Anti-Inflammatory Essential Oils

Inflammation can be caused by conditions such as poor diet, bacteria, physical injury, hormonal imbalance or chemicals. Certain oils have shown to be excellent for reducing inflammation. German Chamomile for example, contains the blue compound azulene, a compound with high anti-inflammatory properties. 

Certain oils are better for certain types of inflammation,according to the "Essential Oils Integrative Guide": 

• Roman Chamomile and lavender are best suited for inflammation caused by bacterial infection.
• Myrrh and helichrysum are better suited for inflammation caused by tissue/capillary damage, bruising.
• Ravensara, hyssop, and thyme are best for inflammation caused by viral infection.

Some essential oils with anti-inflammatory properties:
German chamomile, Roman chamomile, clove, palo santo, peppermint, nutmeg, lavender, tea tree, basil, geranium, bay, bergamot, Dorado Azul, ginger and wintergreen.

Not sure how to apply the oils? Visit these pages to learn how to apply the oils:

• Topical Application
• Inhaling Essential Oils
• Are You Diffusing the Oils Correctly?
• How to Dilute Essential Oils
• Vita Flex Technique

If you're new to essential oils you might want to check out my Getting Started Guide. 

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Johanna is an aromatherapist and she is passionate about educating people about health, essential oils, real food, natural remedies, and nutrition so they make healthier choices in their lives. 
Follow Johanna on twitter and facebook for more health tips and information.

Therapeutic Properties in Aromatherapy

I often refer to therapeutic actions. This is a growing list.

Analgesic: Essential oil used to relieve pain when applied externally, also called anodyne or local anesthetic.
Antacid: Essential oil used to neutralize the acid in the stomach. 
Anthelmintic: Essential oil used to expel or destroy intestinal worms.
Anti-arthritic: Essential oil used to relieve arthritic conditions.

Anti-asthmatic: Essential oil used to relieve asthma.
Antibacterial: Essential oil that destroys or suppresses the growth or reproduction of bacteria.

Anticatarrhal: Essential oil which heals inflammation of the mucus membranes. 
Antidepressant: Essential oil which counteracts an absence of cheerfulness or diminishing functioning activity.

Antiemetics: Essential oil used to lessen nausea and prevent or relieve vomiting.

Antifungal: Essential oil that is effective against the reproduction of growth of Candida albicans and other fungi and yeast.
Anti-hydropic: Essential oil used to eliminate excess body fluids.

Anti-inflammatory: Essential oil which is capable of counteracting or suppressing inflammation.

Antimicrobial: Essential oil capable of destroying micro-organisms or suppressing their multiplication or growth.
Anti-neuralgic: Essential oil capable of relieving neuralgia.
Antioxidant: Essential oil capable of relieving oxidation.

Antiphlogistic: Essential oil used to reduce inflammation or swelling.

Antipruritic: Essential oil which relieves or prevent itching.

Antipyretic: Essential oil used to relieve or reduce temperatures in fever.

Antiseptic: Essential oil which prevents, resists, and counteract putrefaction.

Antispasmodic: Essential oil used to relieve nervous irritability and reduce or prevent excessive involuntary muscular contractions and spasms.
Aphrodisiac: Essential oil which stimulates sexual desire.

Astringent: Essential oil that contracts tissues. It makes them firmer, and decrease discharge.
Bitters: Essential oil with a bitter taste and serves as a stimulant to the gastro-intestinal membranes.

Carminative: Essential oil which stimulates intestinal peristalsis, relieves, and promotes the expulsion of gas from the intestinal tract.
Cell proliferant: Essential oil that promotes rapid healing and restoration.
Cephaliac: Essential oil that is particularly healing to cerebral conditions and diseases.

Cholagogue: Essential oil used to promote increased flow and discharge of bile into the intestines by contracting the bile ducts.
Cicatrizant: Essential oil used to promote scar tissue.
Depurative: Essential oil which cleanses and purifies.

