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Therapeutic use of essential oils is beginning to be recognized in the United States as a valid modality for treating illness. There is still significant resistance to the science of Aromatherapy, but such is the resistance from the institutional-medicine/pharmaceutical-industrial complex to most ‘natural’ health treatments. ‘Big Pharma’ is THE industry with the highest average profit margins on earth — and is dedicated to producing, patenting, marketing selling new, unnatural (and therefore ‘patent-able’) chemical compounds that are supposed to answer every need of health and wellness. While some formulations do much good for the world (modern medicine has nearly eradicated several life-threatening illnesses from the planet), other medicines simply mask symptoms for a time, and others are downright dangerous.

So-called ‘alternative’ treatments encompass virtually all medicine mankind has ever used, and our species by almost every measure is exceptionally successful. And there are many physicians who specialize in alternative medicine whom believe that natural treatments and lifestyle modifications are the ONLY way to truly cure the vast majority of illness. So how effective, really, are essential oils and the science of aromatherapy in treating stress and disease in humans? How can you learn more about the oils and their potential to help you? Let’s review the current state of affairs, and see how you might investigate their use in your own natural health and wellness lifestyle.

The term Aromatherapy was coined by a French scientist after accidentally discovering the remarkable healing effects of Lavender oil on burns sustained in the lab. He had thrust his burning hands into a vat of Lavender oil, finding the wounds to heal extremely quickly. Further investigation lead to his book ‘Aromatherapie’, and the modern medical use of essential oils began. Aromatherapy refers simply to the branch of medicine utilizing volatile aromatic compounds naturally distilled from plants. Essential oils can be as effective as any other natural remedy when employed with proper knowledge and skill. In fact, many pharmaceutical drugs are plant extracts manipulated to give the inventor patent protection on their formulation. But essential oils cannot be patented – ANYone with the right tools and know-how can produce them. At the same time, there is no major lobbying effort underway to educate the public about their medicinal properties – likely the reason America has not gone beyond ‘aroma’ to ‘therapy’ with essential oils.

The education seems inevitable, however. As more folks get fed up with the costs and red tape of our Allopathic medical system, they are paying more attention to reports on the efficacy of natural remedies. The use of essential oils has been shown as, if not more, than any other available medicine in certain instances. For Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a painful and debilitating condition, Peppermint essential oil taken during and after bouts of the disease has profound effects on pain, duration, and recurrence of the illness – more so than the most commonly used modern medical treatment. Patients using Peppermint oil felt better than those using conventional treatments, in part because the natural antibiotic effect leaves much needed intestinal flora in balance. It is this balance that is inherent in knowledgeably practiced natural medicine; a facet which occurs with essential oils and many other so-called alternative therapies.

Another well documented treatment using essential oils is the use of Melissa essential oil on Herpes Simplex viral legions. The legions are outbreaks of the virus during times of undue stress; the virus is typically under control of the immune system and remains dormant in nerve endings of the skin – the disease is considered ‘incurable’ by conventional medicine. A great many university studies have evaluated Melissa (and other essential oils containing similar molecular components) and it’s efficacy in treating Herpes – and the results have been astounding. A majority of study participants have less pain, along with shorter and less-frequent outbreaks. One professor claims that the disease has gone into complete remission in some study participants with regular use of Melissa oil; no more outbreaks at all! Further, Melissa is very well tolerated, has no known toxic effects, and is readily available. This is true aroma-’therapy’ taking it’s place in the world of natural health, wellness and fitness.

On the ‘soft side’ of essential oil use, that of inhalation or massage-based ‘aroma’ therapy, it is important first to note that MANY health professionals consider stress to be the number one cause of all disease. The body, lead by the mind, becomes overburdened in a variety of ways which lead to breakdown of particular systems (immune, circulatory, etc). Time and time again, Lavender and other essential oils have been reported by patients, even in controlled studies, to reduce stress levels. As the understanding of the mind-body connection to health and well-being grows, the importance of stress reduction techniques in natural health programs is coming to the forefront. Inhalation of essential oils is but one possible technique, but a powerful one at that. Upon comparison to Valium – the most ubiquitous of anti-stress agents in the Western world, a headline in the Journal of Essential Oil Research proclaimed “Lavender beats benzodiazepines” for stress reduction. This is one commonly-used anti-stress oil; there are many, many others – some people don’t like Lavender, but the may like Neroli, Bergamot, Sweet Orange, or one of hundreds of other oils that may reduce stress and have ‘downstream’ effects of improved health and wellbeing.

Aromatherapy certainly deserves it’s place in the realm of medical treatments available today – some consider essential oils the absolute best route of treatment for certain infectious illnesses (essential oils have a wide range of antimicrobial and anti-viral effects). Oils are not a cure all, nor are they wonder drugs. They are effective plant medicines which should be used in appropriate situations with the respect they deserve. There are many well-written, interesting guides to medicinal use of essential oils; noted authors are Kurt Schnaubelt, Robert Tisserand, and Jane Buckley, among others. Find one or more of these texts and educate yourself! You’ll find a whole new world opening up in your natural health and wellness choices.

The author is a natural health professional utilizing therapeutic aromatherapy and aromatherapy formulas.