Pain - NSAIDS or Essential Oils?

A lot of people ask me what oils should they use for pain?  Well, that depends on what kind of pain you are talking about.  At the end of this blog is a very short list of some different types of pain and which oil to use.

Facts:
- About half of the world's population suffers from headaches.
- At least 1 out of every 4 Americans have experienced chronic pain.
- At least half of Americans who are 65 or older suffer from pain every day.
- NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are found in Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Aleve, Advil, and Motrin.

I saw a video (below) about some astonishing facts about NSAIDS.
- Tylenol kills 7 people a month
- Toxic effects from NSAIDS and Acetaminophen is the 7th/8th most common cause of death.
- Acetaminophen (Tylenol, Excedrin, Panadol, Paracetamol) poisoning is the main cause of liver failure.
- There are over 100,000 Poison Control Center calls for Acetaminophen poisoning.
- There are over 600 OTC medications and prescriptions with Acetaminophen.

What oils to use for different types of pain:
- For tooth and gum pain, use clove oil.
- For muscular and skeletal pain, use balsam fir oil.
- For headaches, stomach pain, fever, bruises, pulled muscles, and inflammation, use peppermint oil.
- For wounds (scrapes, cuts), rashes, bruises, and pain caused by stress, use lavender oil.
- For muskoskeletal pain, arthritic/rheumatic pain, and joint pain, use wintergreen oil.
- For muscle pain, use marjoram oil.
- For tennis elbow, arthritis, and sore muscles, use PanAway oil - a blend of wintergreen, peppermint, helichrysum, and clove.

Many oils have cortisol-like properties like spruce.  Did you know that wintergreen is the precursor for aspirin?  It has at least 85% methyl salicylate (which is found in aspirin).  Neosporin will speed healing while reducing infection rates and scaring. However, Neosporin causes skin allergies on up to 20% of those who use it repeatedly.

The BEST thing about these oils is that they don't have side effects!

Check out this website for more info on pain: http://www.experience-essential-oils.com/essential-oils-for-pain.html

The oils mentioned above are only to be used if they are Grade A.  The information provided herein is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, or prescription for any disease or mental illness. The author, publisher, and distributors accept no responsibility for such use. Those who may be suffering from any disease, illness, or injury should consult with a physician.


For more information: www.oilsforhealthyliving.net

Pure Essential Oils

Does it really matter if an oil is pure or not?  Pure, meaning undiluted.  Buyer Beware!

Have you ever wondered where all of the essential oils come from that are in our personal care products?  If it is truly pure, wouldn't we run out of farmland to grow the plants?  Have you ever wondered why France exports more lavender than it produces?  It's because they dilute the oil, making it not pure.  What about all of the claims that the lavender in your soap or air freshener will relax you?  Does it really?  How could it?  Is the soap or air freshener toxic to begin with?  If the oils are really pure then why would manufacturer's combine toxic ingredients with non-toxic ingredients?  Is that an oxymoron?  Ask your massage therapist the next time you go for a massage to find out what the ingredients are in the oils that they use.

Just remember that you shouldn't put things on your skin that you aren't willing to eat.

Grade A (also called therapeutic grade) oils are lipid (oil) soluble and are volatile, and aromatic compounds.  They are steam distilled and cold pressed over long times.  The essential oils are from every part of the plant except for the seeds.  The more heat and the faster the plants are processed, the more the plants lose the qualities of the essential oils.

Why shouldn't I buy essential oils in retail stores?  Because less than pure essential oils may do more harm to you.  Why don't the essential oils work like it says?  What you find in most stores (including Whole Foods) are oils that you can't ingest.  Why is that?  It's because the quality of the oils are less than Grade A.  They are toxic and diluted.  They want to maximize profits. 

An analogy is wine.  Why are wines prized based upon the year they are made?  That's because the growing season has different components each year like soil, wind, sun, rain, temperature, and altitude.  Same goes for the plants that are grown to produce the essential oils.  Each harvest is different.  If a manufacturer of essential oils wants to make it smell and taste the same year after year, they would have to alter the compounds.  Thereby destroying the therapeutic benefits of the essential oil.

It is up to you, as the consumer, to be educated about essential oils.  You want to maximize the dollar spent on the value that the essential oils give you.

Young Living Essential Oils (YLEO) has only Grade A (therapeutic grade) oils which are GRAS approved by the FDA.

For more information: www.oilsforhealthyliving.net

Exercise and Nutrition

Here are some notes on exercise that were taken at the 2006 Young Living Essential Oils (YLEO) Convention:

The body must move.  The athlete’s body goes fast.  They need to recover from the acids the muscles produce rapidly.  This is not necessarily healthy.  It is better to exercise regularly and moderately.  The goals differ for both types of exercisers.  The athlete does intense exercise for medals and has one or two activities for training such as running, boxing, weight training.  The regular exerciser will do moderate activity for fitness and does a variety such as walking, biking, stair climbing, swimming, tennis, resistance and weight bearing, etc.  Exercise is stress on the body which is good.  The body will adapt and we need just enough.  Too much puts too great a stress on the body and this stress needs to be overcome by rest, hydration and good nutrition.   

