Blog Category: oils

Hey, hey, my friend!! Thought we'd learn together from Dr. David Stewart’s The Chemistry of Essential Oils  Made Simple, and talk flames, candles, hot beverages and what if your oils freeze…

 

You already know that the temp inside your car on a hot day won’t damage your YL oils, but the heat of a candle will damage any oil. We are talking about 300-400F, which is well above distillation temps, and causes much of the oil to decompose or even burn completely.

 

Diffusers that work by putting oils on a ceramic or metal tray with a candle flame or other heat source underneath will vaporize some of the oil intact, but will actually destroy most of it, including any therapeutic value it had. You may get a smell, but you won’t get much therapy. Let candles and flames be recreational aromatherapy, not a means for serious healing. If you want to fill a room with a smell and candle light, burn scentless candles while diffusing your favorite oils,  or grab some battery operated candles. My answer?? The Lantern diffuser on candle flicker mode, right??

 

When it comes to fire, you should also keep in mind that all essential oils will burn. They are not explosive or highly flammable, but in the presence of a flame, they can catch fire. They become dangerously flammable only if they have been diluted with an alcohol, like methanol, ethanol or propanol as is done in some countries like Taiwan. Another reason it is so important to know your source and the purity of your oils...

 

So, what about using oils in your favorite drinks? I love using them in all my drinks! I use grapefruit and lime, vitality of course, daily, and now that tea and cocoa season is coming back around, we will be using the peppermint, orange, lemon, cinnamon, clove and others…

 

Remember, one drop of oil can represent the concentrated essence of a large volume of leaves or plant matter. It has been said that a drop of peppermint equals the flavoring potency of more than 20 peppermint tea bags…that's more than a box of tea bags in most cases...so use it sparingly! You can always add more…but you can’t take it out…

 

But the question we are answering is if the heat of your tea or other hot drink will destroy the qualities of the oils and the answer is no. The rule is simply that if it is not too hot for you to drink, then it is not too hot for the oil either. However, when you add oils to a beverage in a pot heating over your stove, try not to let it come to a boil, but don’t worry if you forget and let it boil, just drink it anyway. No harm done.

Using oils in your drinks benefits your digestive tract; you get to enjoy the flavor and smell; and they are absorbed directly into the sensitive tissues that line your mouth as well as through your nose, going straight to your lungs, brain and emotional center. This time of year is a perfect time to add a drop of cinnamon or cassia vitality to your hot apple cider…you can thank me later…

 

Always make sure the oil you want to use is GRAS – generally regarded as safe – for internal use. Read labels or look at your desk reference. Common sense and moderation are key. The white vitality labels make it super easy, but not all oils that are safe for consumption are in our vitality line yet, so hop on google or grab your desk reference and look them up!

 

We’ve talked heat. Now let’s look at cold. If you live in Maine like I do, some of your oils are delivered in the freezing cold of winter and have been outside in the back of an unheated truck all day. I have received some that are a little thicker than usual or even partially frozen. 

 

No worries! Even in the extreme, cold never hurt any oil, regardless of whether it is essential, expressed, absolute or a carrier blend. If your oils are ever chilled to the freezing point, don't apply any heat to thaw them out. Just keep the lids on and let them warm up gradually to room temp and they will be just fine!

74 days. What happens in 74 days? Yup...you guessed it. LOL Are you a "shop early and get it all done" type of person, or a "scrambling at the last minute" one?? Next week, YL will be having a week long sale full of favorite products, bundles and I'm even hearing talk of a new diffuser like you've never seen before...so mark your calendar and be watching your email and in Intentional Wellness for updates and products! Not sure what to get "that" person we all know and love? I do offer gift certificates! These can be used for Ionic Foot Detoxes, Raindrop or Vitaflex sessions, Wellness plans, or product. One size fits pretty much anybody! LOL 

Ready to schedule your session so you know what a blessing it will be for someone else?? Hit reply and let me know!

So...you do an Insights scan, or you look up an issue in the Essential Oil Desk Reference, and...you don't have the "right" oil. Now what do you do?? Easy peasy! Use what you've got!

Yes, the molecules of specific oils are specially suited to stimulate certain receptors in the body. Some administer best to your digestive tract, some to the cardiovascular system. Others work best on the muscles, or the pancreas, or nervous system...you get the point. 

Dr. David Stewart, in The Chemistry of Essential Oils Made Simple, likens the oils to employees in a company that are trained to do certain jobs, but they aren't trained to do others. There are secretaries, machine operators, shipping people, customer service and sales people. But, when a company gets into a crunch in one department, they will sometimes call on these other departments to help with some temporary assistance, even though they are not trained in that department. Then, once the crisis has passed, those workers return to their normal duties.

Oils can do that, too. An oil may not be the "oil of choice" for a certain task, but in a pinch, it will still get the job done. How? Why? Oils follow intent. They respond to the directions you give them. Simply tell the oil what you want it to do, and it will happen. Dr. Stewart says they are not ordinary medicines created by ordinary means. They are God's agents for healing that He provided for us to use. Ezekiel 47:12 tells us, "There will grow all kinds of trees...Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing."  Revelation 22:2 says, "And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations."

Oils are not all chemistry. In quantum physics he says they would be considered "packets of possibilities" that will manifest what you intend. So, just remember, if you don't have exactly the oil called for, use what you have. You may be surprised. 

We had our youngest and two of our grands with us at a local lavender farm a couple of years ago when they all had a brown tail moth caterpillar walk on them. The tracks were already showing up on their skin. One grand had already had a reaction to this caterpillar before, and it wasn't pretty. Normally, I would reach for Lavender...I didn't have any. All I had with me? Stress Away. I used it on all of them. Guess what? Just a bit later you never would've known any of them had any contact with that little pest. Would I have used that oil if I had been home with my stash of oils? Nope. Never would've crossed my mind. I used what I had and trusted it would work. It didn't disappoint. 

Hope this gives you a little bit of freedom in using those oils!!