The Healing Intelligence of Essential Oils

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About the Book Exploring science’s new biological understanding of essential oils and their advantages over synthetic drugs, renowned aromatherapist Kurt Schnaubelt reveals how the effectiveness of essential oil treatments stems from our common biochemical and cellular heritage with plants. He explains how essential oils preserve a plant’s complex natural life-supporting and immune-building qualities, developed through millions of years of interaction with animals and humans. Reviewing recent research in molecular, cellular, and evolutionary biology, he shows how the multilayered activity of plant essences helps maintain the integrity of our genetic code-the reason why pathogens cannot develop resistance toward essential oils as they do with antibiotics and antivirals making essential oils a more effective and sustainable form of treatment for a variety of health problems.

Laying to rest old arguments over essential oils’ alleged toxicity and whether they can be ingested or used undiluted, Schnaubelt presents simple recipes and protocols for treating and preventing common ailments, such as colds, flu, herpes, and candida, as well as for pain management. Offering new essential oil treatment opportunities for hepatitis, osteoporosis, liver detoxification, and the prevention of UV damage and melanoma, he shows how essential oils can also ameliorate the debilitating side effects of chemotherapy and other cancer treatments as well as how even home use of essential oils for relaxation or skin care can help build one’s immunity and overall well-being.

About the Author KURT SCHNAUBELT holds a Ph.D. in chemistry and is the founder and scientific director of the pacific Institute of Aromatherapy in San Francisco. The author of Advanced Aromatherapy and Medical Aromatherapy, he lives in San Rafael, California.

Introduction Spices provided the major incentive for voyaging into the unknown.

The initial impulse to learn about aromatherapy is almost always instinctual. Courses, instructors, and books satisfy this impulse, yet learning about aromatherapy and using essential oils almost always turns into a dynamic process. It generally begins with a little experimentation, such as using oils for relaxation or a herpes treatment. With a little luck there is some success and we feel encouraged to continue. If we are open-minded and not too dependent (physically, mentally, or psychologically) on conventional drugs, we notice that taking care of common ailments with essential oils and other natural means leads to a state of better health. In the best case, the process of using essential oils leads to a state in which we have enough self-confidence to maintain our own health without continuously consulting the conventional medical machine. Conventional medicine, with its technology and drugs, is something we generally use when we generally use when we think we must, when we think that more natural ways are not sufficiently effective. Indeed, it has crucial benefits under certain circumstances. But at the same time, we know it is as overdone and self-defeating as a Ferrari without gasoline. It disempowers us if we attach too much of our well-being to it.

So it is a real advantage when we eventually reach sufficient equanimity and inner peace to know when to consult the conventional system and when to rely on ourselves and on natural healing instead. There is no substitute for cultivating and understanding of the natural way our soul and body works and how that precious natural balance can be maintained.

One of the barriers to our gaining that understanding arises from our cultural norms, which have made us worried about essential oils. They are seen as potentially too strong, but nevertheless we are concerned they will fail us when challenged by serious conditions. Somehow we think "medicine" when we think of essential oils. We think of doctors who disapprove.

But we can be guided by remembering that there are other plant products to which we have developed a more relaxed relation, such as tea, made by steeping the leaves of Camellia sinensis in hot water. And what diversity there is in tea: Ceylon, Assam, Darjeeling, Japanese, Oolong, Ti Kuan Yin, Keemun, and so on. The list is long and tea enthusiasts know that all these teas taste different and have wildly different physiological effects. The dramatic health benefits of green tea are acknowledged without controversy, probably because nobody ever wrote a book called "teatherapy".

But just like we will not discover the wonderful varieties of tea if we stay with English breakfast tea bags forever, we will not discover the true benefits of essential oils unless we explore the real beauty that lies in their authenticity. As we are inspired to explore oils more deeply it is natural that we do so in ways that correspond to our use of conventional medicines. Connecting the old with the new, we begin to use antibacterial oils instead of antibiotics, because research shows that some essential oils are indeed effective against pathogenic bacteria. By using them we begin to avoid the negative side effects of antibiotics a crucial step to better health, as it leads to a significantly improved immune response. As we move along, more questions arise. A crucial question in aromatherapy is what those essential oils really are.

Here we are constricted by another of the ways in which our culture stifles the experience of refined and complex natural products: the conceptual reduction of everything to one generally bad substance or culprit. Some will say they cannot drink tea because they cannot drink caffeine. Similarly wine is dismissed as "alcohol." As a consequence we often remain stuck with grossly simplified concepts of tea or wine or for that matter, essential oils. This is also reflected in the way these products are homogenized by industrial production. Instead of allowing the enormous variety in flavour and effect that nature presents, white wine in California is made to taste uniformly "fruity," no matter what the label claims Instead o presenting an opportunity to enjoy the breadth of essential oil diversity, the bulk of Rosemary essential oil on offer is a standardized liquid engineered to cost no more than $45 a pound.

