|
 ESSENTIAL OILS AND SUPPLEMENTS |
Buy Young Living Essential Oils from Lotus Massage of San Diego What Is Aromatherapy? Aromatherapy is a broad and expanding field that scientist are just beginning to explore. Aroma reaches and influences the deepest human instincts. Aromatherapy means to treat with aroma through inhalation. Research has shown that we respond to aroma within one to three seconds. Aromatherapy also encompasses the topical application of essential oils. Because essential oils have a unique lipid-solution structure, they are able to easily pass through cell membranes, particularly of the skin, and diffuse into the bloodstream. They penetrate the skin the same way that the active ingredients in transdermal hormone or nicotine patches do. What Are Essential Oils? Essential oils are the volatile liquids that are distilled from various parts of plants, including seeds, bark, leaves, stems, roots, flowers, and fruit. Essential oils are different from vegetable oils such as corn oil, peanut oil, and olive oil. They are not greasy and do not clog the pores like vegetable oils can. Essential oils are chemically very complex, consisting of hundreds of different chemical compounds. They are highly concentrated and far more potent than dried herbs. The distillation of an entire plant may produce only a single drop of essential oil. Essential oils are subtle, volatile liquids. They are oxygenating and help transport nutrients to the cells of our bodies. Without oxygen, nutrients cannot be assimilated; so the oxygenating essential oils can help us maintain our health. The essential oils of the plant and the human blood share several common properties: They fight infection, contain hormone-like compounds, and initiate regeneration. Working as the chemical defense mechanism of the plant, essential oils possess potent antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. They also ward off attacks by insects and animals. Both essential oils and human blood contain hormone-like chemicals. The ability of some essential oils to work as hormones helps them bring balance to many physiological systems of the human body. Oils like clary sage and fennel, for example, have an estrogenic action. Essential oils also play a role in initiating the regeneration process for the plant, the same way the blood does in the human body. This similarity goes deeper. Essential oils have a unique ability to penetrate cell membranes and diffuse throughout the blood and tissues. The lipid-soluble structure of essential oils is very similar to the makeup of our cell membranes. The molecules of essential oils are also relatively small, giving them the ability to easily penetrate the cells. When topically applied to the feet or elsewhere, essential oils can travel throughout the body in a matter of minutes.