How can essential oils help us? (Image: Getty Images)
You have probably heard of and used essential oils before, whether it be in a massage, in your bath, through an inhaler, or even in your skin care and cleansing products.
There are many ways to incorporate them into everyday life, and the health and wellbeing benefits can be enormous.
According to industry data from Wellness Creatives, the UK’s health and wellness industry was valued at around £ 19.6 billion last year, and essential oils have seen a surge in popularity that has not faded.
A recent Puressentiel report said that 247 kilotons of essential oils were produced worldwide in the last year alone. That’s more than the combined weight of 19,900 double-decker buses and a tremendous amount when you consider that it normally only takes a drop or two of oil to reap the benefits.
What exactly are essential oils and what role can they play in our wellbeing?
“I think essential oils are a very misunderstood and underutilized resource for wellness,” says Dr. Chris Etheridge, a foremost healer and essential oil expert at Puressentiel. “There is still some suspicion, but when used properly they can have tremendous health and wellbeing benefits.”
Essential oils are concentrated, highly effective compounds that are extracted from plants. This can be any part of the plant, from the root and stem to the flowers and leaves. Steam distillation is typically used, although water distillation and cold pressing are also common.
“Any part of a plant that contains essential oils or active ingredients can be used,” says Chris. “Plants generally make these compound chemicals for defense, to protect themselves from dangerous environmental conditions and to prevent predators such as caterpillars and deer from grazing on them. Some essential oil compounds have a bitter taste, cause mouth stinging, or give off an unpleasant odor.
“Plants spend a lot of time, effort, and energy making these compounds, and there is strong evidence that they have antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal benefits, as well as muscle relaxing, pain relieving, sedative, and sleep-inducing effects.
Different oils serve different purposes (Image: Getty Images)
“Other compounds can improve alertness, focus, or increase blood flow.”
Cave paintings in France suggest that in 18,000 BC Aromatic plants were used, and Chris writes a Persian doctor from the 10th So how do they work?
“Thanks to the brain scans with fMRI imaging, we can now look at the brain and see what happens when someone smells different essential oils,” explains Chris. ‘Because they are fleeting [this means they are easily evaporated at room temperature], they quickly get into the nasal cavity, where there are many tiny receptors called olfactory bulbs.
“Different essential oil molecules bind to different receptors and this is then translated into a signal that is sent to the amygdala, the area of the brain that processes emotions, as well as other parts like the hypothalamus, hippocampus and the frontal cortex which is memory , transmitted, emotion, relaxation or alertness.
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“Some of them then cause changes in brain chemistry such as the release of neurotransmitters like serotonin, norepinephrine, and endorphins that can affect your physical and emotional wellbeing.
“The effect depends on the components of the essential oil, so lavender has a relaxing effect, rosemary stimulates. When applied to the skin, essential oils are fat soluble so they can be absorbed and absorbed into the muscles and surrounding tissues and can also have warming, anti-inflammatory and healing effects. ‘
As we know more about these incredible vegetable oils, scientists have discovered that they work together in synergy.
“There is growing evidence that synergies between different plant components and between different plants can have a major impact on how essential oils work,” he adds. “The combination of different essential oils can either increase an effect or expand the property, which basically means that combinations of essential oils are stronger than a single oil.”
Dr. Chris Etheridge on the three most common essential oils and how they affect our wellbeing:
Lavender oil
Lavender oil could do more than just help you drift away (Image: Getty Images)
“This multitasking oil has been shown to increase theta and alpha brainwave activity.
“The alpha waves are associated with cognitive performance, calmness and coordination, while theta activity is more likely for us to be in a relaxed state for daydreaming or to let our imaginations run wild, relieve stress and reduce excitement and anxiety.”
Chamomile oil
An ultra relaxing option (Image: Getty Images / iStockphoto)
“The one from the flower of the Roman chamomile plant is antispasmodic, which means that it relaxes the smooth muscles and the skeletal muscles.
“There are three types of muscles in the human body – skeletal muscles (voluntary movements such as limbs), heart muscles (heart), and smooth (involuntary movements such as lungs and blood vessels).
“This can help with joint problems and muscle pain when applied topically, and when inhaled it can calm the intestines from things like cramps, lower blood pressure as it relaxes the muscles of the blood vessels, and can help relax the lungs, which causes.” Breathing easier with coughs and colds is made easier with asthma. ‘
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Eucalyptus oil
Eucalyptus helps cleanse your chest (Image: Getty Images / RooM RF)
“There are around 700 different types of eucalyptus oils, and they often have a camphor-like odor. The most common is Eucalyptus globulus, which is very good for lung diseases as it is expectorant, which means that it will help you clear mucus and phlegm from your chest. It’s also expectorant, which means that it dissolves mucus.
“It’s also antiseptic, which means it’s antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal. Often found in sprays, inhalations, rubs, and cough suppressants, as it helps relax the smooth muscles in the lungs, which helps with breathing when the lungs are congested.
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