Essential oils have often been described as the "life-blood" of the plant. They are the concentrated essences of flowers, fruits, herbs, and plants, and are many times more potent than dried herbs. They have been used for centuries. The ancient Chinese and Egyptians used them in their spiritual ceremonies as well as for healing. When King Tut's tomb was opened, 350 liters of oils were discovered in alabaster jars. Plant waxes had solidified into a thickened residue around the inside of the container openings, leaving the liquefied oil in excellent condition.

Essential oils are among the greatest resources in the world. They can enhance our lives physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. They are a system of medicine that is in harmony with us and our environment. Scientific research has proven that essential oils have potent medicinal properties. Unlike chemical drugs, essential oils do not remain in the body, and leave no toxins behind.

Not all essential oils are created equal. Many are little more than "fragrance oils", and many have solvents, petrochemicals and alcohol in them. Other factors are important; i.e., the time of day the plant is cut, the type of soil, climate, altitude and the distillation process. If distilled with solvents, or at a high temperature, with high pressure, you will not have a true therapeutic grade essential oil that includes all the necessary constituents. For example, Cypress requires 24 hours at a maximum of 245 degrees at 5 lbs. pressure in order for all of the active constituents and properties to be released from the plant.

True organic therapeutic grade essential oils, have the properties of being immune stimulating, anti-viral, anti-infectious, anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, antiseptic, anti-tumoral, and anti-fungal. Much research has been done documenting the benefits of essential oils. For example, in 1985 Dr. Jean Lapraz reported that he couldn't find bacteria or viruses that could live in the presence of the essential oils of cinnamon or oregano. Oils, such as peppermint, have been reviewed for their ability to block pain, reduce headaches (Gobel etal., 1995) combat indigestion, enhance mental alertness (Dember et al., 1994) induce weight loss (Hirsch, 1995) and kill and repel lice (Veal, 1996). Melaleuca (sometimes called Tea Tree) has been used to treat acne (Bassett et al., 1990) and combat fungus (Nenoff et al.,1996); lavender oil has been examined for its role in inducing relaxation (Hirsch, 1991), conteracting travel sickness (Bradshaw et al., 1998) reducing blood cholesterol (Nikolaevskii et al., 1990), and protecting blood vessels (Nikolaevskii et al.,1990). Clove oil has been researched as a dental antiseptic (Cai et al., 1996), antifungal agent (Covello et al., 1966), blood anticoagulant, and anticonvulsant (Pourgholami et al., 1999). Volumes of other research findings have been reported, particularly in utilizing essential oils with an oil treatment.

The benefits of essential oils can be experienced in several different ways. True therapeutic grade essential oils have frequency that has a positive effect on the body. Dr. Royal Rife found that disease has frequency. He found that certain frequencies can prevent the development of disease and that others would destroy disease. Substances with higher frequencies will destroy disease of a lower frequency. Essential oils frequencies range from approximately 52 MHz to 320 (Rose oil). In today's chemicalized, stress-filled world the frequency of essential oils can be an important factor in maintaining wellness. Essential oils also have a high rate of penetration. They will penetrate into the body when applied to the skin. Essential oils placed on the foot (with 76,000 nerve endings) will be distributed to every cell in the body in 21 minutes. They will even penetrate a finger or toenail to treat fungus (Melaleuca is good for this). The aromatic qualities of essential oils are well known. When tiny molecules of aroma are inhaled by the nose, these are trapped in the nose by hair like nerve endings that pass the aroma on to receptors that then carry the molecules to the Olfactory Bulb. From the Olfactory Bulb, the aroma molecules are transported to the limbic system in the brain. The Olfactory nerves react as other nerves in the body do, responding to electrical signals and impulses and dispatching information to the rest of the body. This is how and why some oils can produce increased antibody production, as well as endorphins. Often just inhaling Peppermint or Lavender will alleviate a headache.