Diaphoretic: Essential oil that produces perspiration and sweat plus increased elimination through the skin.
 Digestant: Essential oil which aids in the digestion of food.
Diuretic: Essential oil which increases the secretion and flow of bile.

Emmenagogue: Essential oil which tones the female reproductive organs and regulates menstruation.

Expectorant: Essential oil that encourages the discharge of mucus from bronchio-pulmonary passages.
Febrifuge: Essential oils which reduces a fever.
Fungicidal: Essential oil which is able to destroy a class of organisms such as mold, fungus or mushrooms.
Galactagogue: Essential oil which increases the secretion of milk.
Germicide: Essential oil that destroys pathogenic micro-organisms. 

Hepatic: Essential oil used to strengthen, tone and stimulate the secretion and functions of the liver causing an increased flow of bile.
Hypotensive: Essential oil that lowers blood pressure.
Insecticide: Essential oil that is used to destroy insects.
Laxative: Essential oil which loosens the bowels and relieve constipation.

Nervine: Essential oil that tones and heals the nerves.
Parasiticide: Essential oil that destroys animal and vegetable parasites within the body.
Parturient: Essential oil that stimulates urine contractions, induces and assists with labor.
Pectorals: Essential oils that heals complaints of the lungs.
Peristaltic: Essential oil that stimulates and increases muscular contraction of the stomach and intestine.
Refrigerant: Essential oil with cooling properties. It lowers body temperatures and relieves thirst.
Rubefacient: Applied locally, this essential oil stimulates the capillary dilation and causes skin redness. It draws blood from deeper tissues and organs and relieves congestions and inflammation.

Sedative: Essential oil which calms and tranquilizers the nerves.
Soporic: Essential oil that induces a relaxing sleep.
Stimulant: Essential oil which increases functional activity and energy in the body. 
Stomachic: Essential oil which stimulates and tones the stomach.
Styptic: Essential oil that stops local bleeding and hemorrhaging, applied externally.
Sudorific: Essential oil that promotes the flow of sweat, not perspiration which goes on all the time through the capillaries.
Tonic: Essential oil which stimulates, energizes and strengthens the body.
Vermifuge: Essential oils which expels intestinal worms.
Vulnerary: Essential oil that promotes healing of fresh wounds or cuts.

Not sure how to apply the oils? Visit these pages to learn how to apply the oils:

• Topical Application
• Inhaling Essential Oils
• Are You Diffusing the Oils Correctly?
• How to Dilute Essential Oils
• Vita Flex Technique

If you're new to essential oils you might want to check out my Getting Started Guide. 

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Johanna is an aromatherapist and she is passionate about educating people about health, essential oils, real food, natural remedies, and nutrition so they make healthier choices in their lives. 
Follow Johanna on twitter and facebook for more health tips and information.

Essential Oils and Earaches

My daughter woke with an earache yesterday morning so I thought it was a good idea to write a post about what essential oils can be used for earaches. I already wrote a post on how to treat earaches naturally so hop over and check it out to learn other ways to treat an earache. 

I personally find it easier to use essential oils, but there are times when I'm out of a certain oil and need to use home remedies and herbs instead. There are many ways to treat health conditions and as I see it, it comes down to individual preferences. I like the essential oils the best because they are very potent, take up less space, and they last a very long time since their potency last longer than herbs.

An earache is caused by an infection or inflammation in the ear. The infection can be located behind the ear drum, in the middle ear, or in the outer ear canal. An infection that takes place in the inner ear is called otitis interna, and it causes sudden onset of vertigo, loss of balance, and vomiting.

A children's ear passages are small, so fluid/mucus that normally wouldn't cause any problem in an adult, can cause problems in a child. This is one reason that a child is more prone to earaches than adults.

According to the The online Version of the Essential Oils Desk Reference, the following oils have traditionally been used:

• Lavender
• Tea tree
• Helichrysum
• Roman Chamomile
• Peppermint
• Eucalyptus (E.radiata)

Remember to use good judgement and don't hesitate to seek medical help when you think it is needed. This information is not meant to prescribe or diagnose, it is only for information and education purposes only.

