Buyer Beware! There is a caveat to “healthy living”:  there are a lot of products claiming to be “natural” and many are filled with toxic chemicals that many people are trying to avoid.  A study at the  University of Minnesota found many products listed as “healthy” tainted with pharmaceuticals, the biggest offenders were weight loss, sexual enhancement and body building supplements.   Read labels and go with a name brand you trust.  If a product promises unrealistic results or with no effort on your part to change your lifestyle it may be too good to be true and probably will be a waste of your money.

Switching to healthier living requires changing your perspective. Someone once mentioned they could not afford essential oils. At first glance they do seem expensive when you look at packaging size which is pretty small.  In the U.S. we are used to buying chemical loaded products filled with water in big packages to make us feel like we are getting our money’s worth.   Organic foods might seem more expensive, but so are convenient, nutritionless foods  used as entertainment.   The truth is if you compare apples to apples the healthy products win out by far.  Plus, some healthy options like Therapeutic Grade essential oils have been around for thousands of years and are still used in other cultures today, keeping people healthy without chemicals. For what they offer, essential oils are really economical.   Let’s look at a bottle of food grade lemon essential oil that costs $12 for a 15ml bottle.  This little bottle contains the equivalent of 250 bottles of synthetic vitamin flavored water, or can make 15 bottles of cough syrup.  Obviously the savings is with the essential oil – in dollars and in health value.

Where is your money going for healthcare? I thought I had gotten rid of most of the “drugs” in my medicine cabinet and to my surprise the other day I found a drawer full of unused products.  They were all expired, the oldest one a brand new bottle of indigestion medicine  that expired in 2005, another a tube of “anti-itch” medication that never worked.  And honestly, I was so thankful to toss out the chemical, red colored acetaminophen syrup for my kids that I never had to use.  So let me ask you, where is the savings in unused – expired – chemical filled products?  You might even think I’m extreme in saying you should factor in the potential cost of Chemo, ADD drugs, Anti-depressents, Thyroid medication, anti-biotics, name your medication,  whenever you use those drugs with additives, colors and products with unknown or harmful ingredients and packaged foods with controversial additives like  high fructose corn syrup, MSG and aspartame.   I can also say it’s a lot more fun spending money in the health food store and farmer’s markets than the local pharmacy (and there are plenty of them to choose from, becoming as common as those golden arches fast food restaurants)

Do you want to be healthier but don’t know where to begin? Einstein said “Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results”  What are you trying to change in your life?  health? weight? energy? less toxins?   There are essential oils that can help with all of these issues and more.  The great thing is the essential oils are versatile, many are antibacterial and they don’t expire (unless they have chemicals or fillers in them).  You can use peppermint oil for joint and muscle pain, headaches, energy, cold sores, fevers and more.  Each essential oil can replace dozens of over the counter products that have 1  use.  Are you ready to clean out your medicine cabinet and invest in products that will support your immune system?  I’m glad I’ve made the transition to investing in our health and I can help you do the same.    In the weeks to come I’ll be sharing specific ways to save money on health care costs including my next article, a video post on my favorite uses of lemon essential oil.

Anxiety, depression and attention disorders are on the rise. I believe the causes are two-fold, first simply because we live in a culture saturated with unimportant things. We have thousands of choices we can make every day, from the foods we eat to products for our home and health. Marketing campaigns reach for our hearts, showing that we will be happy if we just purchase their goods and services. We can have instant gratification: on-demand movies, fast food and drugs to take away our symptoms in an hour. These are solutions targeted at making us content for the moment. It’s easy to fall into habits that can be harmful to us if we only have a short term fix in mind, leading to anxiety with so much information or depression from lack of contentment.

I believe a second cause of the increase in these health issues is the vast amount of chemicals we are exposed to every day. Some have even said today we are exposed to more chemicals in a day than people 100 years ago were exposed to in a lifetime. This does not even include chemicals we choose to subject ourselves to: over the counter & prescription drugs, plastics, untested cosmetic ingredients, perfumes and artificial fragrance. All of these chemicals can wreak havoc on our bodies and may cause hormonal imbalance which also may contribute to anxiety & depression.
I saw a mom with a newborn baby in the home fragrance aisle at the store the other day contemplating which “home scent” to purchase, I couldn’t help myself and I just told her to avoid using any of it around her kids, for their sake. Our children’s bodies and ours are being bombarded with chemicals, many of them we consciously are burning and “plugging in” to our homes, poisoning our air. We are chemical beings and all these fragranced products are causing chemical reactions in our bodies – the evidence is mounting that these chemicals are linked to anxiety, depression and attention disorders to name only a few. Over the counter and prescription drugs are even worse, with these and other health issues listed as potential side effects. I’m actually surprised at how many people ask if essential oils will interact with the drugs they are taking, yet don’t give a thought to using a home cleansing wipe labeled “harmful to humans and domestic animals” or consider how common household products and cosmetics are interfering with their prescriptions. Perfumes and artificial fragrance are known to disrupt hormones and the endocrine system making us more vulnerable to symptoms of anxiety, depression and attention disorders.

