Essential oils are plant-derived substances used in many aspects of health
and wellness. These oils have long been popular among the holistically geared
population; however, essential oils are now being incorporated more frequently
into medical practices and health regimes that would otherwise include only
traditional interventions. In an effort to bridge these two philosophies, it is
important to understand the history of essential oils and how they differ from
conventional medicines as you consider incorporating them into your personal and
professional life.
A Brief History of Essential Oils
Essential oils have been used for health and medicinal
purposes for thousands of years and across many ancient
cultures, many of which were disconnected in geography and
time. Nevertheless, numerous ancient essential oil users
found that these natural remedies provide medicinal
benefits. The use and effectiveness of essential oils are
well-documented in ancient texts, archeology, and other
literature across many regions around the world including
Egypt (3000 B.C), China (2700 B.C), India (3000-2000 B.C.),
Greece (400 B.C.), Rome (1st Century A.D.), Persia (1000
A.D.), Europe (Middle Ages), and France (1800’s – Present).
All of these sources describe the medicinal effects of
thousands of different plant extracts on countless people
over time.
While a wealth of information exists from ancient sources,
it was only recently translated and formalized into the
modern era by scientists, doctors, and chemists in France in
the 19th and 20th centuries. Pioneers include René-Maurice
Gattefossé, Jean Valnet, Paul Belaiche, Jean-Claude Lapraz,
Daniel Pénoël, and Pierre Franchomme, all whom
re-invigorated the ancient use of essential oils and plant
extracts, and re-framed their use into what is known today
as "aromatherapy." The European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.)
references the prescription of essential oils for certain
medical conditions as a standard medical practice, and this
is practiced routinely in German and France, with increasing
prevalence in the U.K. Today, a PubMed search on “essential
oils” will yield thousands of peer-reviewed studies
supporting their benefits on health and wellness. In fact,
it is plausible that there is more testing and documented
results on uses of essential oils than traditional
westernized medicines.
What are Essential Oils and how are They Used?
Essential oils are largely plant-based extracts. The
International Organization for Standardization defines an
essential oil as a product obtained from natural raw
material. Common sources of essential oils include trees,
shrubs, flowers and grasses. Essential oils are complex,
volatile mixtures of certain secondary plant metabolites
whose extracts are either actually used in, or used to
inspire, modern drug compounds.
Essential oils do not travel throughout the vasculature of
the plant and are not involved in primary metabolism focused
on building plant tissue, producing energy and reproduction.
Essential oils exist in secretary structures that are
external to the plant, similar to sweat glands, and are
there to help with repelling herbivores and parasites;
killing bacteria, viruses, and other pests; attraction of
animals and insect pollinators; UV protection; plant wound
healing; and temperature regulation.
Essential oils are comprised of hundreds of structurally
diverse molecules that work together synergistically in our
cells. The research of biochemists and molecular biologists
has uncovered a microcosm of the interactions that take
place between essential oil constituents and the
biomolecules that comprise our cells, as well as the
interactions that take place between the constituents and
bacteria, fungi, and viruses. The mechanism of action has
been identified at the molecular level for certain
constituents, and there is a great deal yet to discover.
There is substantial research that connects the way
essential oils work at the molecular level to the positive
health effects observed at the physiological level.
The western medicine process dating back to the early 1800’s
generally began by isolating and identifying singular
plant-derived compounds and expanding with other
ingredients. Indeed, morphine, codeine, atropine, ephedrine,
quinine, aspirin, theobromine, and many others were all
derived from natural plant sources. Continuing on to the
1900’s through today, this practice continues. Aspirin, for
example, was created by scientists studying the nature of
the bark of the willow tree. The active constituent in
aspirin, salicylic acid, was derived from methyl salicylate,
the natural phytochemical in the essential oil of willow
bark. Because essential oils cannot be patented, many
pharmaceutical drugs are created by copying the natural
phytochemicals found in essential oils. While drug companies
will add various other synthetics to modern products, the
chemical diversity of naturally occurring molecules is
impossible to reproduce artificially in a lab. Scripps
Research Institute in Florida perhaps said it best when they
noted that:
“Natural products remain the best sources of drugs and drug
leads, and this remains true today …. Natural products
possess enormous structural and chemical diversity that is
unsurpassed by any synthetic libraries. About 40% of the
chemical scaffolds found in natural products are absent in
today’s medicinal chemistry repertoire. Natural products
represent the richest source of novel molecular scaffolds
and chemistry."
With this understanding of what oils are and how they are
distinct of forms of western medicine, let's explore a few
examples of how oil use is different than other forms of
treatment used today. By way of an example, let's assume
that someone is feeling pain due to increased inflammation
in the body, which is due to some other root cause. Blocking
a key enzyme that deals with the pain response is how pain
medication works. This does nothing to fix the root cause of
the inflammation. An essential oil is comprised of tens to
hundreds of different molecules that work together
synergistically. The total effect of these individual
molecules interacting with the network has a much higher
probability of restoring complete equilibrium and balance to
the system than any single compound. Interactions at many
different cellular targets from different directions is more
likely to restore homeostasis or order to the system.
Westernized medicine, however, is built around using one
compound to control this entire network to restore balance.
In the Western paradigm, it’s more likely that the one
compound will shift the network to a new equilibrium that
does not match the natural order in the cell, rather than
restore it to the correct balance. This altered state that
sets the interaction network into a new state of
disequilibrium is how many unintended side-effects arise.
Side effects are simply unavoidable when you attempt to
control such a complex network at one location. The use of
essential oils can help to provide many similar health
benefits without the aforementioned side-effects.
How and Why Might you Implement Essential Oils into
Your Personal and Professional Life?