This book offers a unique approach by the providing the vital context for the use of essential oils revealed by the new insights about aromatherapy arising today, mainly from the different branches of biology. In particular, discoveries about the origin of the physiological activity of plant substances have been very illuminating. Essential oils provide the most benefits for those who like to live in harmony with nature and find moderation and humility vis-a-vis creation desirable. Like exploring the world of tea, we can experience the refinement and finesse of essential oils instead of constantly talking about their potential hazards.

One of the ways to explore is to read books that tell us what to do with oils and what not to do. In the past, aromatherapy texts mainly instructed an aromatherapist on how she or he should practice. The aim of this book is to make it easier for the lay individual to self-medicate with essential oils. This individualized form of aromatherapy focuses more on exploring essential oil efficacy and less on formulating claims. This book aims to present this almost underground form of personal aromatherapy with its stunning benefits.

It will also highlight the continuously evolving scientific proof for new therapeutic possibilities.

How to use this Book Part 1, "Understanding the Language of Plants: The Science of Aromatherapy." Presents an entirely new take on the theory of aromatherapy, exploring recent findings at the interface of evolutionary biology, cellular biology, and pharmacology, shedding light on the enormous importance the particular plant substances known as secondary metabolites* have for human health. These findings also highlight so far unrecognized qualities of multicomponent mixtures, such as essential oils, which hold distinct advantages over single component substances, such as drugs.

Part 2, "Exploring Authentic Essential Oils: Recognizing Authenticity, Safety, Diversity, Fragrance," offers guidelines for determining the authenticity of an essential oil and establishes the importance of using authentic oils. It also addresses the mostly false warnings about risks associated with the use of essential oils, while at the same time clearly noting the few areas of real concern and providing techniques for safe use. Presentations of the diverse influences that have shaped aromatherapy offer insights into its efficacy. You will also find hints for actualizing an aromatherapy lifestyle. Finally, part 2 explores the role played by fragrance.

If you are in need of a remedy, you can turn directly to part 3, "Healing with Essential Oils: Treatment Strategies and protocols," to discover which essential oils have been found helpful for specific conditions, and ways to apply them. The recipes range from topical and internal applications, to the use of essential oils in easing side effects of conventional cancer treatment and hepatitis, to suggestions derived from Chinese medicine for treatment of autoimmune diseases. Accompanying the text throughout you will also find "Essential Oil Journeys" to guide your personal exploration of essential oils; each journey will connect you to one or more essential oils and the cultural diversity of the plant-human interface in which they have flourished.

In addition to the primary text in the center columns of this book, you will also find related short topics in the side panels. The side panels and boxes are divided into six categories, which are color-coded:

PLANTS IN ARTS AND CULTURE: Humans have always connected with plants on many different planes. The purely medicinal approach to plants, essential oils, and aromatherapy is rather self-limiting. To free the study of aromatherapy from the exclusive rule of dry data we shall visit examples of the many different ways in which plants have been and still are, part of culture, ritual, and religion.

SCIENTIFIC CONTEXT: The main text moves forward quite quickly. These scientific side panels and boxes develop topics and offer helpful illustrations. They also refer to some of the books that deepen the subject matter in a fashion easily accessible to the lay reader or present abstracts from actual scientific papers to illustrate the form in which such results are originally communicated. Some of the common terms referring to the molecular makeup and physical properties of essential oils are also introduced in these panels.

CONTRIBUTORS TO AROMATHEAPY: These side panels will introduce you to some of the individuals who have contributed to the foundations and the development of aromatherapy in ways that are at times not immediately obvious form the existing literature.

BACKROUND INFORMATION: The background panels present arguments or facts providing an added layer of context to the topics in the main narrative. UNDERSTANDING AROMATHERAPY: These side panels elaborate aspects of the main text directly related to the practice of aromatherapy.

RECIPE: Specific recipes for essential oil blends are provided in these boxes.

At the end of the book you will find a section on valuable aromatherapy resources. As there are many excellent suppliers of essential oils and also of aromatherapy education, it is beyond the scope of this book to provide a comprehensive list of all suppliers. The resources section does include vendors of essential oils and education providers who share some of the basic ideas put forward in this book about essential oil authenticity and an approach to aromatherapy that recognizes the biological qualities of essential oils in addition to their chemical composition.