Before you leave:

I recommend that you always perform a skin patch test when you try a new oil.

Check out my safety page to make sure you are aware of any contrindications before you use essential oils. Some oils are not suitable when suffering from certain conditions. Also, Read this Before You Start Using Essential oils. Some oils should not be applied prior to sun exposure so make sure you check this list before spending time in the sun.

Not sure how to apply the oils? Visit these pages to learn how to apply the oils:

• Topical Application
• Inhaling Essential Oils
• Are You Diffusing the Oils Correctly?
• How to Dilute Essential Oils
• Vita Flex Technique

If you're new to essential oils you might want to check out my Getting Started Guide. 

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Johanna is an aromatherapist and she is passionate about educating people about health, essential oils, real food, natural remedies, and nutrition so they make healthier choices in their lives. 
Follow Johanna on twitter and facebook for more health tips and information.

Photo Credit

This post is linked to:
Fat Tuesday, The Mommy Club, WFMW, Titus2Tuesday, Homemaking Link-Up, Simple Lives Thursday, Domestically Divine

Can Takeout Foods Help You Stay Trim?

Source:  Flickr, Nomadic Lass

Takeout could be trimming for your waist if it replaces eating at a sit-down restaurant.  A recent survey of more than 1,000 Americans conducted by Seamless, a leading mobile and online delivery and takeout food service, uncovered that nearly 50 percent of men and 40 percent of women order takeout or delivery at least weekly.  But here’s the interesting result:  The study found that these folks tend to be more health conscious when picking up or having their dinner delivered compared to when they eat out at a restaurant.  

Why?  The survey showed that individuals tend to order an appetizer and consume bread at a sit down restaurant but they don't do so when they order takeout.  (Who among us has not dipped into that basket of hot bread when it comes to the table?)  Diners are also nearly twice as likely to order side dishes and three times more likely to order dessert when lingering at a restaurant as compared to when eating takeout or delivered foods in their own kitchen.  If you don’t think that skipping the dessert can save many calories, think again.  The Chocolate Zuccotto Cake at Maggiano’s Little Italy serves up just over 1,800 calories, which could be more calories than your entire takeout dinner. 

On those harried days when you're lucky if you can find your car keys, let alone the kitchen, try these strategies to help you order your dinner with your health in mind:

Strategy No. 1:  Order the Takeout by Noon

If you know that "it's going to be one of those days", mentally plan what you are going to pick up for dinner after you have eaten breakfast or lunch when you are less hungry and frazzled. Write your order on a "stick-it" note pad and attach it to your wallet. You'll have a better shot at making a healthier choice when your stomach is full, your body is less fatigued, and when you still have some rational brain power left.  If you wait until you get to the take-out restaurant to choose your order, you'll be filling the back seat of the car with enough chow for the neighborhood.

Strategy No. 2:  Buy Only What You Don’t Have Time to Make

To better control the calories, fat, and sodium in your take-home meals, buy just the entree -- the half roasted chicken at the supermarket or at the chicken take-out joint -- and then fortify the meal with quick fixes. If you are in the supermarket picking up the rotisserie bird, hit the salad bar for a veggie feast or tossed salad.  Grab some fresh whole grain bread for a complete meal. Or, keep frozen vegetables in your freezer and a pouch of quick cook brown rice in your cupboards for a quick fix in your microwave.

Strategy No. 3:  Don’t Bring Home More Than You Can Afford to Eat (or Keep)

Buying large amounts of takeout foods so that you have enough for two meals is one thing. Setting up a Chinese smorgasbord in your kitchen is another, especially if you're prone to continue eating until the Styrofoam container bottoms are visible to the naked eye.  Ask for a half portion if you know the restaurant's servings are generous, or even better, portion a meal on your plate and put the containers immediately into the refrigerator for tomorrow night’s stress-free meal.