If you are truly looking for help with issues like anxiety, depression or attention disorders, you seriously have to consider cleaning up your environment, diet and personal care products. Essential oils may offer some promise for dealing with these but they cannot compensate for a lack of common sense and poor choices. I myself have used essential oils to deal with anxiety and depression but I have been careful to assess what might be triggering these symptoms in my body. 

Anti-depressants are some of the most widely prescribed drugs, with prescribed usage doubling in just one decade: 1996-2005.  Some studies have even shown that their effects may be questionable.  Dr. Mercola offers some insight into this research and alternatives to prescription drugs even suggesting that placebos have as great an impact on improving your mood .   Keeping this in mind, essential oils may be a great side-effect free option to try before going on medications.   These suggestions have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not meant to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.

Lavender essential oil helps balance the body, may help with insomnia and is calming. Simply smelling something pleasant can have a positive effect on our psyche. Make sure you are using only a pure, food grade lavender essential oil. I met someone the other day who had a bad experience with lavender. After applying a drop to her pillow, she developed a horrible headache. If an essential oils is altered or diluted with any chemical, one can never really know what side effects may occur from fillers. It is always best to use essential oils from a trusted source that verifiies the ingredients of their products. Mine is Young Living essential oils because I know they have the highest quality control standards in the industry.

Frankincense essential oil may be helpful in alleviating symptoms of depression. I apply Frankincense to my face every day, it’s excellent and nourishing to the skin plus it gives a boost to my psyche. Frankincense can be diffused to improve concentration and mental clarity. Because of this quality, it would be a great choice for using when a student needs to get homework done. This is an excellent oil to use for anxiety – when you have a lot of things going on and you don’t know where to begin. This oil is clearly evidence of divine creation – one breath in and your mind is clear and focused for the most important task at hand.

Valor is a Young Living essential oil blend that has similar qualities to frankincense – simply because frankincense is one of it’s ingredients. It also contains spruce which is grounding and helps create positive memory. I used this in one of my yoga classes and afterwards one student commented that at the beginning of relaxation her mind was running in several directions. She said that the second she smelled Valor, her mind was completely cleared and she could just relax. This blend may also be a good choice for helping focus and dealing with attention disorders.

Peace & Calming is a Young Living blend of essential oils. It’s a blend that appeals to most people, it’s a sweeter smell with tangerine essential oil. Some think it evokes thoughts of childhood. Just applying a drop to your carotid artery as a natural perfume can be calming. When it is applied to the soles of the feet it can help move you into a peaceful nights rest. This would be a good choice for overactive children and pets, or adults who suffer from nervous tension.

Stress Away – Roll-On is a Young Living blend that contains vanilla & lime essential oils. This is another blend that works well as a natural perfume with positive side effects of calming you when you are experiencing anxiety.

Peppermint oil is the first choice for mental clarity for attention disorders. Simply applying the oil to the temples can improve concentration and focus. Diffusing peppermint oil when you are studying can help improve memory retention. Peppermint may also be useful in treating headaches brought on by anxiety or depression.

Essential oils have the potential to even out moods, balance our emotions and help improve our mental clarity. But first, it is important to clear your environment and personal exposure to man-made chemicals that may be contributing to these issues. If you are on a lot of medications, have intelligent conversations with your doctor or pharmicist about potential side effects. There are many natural, drug free solutions to anxiety, depression and attention disorders for those willing to do some research and tune into themselves to figure what might be triggering these symptoms in the first place.

There are many essential oils that have high sesquiterpenes.  In common terms this means they bring the most oxygen to the brain, helping all body systems work more efficiently.   A lot of the  oils work through the limbic region of the brain and can help with mental clarity and attention.  Tree oils in particular have a “grounding” effect on many people.  Grounding is best described as being balanced, focused and having a definite sense of direction in your life.  We have all experienced frayed moments when our minds are racing in many directions.   Times of stress in particular make us vulnerable to anxiety and inability to focus.  For some, including many children, this impairment in concentration has become a way of life.  Tree oils like frankincense, cedarwood, copiaba, palo santo and balsam fir all help with focusing our attention.  Valor is a Young Living  combination of oils including frankincense that supports clear thinking and ability to focus.  Valor comes in a convenient roll-on that can be placed in a back pack for use throughout the day.  Vetiver is also another oil that has been researched for effectiveness in treating ADD & ADHD.  Vetiver essential oil has over 100 different sesquiterpenes in it!

These oils can be diffused, applied topically and used as a dietary supplement for food grade oils.  Essential oils are a great way to manage attention disorders in a natural way while maintaining balance in the body’s chemistry.