We need to know the goals of our fitness customers in order to best help them.  Are they regular exercisers or athletes? 

Certain activities require certain products best suited for them.  For endurance, do aerobic exercises.  Intense exercise is not healthy.  You should be able to hold a conversation while you exercise.  That is an indicator or a good pace.  Strength exercisers such as body builders and aerobic exercisers have different recovery times.  The aerobic exerciser who walks or runs burns fat and needs a recovery drink with a ratio of 60% carbs, 20% protein and 20% fat.  Whey Fit (now Pure Protein Complete) drink is ideal for this exerciser.  The anaerobic exerciser such as a weight lifter needs a 50% carb, 25% protein and 35% fat drink.  Power Meal is ideal for this exerciser.  The protein in Power Meal is vegetarian. 

Exercise makes the body acidic.  Fruits and vegetables are alkaline.  The desired state of the body is alkaline and disease favors an acidic body.  Athletes should not eat 2 hours before a competition.  Enjoy a healthy meal after.  A good recipe for an after exercise recovery shake is one scoop Young Living Whey Fit (now Pure Protein Complete), one banana, one half teaspoon Blue Agave (which is a honey like substance from a cactus plant and does not raise blood sugar levels), two tablespoons ground flax seeds and a handful of NingXia wolfberries. 

Young Living products are designed to help athletes of all kinds to recover quicker and give better performances.  After workouts, the immune system is low and athletes need a healthy recovery snack such as a nutritional shake.  It takes the body two hours to recover from white sugar ingestion.  Coffee exhausts the adrenal gland.  Many athletes have a chronic cough because intense exercise depletes the lung moisture.  Good nutrition is vital. 

Use glass bottles to put oils in to drink.  Plastic is not good.  For athletes’ good performance, put oils such as Valor and En-R-gee on hairline, Gathering on ankle and foot, Harmony on edge of eyebrow (balances energy) and put oils on your meridian points.  Rub Mountain Savory and Nutmeg with two fingers on the crease of the adrenal gland to stimulate it.  Relieve It is a good massage oil for after and Aroma Siez is good for aching muscles. 

Enjoy your exercise!

For more information: www.oilsforhealthyliving.net

Toxic Mold

- More than 50% of homes have mold resulting in a 50-100% increase in respiratory problems (according to studies performed by Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University).
- It is estimated that 45 million Americans suffer from allergies.
- Over 50% of patients tested in one allergy clinic who had allergy symptoms tested positive for the mold species Cladosporium.
- According to a Mayo Clinic study, 1 in 7 Americans suffers from acute fungal sinusitis.

Everyone can be affected by black mold.  Many common ailments can be attributed to the harmful effects of mold such as: allergies, asthma, breathing difficulties, colds, chronic sinusitis, fatigue, flu-like symptoms, runny nose, and sore throat.  We spend billions of dollars every year on over-the-counter medications, doctors, and prescriptions to treat the symptoms of these illnesses.

Cellulose is a primary food source for mold and can be found in wood, cotton, paper, hemp, etc.  One square inch of mold infestation can produce over a million spores that are released into the air.  What many people do not realize is that mold is probably growing in their homes and workspace right now.  There may be super-colonies of mold in duct work or central heating and air conditioning systems, basements, attics, crawl spaces, under floors, and behind walls.

Why can't I just use bleach?
1.  Sodium hypochlorite is the active ingredient and is a deadly gas that has killed thousands of soldiers.
2.  If bleach is accidentally mixed with an acid-containing cleaner (such as toilet-bowl cleaners, drain cleaners, lemon juice or vinegar), a deadly chlorine gas is released.
3.  Household bleach contains 3-6% sodium hypochlorite and the remaining is water.  Using bleach provides 1 of 3 ingredients necessary for mold growth.
4.  Bleach kills mold on nonporous surfaces, not in the air or on porous surfaces such as: wood, wallpaper, sheet rock, and grout.  Sodium hypochlorite dissipates within a few hours of application and the mold growth rebounds.

For years, mold was treated with bleach or ozone air cleaners.  Now, we are discouraged from using these because they are toxic and not effective.  An all-natural, organic substance like Thieves Household Cleaner or Thieves essential oil blend is a great option from Young Living Essential Oils (YLEO).  Thieves is a blend of cinnamon bark, clove, eucalyptus, lemon, and rosemary.  Micro-organisms are not able to adapt to essential oils as long as they remain pure and unadulterated.

You can clean the mold area with undiluted Thieves Household Cleaner and diffuse the Thieves essential oil for 15 minutes every 3 hours.

Source: 
http://thieves-secret.com/pdf/toxic-mold.pdf
"Nature's Mold Rx, the Non-Toxic Solution to Toxic Mold" by Edward R Close, PhD and Jacquelyn Close, RA.  http://www.moldrx4u.com/

For more information:  
www.oilsforhealthyliving.net
http://oilsforhealthyliving-heidi.blogspot.com/2011/11/thieves-overview.html