In a time when "superbugs" and the flu are prevalent, diffusing essential oils can be a wonderful way to clean and purify the air. When diffused, essential oils will remove toxins from the air, increase atmospheric oxygen, increase ozone and negative ions in the house that inhibit bacteria growth, as well as being important for those in buildings with no fresh ventilation and/or technology such as computers and fluorescent lights. Essential oils, when diffused, also destroy odors from mold, cooking, cigarettes and animals and fill the air with a fresh, aromatic scent. Diffusers should be the type that disperses the essential oils into a micro-mist that remains suspended for several hour-- effectively reducing bacteria, fungus, and mold. Pot burners or the rings on light bulbs do not do this. In fact, they destroy the properties of the oils with their heating action. Once produced, essential oils are highly volatile (evaporate quickly) and need to be kept from temperature extremes.

Drugs and oils work in opposite ways. Drugs toxify. Oils detoxify. Drugs clog and confuse receptor sites. Oils clean receptor sites. Drugs depress the immune system. Oils strengthen the immune system. Antibiotics attack bacteria indiscriminately, killing both the good and the bad. Oils attack only the harmful bacteria, allowing our body’s friendly flora to flourish.

Drugs are designed to send misinformation to cells or to block certain receptor sites in order to trick the body into giving up symptoms. But drugs never deal with the actual causes of disease. They aren't designed for that purpose. While they may give prompt relief for certain uncomfortable symptoms, because of their strange, unnatural design, they will always disrupt certain other bodily functions. Thus you always have some side effects.

Oil molecules send information to cells and cleanse receptor sites so that they bring your body back to natural function. Oils are balancing to the body. Drugs are unbalancing to the body. Oils address the causes of disease at a cellular level by deleting misinformation and reprogramming correct information so that cells function properly and in harmony with one another. With drugs, misinformation is fed into the cells so that some temporary relief may be obtained, but there is never any true healing. Drugs only trade one kind of disease for another.

Because essential oils properly applied always work toward the restoration of proper bodily function, they do not cause undesirable side effects. They are feeding the body with truth. Drugs feed the body with lies. While no amount of truth can contradict itself, it doesn't take many lies before contradictions occur and the body suffers ill effects.

Jessica Berman | Washington 01 April 2010

Researchers say oils distilled from plants are highly effective against drug-resistant bacterial infections and could prove to be an inexpensive way to combat super-bugs found in hospital settings.

For hundreds of years, different cultures have used so-called essential oils from plants to treat a variety of illnesses from arthritis to skin infections and sore throats.

Now, researchers at the Technological Educational Institute of Ionian Islands in Greece have found that plant oils are a powerful weapon against multi-drug-resistant staphylococcus aureas or MRSA, a bacterium that causes hospital-acquired infections and is dangerous because it frequently does not respond to a range of antibiotics.

Effemia Eriotou is a professor at the Institute in charge of the research project involving plant oils to treat multi-drug-resistant staphylococcus aureas. "We didn't know that essential oils were going to have that a great anti-microbial activity.  And it's really amazing that they are killing all these bacteria and yeasts as well," Eriotou said.

In laboratory experiments, the research group tested a variety of essential oils from eight plants, including thyme, basil, peppermint and cinnamon. Eriotou says they all had some anti-bacterial activity, but essential oil from thyme - a spice frequently used in Mediterranean cooking - killed almost all of the bacterium in a petri dish within an hour.  Almost as effective was cinnamon oil.

Eriotou says researchers tested essential oils against drug-resistant staph after seeing what happens when the spices are added to foods. "They do not have any bacterial growth in those cheese[s], whereas when we tested different cheese types in the lab, we did have bacteria.  When we have those plants in there, we see no harmful bacteria.  And that's how we got started with this whole work," Eriotou said.

Eriotou says scientists don't know why essential oils, particularly oil from thyme, are so effective against drug- resistant staph.  It's possible, according to Eriotou, that the oils are made by plants to protect them from disease.

Eriotou doesn't think the oils in concentrated forms are dangerous to humans, but that's something they want to figure out.

The research on essential oils was presented this week at the Society for General Microbiology meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland.

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