractionally distill the beta-pinene and then use this to produce myrcene. To convert pine to myrcene, they use a process called “pyrolysis”, which takes place at very high temperatures (above 700F). It’s these high temperatures where the problems arise. Toxic compounds are produced at these high temperatures, just like in vaping.

To the right I list out a host of these products that are produced from this high temperature conversion process. On the bottom right, I show the detailed chemical pathways that lead to these decomposition products. They then take myrcene (along with all of the other unwanted byproducts) and produce menthol, citral, citronellal, geraniol, nerol, and linalool, among others. These then find there way into the perfume industry, and yes, you guessed it, into a cheap bottle of oil.

Now some of those decomposition products sound harmless. Pinene, limonene, etc. Well, do you notice three different forms of Xylene on the list? Xylene is a very harsh and toxic organic solvent that’s chemically derived from petroleum. Inhaling xylene vapor leads to depression of the central nervous system, delayed reaction time, nausea, vomiting and headaches. This can occur at very low exposure limits, as low as 100 parts per million. The Xylene component can make up more than 1% of the final myrcene mix after the pyrolysis reaction is completed. How much of that xylene makes it into the final “Essential Oils R Us. ” bottle is anyone’s guess.

This is typical with artificial synthetic chemistry. You always end up with a host of unwanted compounds. Every one of those compounds can make it into the final product, and they don’t have to inform you about these impurities on the label.

Please make sure you know your company and the processes that are being used to produce your essential oil. Your health literally depends on it.

Btw, I have over 70 articles like this in my Frequently Asked Questions Database for Essential Oils. You can access the entire database here —-> www.starfishscents.com/listing/547717651/

Pets can benefit from CDB oil too!

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Did you realize CDB oil has benefits for your furry family members as well?

Pet CBD – 200 MG & 400 MG

Pets can benefit from CBD, too! Do you have a dog that barks excessively, has separation issues/anxiety, goes nuts during fireworks or discomfort?

CBD Oil for Pets by Nature’s Ultra is an all-natural product for cats, dogs and horses. Animals have their own set of CB receptors and Nature’s Ultra Pet CBD* can activate their CB2 receptor which can support your pet’s overall health and wellness.

Usage: Place 1 serving into your pet’s mouth, food, or water. Whichever method works best for your pet. Do not give to a pet that is allergic to hemp or hemp-related products.

*Nature’s Ultra Pet CBD does not contain any essential oils. It also contains no gluten, no fillers, no chemicals, no fragrances, no artificial flavorings, and is cruelty-free.

Allergy info: NO SUGAR, STARCH, SALT, WHEAT, GLUTEN, YEAST, MILK or SOY.

The best spots for applying essential oils and enjoying their benefits

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Essential oils are some of the most potent natural products that can restore health. When used in combination with beneficial lifestyle choices, these volatile oils help restore the body’s natural ability to balance hormones.

Essential oils can also restore calmness to the mind and soothe emotions. Some examples of these are basil, cedarwood, clary sage, geranium, jasmine absolute, lavender, lemon, neroli, peppermint, Roman chamomile, rosemary, sandalwood, and ylang-ylang.

Essential oils also lift the mood and restore energy to the body. Bergamot, lemon and citrus essential oils have the most potent energizing effects.

Lastly, essential oils can help with mental grounding and balancing hormones. Cedarwood, rosemary, sandalwood, and thyme essential oils are the best oils for this. (Related: Essential oil of bald cypress can prevent food spoilage).

To get the most out of them, apply essential oils to the skin directly above the parts that need them or as close to those spots as possible. For example, people who want to remove tension from their backs can apply essential oil to spots that feel sore. A headache, on the other hand, can be alleviated by applying the oil to the forehead or temples.

Pulse points are spots where the heartbeat is felt the strongest. They are located behind the ears, on the ankles, neck, temples, wrists, and over the heart. Applying essential oils to these spots speeds up their absorption into the bloodstream.

Another way to accelerate the absorption of essential oils is to apply them to the soles of the feet, the ears, and the wrists (FEW). The FEW points host the largest pores of the body, so applying essentials oils to these spots will make it easier for oils to enter the skin and make it into the blood.
Safety reminders when picking and using essential oils

Geranium, lavender, sandalwood, and ylang-ylang essential oils are safe for aromatherapy, but other oils may be more restrictive. Lemon and thyme need to be diluted first before they can be applied to the skin.

Patients with epilepsy or high blood pressure must avoid basil and rosemary oils. Along with thyme, these essential oils are not suitable for people with hemophilia and other blood clotting problems.

Clary sage essential oil may trigger contractions in the uterus. Women should not use it while they are pregnant, but it might be helpful during childbirth.

Jasmine essential oil contains benzyl acetate that can cause mild allergic reactions. This compound can also be found in geranium, citronella, lavender, petitgrain, and sweet marjoram.

Bergamot and lemon essential oils are phototoxic. They react poorly to ultraviolet rays, so avoid sunlight and sources of UV light for 12 hours after using lemon oil and for 72 hours after using bergamot oil. Diabetics who are taking medications are also advised to avoid bergamot oil as it reduces blood glucose levels.

Neroli clashes with monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), a class of synthetic antidepressants. People who are taking MAOIs should not use this essential oil.

People taking iron supplements must remember to wait for three hours before using peppermint essential oil. Those with hypertension or are taking medications for digestive problems must also be cautious. Additionally, peppermint oil contains menthol that can slow breathing, so it is not recommended for children below six years of age.

Basil, cedarwood, peppermint, Roman chamomile, and rosemary essential oils can affect the production of breast milk. Pregnant women and mothers who breastfeed should avoid using them.

Alkalime and Apple Cider Vinegar

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I would like to pick your brain…. with the world understanding more the benefits of ph balance, how much better is the YL Alkalime vs the wonders of Apple cider with the mother? Would you please educate me?

Sonya: Great question! They do similar and different things.

Raw Apple Cider Vinegar is great to sip in some water WITH a meal to aid in digestion, pour on your head for hair (diluted with water), it’s great to dissolve what the book “Apple Cider Vinegar: Miracle Health System” calls “acid crystals ” in the neck and spine and some say it’s been their saving grace with arthritis and many other conditions. So I LOVE raw apple cider vinegar!

And yes, it does seem to help with the acid/alkaline balance in the body. There is a great old book called “Folk Medicine: A New England Almanac of Natural Health Care >From a Noted Vermont Country Doctor” and he treats so many conditions with ACV and kelp/iodine and a few other natural substances. It actually helps turn the urine more acidic, which is important to keep a healthy functioning kidney and bladder. When these organs get too alkaline, infections can grow more easily.

Alkalime, on the other hand, is taken either at bedtime, after a meal, or at least an hour before a meal. Why is this? Because it has the effect of neutralizing the occasional excess stomach acid. And believe it or not, we actually do want stomach acid (HCL) right before we eat. So an over acid condition, is actually not enough acid at the right time, which is before a meal. Since ACV is acidic when it enters the body, it can be taken with meals, Alkalime should be take apart from meals.

It also may soothe the occasional upset stomach, relieve occasional heartburn and indigestion.

Alkalime also is awesome for body hydration. The body needs minerals for the water to uptake into the cells (so the speak). Alkalime contains nine biochemical mineral cell salts (different forms of calcium, potassium, and sodium) Lemon and Lime essential oils, and organic lemon powder. So it’s also great to put into a water bottle when hiking, or any time your body needs extra electrolytes.

An over acidic body has also been linked to occasional panic attacks and anxiety along with more serious chronic conditions.

So either way, they are both a great addition to a healthy diet and lifestyle!