There are many reasons to incorporate essential oils into
daily life. Removing artificial scents and toxic ingredients
from the home environment creates instrumental shifts in
wellness. Essential oils have such an incredible number of
uses that they have found themselves in many different
household products, including cleaners, lotions, makeup,
hygienic products, baby products, nutritional supplements,
etc. Repeated exposure to harmful chemicals in conventional
products leads to potentially dangerous toxic levels of
these substances in our bodies through a process called
bioaccumulation. Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism
absorbs a substance at a rate faster than that at which the
substance is lost by catabolism and excretion. Simply state,
our livers and kidneys were not meant to process the large
amount of toxins we are exposed to on a daily basis.
As physical therapists, consider the frequency of hand
hygiene, including washing and applying sanitizer, or use
treatment creams. Skin is our largest organ and much of what
we put onto our skin is absorbed directly into our blood
stream. In 2005, the Environmental Working Group published a
combination of two studies that found toxic chemicals in the
umbilical cord blood of newborn babies born in the U.S. in
the fall of 2004. They screened for more than 400 chemicals,
and an astounding 287 toxins were detected within the
umbilical cord blood of these newborns. Of these 287
chemicals, 217 were neurotoxins, and 208 are known to damage
growth development or cause birth defects. Repetitive
exposure of cleansers and creams to our skin should be
minimized considering the skin provides access to the
bloodstream.
Professionally, the well-being of both patients and
therapists alike should be considered when taking steps to
ensure health and wellness. The continual exposure of toxic
products is not going to go unnoticed by our bodies
indefinitely. Physical therapists should be aware that there
are alternatives to conventional treatments. Patients will
appreciate being offered a chemical free treatment option,
or as an alternative option when conventional treatment is
unsuccessful.
This narrative is not meant to suggest that western medicine
should be abandoned. Conventional medicine is necessary in
critical situations and saves many lives. Essential oils
offer an alternative for certain applications, including for
long term healing. As many practitioners have seen,
conventional medicine all too often falls into symptom
management, especially when it comes to chronic illnesses
such as cancer, arthritis, diabetes, or cardiovascular
disease. Essential oils are an alternative option and part
of a movement to remove the toxic chemicals often found in
consumer products and side-effects or shortcomings of
conventional treatments. Essential oils provide a great
option or supplement to a number of health and treatment
options.
Quality of pure essential oils is another important aspect
to understand, and while it’s mostly beyond the scope of
this discussion, it’s important to note that 98% of
essential oils are synthetic and adulterated with fillers
and/or toxic chemicals. These oils not only have little to
no therapeutic value, they can be toxic and dangerous to
use. This leaves 2% of essential oils on the market that are
authentic, meaning the plant ingredients are properly grown
and properly distilled. It is crucial to do proper research
and know from where your essential oils come.
In summary, essential oils are a natural, safe, and
cost-effective therapy for a number of health concerns, and
at the very least can be used as an adjunct to existing
practices. Essential oils have been studied extensively and
have been shown to demonstrate numerous benefits such as
balancing hormones, boost immunity and fight infections,
support digestion, boost energy levels, improve brain
function, reduce emotional stress and anxiety, alleviate
aches and pains, boost skin and hair health, reduce
toxicity, relieve headaches and migraines, and promote
restful sleep. Essential oils are also extremely versatile
making a single oil be useful for dozens of different
purposes. Here are some examples of some of the most
commonly used essential oils.
Lavender essential oil is the most used essential oil in the
world today, but the benefits of lavender were actually
discovered over 2,500 years ago. Because of its powerful
antioxidant, antimicrobial, sedative, calming and
anti-depressive properties, lavender essential oil has been
used both cosmetically and therapeutically for centuries.
Lavender essential has been shown to reduce anxiety and
emotional stress, protect against diabetes symptoms, improve
brain function, help to heal burns and wounds, improve
sleep, restore skin complexion and reduce acne, slow aging
with powerful antioxidants, relieve pain and alleviate
headaches.
Lemon essential oil has been used to treat a wide spectrum
of health conditions for at least 1,000 years. Citrus plants
are the main sources of benefit-rich essential oils because
of their many uses in food and medicine. Lemon oil is one of
the most popular citrus essential oils because of its
versatility and powerful antioxidant properties. The health
benefits of lemon essential oil have been well established
scientifically. Lemon is best known for its ability to
cleanse toxins from the body and it’s widely used to
stimulate lymphatic drainage, rejuvenate energy, purify
skin, and fight bacteria and fungi. Lemon essential oil also
relieves nausea, improves digestion, nourishes skin, may
promote weight loss, helps purify the body, boost oral
health, relieves cough, stimulates lymphatic drainage, works
as an antimicrobial agent, and may work as an anti-tumor
agent.
Peppermint oil is one of the most versatile essential oils
out there. It can be used aromatically, topically and
internally to address a number of health concerns, from
muscles aches and seasonal allergy symptoms, to low energy
and digestive complaints. It’s also commonly used to boost
energy levels and improve both skin and hair health.
According to a review conducted by the USDA Human Nutrition
Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, peppermint has
significant antimicrobial and antiviral activities. It also
works as a strong antioxidant, displays anti-tumor actions
in lab studies, shows anti-allergenic potential and
pain-killing effects, helps to relax the gastrointestinal
tract and may be chemopreventive. Peppermint oil relieves
muscle and joint pain, provides respiratory benefits and
seasonal allergy relief, increases energy and improves
exercise performance, alleviates headaches, improves IBS
symptoms, freshens breath and supports oral health, promotes
hair growth, relieves itchiness and repels bugs naturally.
Modern scientific studies and current trends lean towards a
more holistic approach to wellness. As practitioners, it is
in our best interest to learn how these natural substances
can offer effective treatment options to support our
physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing simultaneously.
