When we are in pain, physically or emotionally, it is nearly impossible to focus on something else and if we are chronic pain sufferers, we have the sensation and feeling that our body has become a pain body. We forget then that we are not that pain body and that makes it very difficult for…
What’s the difference between an Essential Oil, a CO2 Extract and an Absolute?
While essential oils, CO2 Extracts and absolutes are all considered aromatic extracts, what makes them unique is their method of extraction and the resulting chemical composition of each type of extraction. This article has been created to help you decipher how these aromatic extracts are unique & different and yet also similar. First, let’s walk…
What are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are highly concentrated aromatic extracts that are distilled or expressed from a variety of aromatic plant material, including flowers, flowering tops, fruits/zests, grasses, leaves, needles and twigs, resins, roots, seeds, and woods. Through the process of converting energy from the sun (photosynthesis) plants produce not only the food they need to survive but…
Essential Oils and the Gut Microbiome
No Guts, No Glory: The Impact of Essential Oils on the Gut Microbiome The gut microbiome — everybody’s talking about it, everybody’s gulping down yogurt, everybody’s popping probiotics like their lives depend on it. And in a way… they do. Trillions of microorganisms make their homes in our bodies, and they basically run the place….
Painful Periods: Dysmenorrhea and Essential oils – Part II
Modern Treatment Strategies Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are the first line of treatment by clinical specialists for Primary dysmenorrhea (PD). The most commonly used NSAIDS for menstrual pain are aspirin, ibuprofen, mefenamic acid and naproxen. They work to reduce pain in dysmenorrhea by inhibiting the action of cycooxygenase (COX), an enzyme responsible for prostaglandin production. There…
Painful Menstruation: Dysmenorrhea and Essential Oils – Part I
Dysmenorrhea Dysmenorrhea, the term for painful periods, is derived from the Greek words dys (difficult, painful, or abnormal), meno (month), and rrhea (flow). Cathleen Morrow and Betsy Naumburg, authors of the excellent chapter “Dysmenorrhea” in Women’s HealthPrimary Care: Clinics in Office Practice, offer a thorough introduction to the topic. Primary dysmenorrhea is a gynecological condition…