Four or five years ago my wife was introduced to essential oils by a friend who was selling them as a side business. She quickly became hooked and honestly, I kind of rolled my eyes at the idea of the incredible power of oils to “cure what ails ya”. Now, I don’t want to say that I have been fully converted to the point of thinking that the only medicine I need is the oil of an orange peel or a peppermint leaf but I have really come around to some of the homeopathic qualities of some of these oils.
Have I lost some of you already? Do you think that I’m a Colorado hippy trying to cure serious disease with crystals and positive thoughts? I’m not.
My background is biochemistry and chemical engineering so I have taken a lot of classes concerning neurological and musculoskeletal chemical pathways and how the triggering of certain neurotransmitters or other natural chemicals in your body and although I don’t know exactly how each of these oils work on things like mood, stomach aches, sore muscles, etc. I have seen the results. I will pause again for the rest of you who think I’m crazy to think of another topic you would like to find to read about on our site.
……ho hum……just waiting…….
If you have read this far you might be in the same camp as I am or maybe even some serious oil users. Or maybe you are just amazed that I think some of this stuff works. Either way, you are still with me so let’s press on. I have a pretty decent collection of oils that are in my office that either I have wanted to have or my loving wife has sent with me to help me with any of a number of things I battle regularly like bad moods, stress, tense muscles, allergies and acid reflux.
At home, we have a much much larger collection of them that I have no idea what they are for and cant pronounce about 20% of them. I have a diffuser that has sat on my desk for the last couple of years and I use it daily. I also apply oils directly to my skin. People always come into my office and ask “why does it smell so good in here?” or “what is that smell? I love it!”. I am not trying to fill the halls of my office building with the magical healing power of lavender oil but I enjoy it and I think it helps me, if for nothing more than having a pleasant scent that occupies one sense while I am hard at work.
We also have diffusers throughout our home that my wife puts different oils in to add a nice scent to the house but also to serve a purpose. Mixing lemon, lavender and peppermint are great for seasonal allergies so we often have that going in the living room in the spring when the kids are running in and out of the house and the doors are open and you can see the pollen from the pine trees falling like snow.
My favorite oil is by far frankincense. I put a little on my neck a couple times a day and just the smell of it makes me feel good. After months of using it and going through a couple bottles, I finally asked my wife “what is frankincense supposed to be used for? I just love the smell and it makes me happy.”. She replied, “its main use is for depression, mood and stress”. Okay, that was a pretty good blind study for the scientist in me.
I also use lavender to help me turn off my brain and get to sleep, peppermint to ease sore muscles (just like Icy Hot) and upset stomach, and different blends for stress and allergies. Don’t get me wrong, I still take my medications for my migraines, and eat an antacid if I had too much red wine and pasta sauce, but I have seen a real benefit to these oils. Anyone out there had the same experience? Is anyone still reading at this point?
Anyways, I wanted to take a break from the tech product reviews for a second to tell you about my experience but I really want to hear from you all and your experiences and/or thoughts good, bad or indifferent. Tell us about your experiences in the comment section of this article. Thank you for indulging me.
All of the oils and diffuser were purchased with my own funds.
Filed in categories: Articles
Tagged: Health and fitness
Any essential oil users out there? originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 21, 2017 at 8:08 am.
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