Essential oils have been all the hype for years now, especially in aromatherapy and alternative medicine circles. These oils are used by individuals to address different health conditions and improve their physical and psychological well-being.
There are specific scents for immediate stress relief and conditions such as headaches or colds. There are specific variants for other conditions lie morning sickness, libido boost, pain, and more. As of writing, there are around 90 different essential oils available in the market.
As the brands and users’ numbers increase, the questions remain. Do essential oils have healing properties? Can it be used as a treatment replacement?
The Essential Oils Breakdown
Essential oils are derived from plants. Different components such as seeds, stems, roots, or flowers are extracted to release highly concentrated material. The oils are positioned to be natural and organically produced; however, since the essential oil market is not yet regulated, it is difficult for the buyers to identify nor check the ingredients of what they’re buying. Moreover, these products aren’t put through a thorough FDA testing and approval process, so their selling and usage are not yet entirely approved by the market.
There is also a high chance for the oils to get a different mixture all the time, even for the items under the same brand. Plants used may come from different sources and may contain different elements. According to Mark Moss, a psychologist from Northumbria University in the UK who studies essential oils, the major components for the essential oils will always be present but their concentration per bottle may vary because of the mentioned fact.
How are essential oils used today?
There are three ways the essential oils are used today.
1. Inhalation
This is the process when the essential oils are inhaled using a diffusion. In this method, the compounds enter the nose through the receptors, immediately sending a signal to the olfactory system, which is the part of the brain that activates a person’s sense of smell. The same signal then travels throughout the brain reaching the limbic system, which is responsible for controlling the human emotions.
2. Skin application
You can choose to mix your essential oil with a carrier oil and apply it directly onto your skin. In this application, the compounds absorbed through the skin enters the bloodstream and then enters the metabolism through the liver similar to most drugs. Once inside the liver, the enzymes play the role in activating the metabolites.
3. Ingestion
There are some essential oils that are meant to be ingested; however, this isn’t recommended by both medical professionals and health authorities.
Effectivity as a medicine
There is yet to be sufficient research proving essential oils can act as a replacement for standard medications and medical care. However, it can’t be denied that some oils are helpful in handling certain conditions.
For example, in the same study, Moss mentioned that rosemary, sage, and peppermint oils are useful in improving people’s memory and cognition up to a certain degree.
In his study, 20 people from his research team claimed to have improved memory and cognition after using rosemary oil. In another experiment, children who took the tests inside rooms scented with rosemary received better results than the children who took the same test but in unscented rooms.
Moss concluded that essential oils can be seen as an additional self-care enhancer, but never as the treatment itself. He still left the final judgment to the consumers.
Conclusion
Since the beginning of civilization, people have been leaning towards the natural solution in solving health problems. Essential oils are one example of that natural method. As of now, science has yet to look into essential oils as healing solutions. For now, it is still up to the people to evaluate the effectiveness of this treatment.
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