Essential oils to support your family’s health
Health and wellness- what a hot topic right now. I’m here to share easy-to-implement ways to support you and your family’s health using essential oils.
NATURE'S MEDICINE
Essential oils, herbs, and healthy foods all offer incredible all-natural immune support. I recommend utilizing all of nature’s medicines for full-body health, but today we will focus on the power of essential oils.
Essential oils are extremely potent plant allies that can be used throughout the household in an assortment of ways to help boost immunity. Not to mention they help relieve stress and help calm the mind and body in the process. I don’t know about you, but my household has needed extra, extra help with stress relief these days! It’s a wild world out there.
Essential oils are heavily concentrated plant matter made up of dozens of natural chemical constituents. Some plants carry specific chemical compounds that can help support the immune system in different ways.
Essential oils for your immune system
When life give you lemons.
Lemons have many valuable compounds, but 2 of the most important ones are called "y-terpinene" and "d-Limonene". The y-terpinene is an antioxidant and the d-Limonene helps activate white blood cells and can help us fight off infections.
It's also an antibacterial oil! So having these compounds that are antioxidants, antibacterial, antimicrobial, etc. in their super-concentrated form of Lemon Essential Oil can help support our immune system.(1)
Clove can also help stimulate the immune system based on its high percentage of "eugenol" which has an effect on interleukins that regulate cell growth and are particularly important in stimulating immune responses. This one compound has been known to be antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal. Pretty powerful stuff and especially helpful as anti-infectious agents! (2)
Those are just 2 examples of a long list of oils that support the immune system. All plants carry different compounds or different percentages of them. Only some oils have immune-boosting properties. Some of my favorites to use are Tea Tree, Eucalyptus, Lavender, Lemon, Peppermint, Clove Bud, Orange, Sandalwood, and Vetiver.
Use essential oils to support your family’s health
• Diffusing- So easy! Just add essential oils to your diffuser to purify the air you breathe. (Each diffuser has it’s own recommendations as to how many drops to use while diffusing). Not only does this purify the air, but it also supports our respiratory health. Need a diffuser? Check out some beautiful diffusers HERE.
• Inhalation- Also super easy! You can simply inhale directly out of the bottle, or use an aromatherapy inhaler. Whenever we smell something, the molecules travel throughout our body through our blood. This is an excellent way to also support respiratory health, preventing and aiding illness, and for mood-boosting or calming the mind and body (depends on the oil!).
• Topically- Essential oils can be used topically. Whatever we apply to our skin makes its way to our bloodstream, so be extra cautious about what you are putting on your precious skin as it is our biggest organ that protects us! But we can use this to our advantage because we can apply diluted oils to our skin to support our immune system and smell great while doing it! Sandalwood, Vetiver, and Lavender are excellent skin-nourishing essential oils that also support the immune system. Add up to 12 drops of oil to every ounce of a carrier (water, oil, lotion) to apply to the skin for daily use. (Recommended for adults. For children add up to 6 drops per ounce of carrier oil.)
• Clean with them! A fantastic way to boost immunity is to rid your home of germs and nastiness while also using essential oils that are antimicrobial AND immune boosting!
Just about all citrus oils carry the d-Limonene molecule which has antimicrobial benefits. By using these to clean, we are naturally removing bacteria and microbes that could potentially enter our internal system that then may cause issues to our health. Using citrus oils like Lemon and Sweet Orange to clean not only disinfects your home, but it’s safe for the environment, boosts your mood, and of course, supports your immune system. *More to come on this topic soon! Stay tuned!
So there you have it! Easy peasy Lemon Squeezy! (Had to say it.)
You can find all of these organic, therapeutic essential oils HERE, and find immune-boosting products HERE!
Questions? Comments? Please let me know! Feel free to email me at topsyblends@gmail.com for more information.
Stay healthy out there!
Sending healthy and happy wishes from afar,
Rachel London
Certified Aromatherapist
Resources:
(1) Lang, G. and Buchbauer, G. (2012) A review on recent research results (2008-2010) on essential oils as antimicrobials and antifungals. A review.Flavour and Fragrance Journal27, 13-39.
(2) Fu, Y.-J., Zu, Y.-G., Chen, L.-Y., Shi, X.-G., Wang, Z., Sun, S. and Efferth, T. (2007) Antimicrobial activity of clove and rosemary essential oils alone and in combination.Phytotherapy Research21, 989-994.