Do you eat takeout? What tricks do you use to order more healthfully? 

                                           Follow Joan on Twitter at:  joansalgeblake

Essential Oils and Psoriasis

What is it?

Psoriasis is a hyper -proliferative skin disorder. It is the rapid growth of skin cells that is causing the lesions associated with psoriasis. Skin cells grow about 4 times faster than normal and this cause the formation of silvery layers. The reddish lesions covered with silver-white scales are found on areas such as  the scalp, ears, knees, chest and lower back and elbows.

Psoriasis is stubborn and often difficult to deal with and it requires a lot of patience and long-term treatment. It is important to stick to the program. General health is not usually affected but the psychological stress needs to be taken into consideration.


Causes
According to Battaglia, it is difficult to determine the causes but the general thought is that it is caused by metabolic disturbances since it affects the whole body. Battaglia says, according to Pizzorno some indications are:

• Some lesions may be caused by deficiency in essential fatty acids.
• Incomplete protein digestion or poor intestinal absorption of protein breakdown products.
• Several gut-derived toxins are implicated in the development of psoriasis.
• Can be triggered by nervous tension and stress, cuts, infections, illness, viral and bacterial infections, sunburn or drugs such as lithium, chloroquine and beta blockers.

What to do
Before we get to what specific essential oils to use it is important to also consider the following:

• Identify and address food allergies.
• Use alteratives to promote detoxification.
• Avoid stressful situations, fatigue, environmental changes (exposure to cold), trauma to the skin.
• Manage inflammatory response by the use of anti-inflammatory remedies.
• Use anti-inflammatory and antipruritic essential oils.

Aromatherapy plays a very important role in reducing stress. Battaglia suggests that lavender, sandalwood and bergamot are the most suitable of the oils to use. He says that they can be used as an inhalation, in a bath, or used in a 0.5-1% massage blend. For the massage blend he recommends to use Evening Primrose oil as a carrier.

Wheat germ oil can also be applied to patches on the face,  and Battaglia says you can mix 2 drops of tea tree oils to every 10 ml of wheat germ and apply morning and evening.

Anti-inflammatory oils such as yarrow, helichrysum or German Chamomile should also be considered. 

Battaglia says  if the liver is overloaded by excess toxins in the blood then its detoxification ability is reduced,  and it means the psoriasis will worsen. According to Battaglia, carrot seed and helichrysum have historically been used to correct abnormal liver function.

Oils for psoriasis recommended by Battaglia:

Essential oils:
Bergamot, cajuput, carrot seed, German Chamomile, helichrysum, juniper, lavender, sandalwood.

Other oils:
Infused calendula oil



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Johanna is an aromatherapist and she is passionate about educating people about health, essential oils, real food, natural remedies, and nutrition so they make healthier choices in their lives. 
Follow Johanna on twitter and facebook for more health tips and information.







Sources:
Salvatore Battaglia (1995). The Complete Guide to Aromatherapy. The Perfect Potion Pty Ltd

This post is linked to:
Fat Tuesday

How To Make an Herbal Infusion

Click for a larger view.

I make herbal infusions a lot. My favorite combination is lavender and rosemary but I make others too. I add herbal infusions to my facial toners, deodorants, insect sprays, and soap.

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Johanna is an aromatherapist and she is passionate about educating people about health, essential oils, real food, natural remedies, and nutrition so they make healthier choices in their lives. 


Follow Johanna on twitter and facebook for more health tips and information.

This post is linked to:

The Homeacre Hop

Natural Gifts - Make A Lavender & Rosemary Soap

I love homemade gifts and my daughter and I are having a blast making things for friends and family. This is one of my favorite soap recipe and it is so easy to make. You can make this soap without the shea butter as well. My husband uses this soap for shaving and I add rosemary essential oil instead of lavender for a more masculine aroma.

You can find more gift ideas here.

Linked to:

What I learned Wednesday, Catch a Glimpse Party