Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Eucalyptus Essential Oil


Eucalyptus is a key ingredient in many cough and throat medicines and also in chest ointments. I love using it for easing sinus pressure and congestion. It is also used widely both for its calming and clearing properties as well as to ease breathing. Here are a few tips for using Eucalyptus essential oil:

• Apply to chest and feet to clear congestion and ease coughs
• Apply to sinus area to soothe pain and pressure
• Mix with fractionated coconut oil to relieve muscle pain
• Diffuse to enhance breathing
• Add to hot water and inhale to reduce nasal congestion
• Add to a cold compress to reduce a fever

Essential Oils - Where Do I Begin?

This is the question that so many of us have when looking at essential oils! Using essential oils is simple and highly satisfying, but with so many oils and oil blends available it can be overwhelming for beginners. As a simple first step to your journey with essential oils, I recommend our introductory essential oil kit. This kit includes our most popular oils-lavender, peppermint and lemon. These 3 essential oils will provide you and your family a compelling experience with the life-enhancing properties of therapeutic grade essential oils.

Lavender
is our most popular oil. It is widely used and acknowledged for its calming and relaxing properties. Here are a few ways that I like to use lavender:
• Apply to the bottom of feet before sleeping for a calming effect
• Apply to bee stings or bug bites to calm the reaction
• Add to bath salts or fractionated coconut oil for a relaxing bath
• Apply to your wrist during stressful situations
• Apply to sunburn or scalded skin to soothe
• Apply to back and feet or a restless child
• Use with fractionated coconut oil to soothe diaper rash
• Calm sensitive skin and soothe pores after hair removal
• Apply to chapped lips before applying lip balm
• Use with peppermint for a healthy scalp massage
• Add to lotion or fractionated coconut oil for a stress relieving hand massage
• Add one drop to a band aid pad to soothe a cut or scrape

Peppermint is my personal favorite essential oil. I think it was the first oil I ever experienced! As an essential oil, it is useful to ease breathing and as a digestive aid. Here are a few ways to use peppermint:
• Take one drop internally to calm indigestion or upset stomach.
• Add to hot water and drink as a tea or cold water for a refreshing drink
• Add to a cold compress to reduce fever
• Use with lemon to disinfect your toothbrush after or during illness
• Diffuse aromatically or apply topically to open sinuses and airways
• Apply with lavender to sore, tired muscles and joints
• Breathe during a meal to help you feel full
• Add to a cold water compress or foot bath to cool off when overheated
• Inhale as a non-stimulant, invigorating pick me up on long drives
• Add to shampoo and conditioner for a stimulating hair and scalp massage
• Diffuse during study time for alertness

Lemon is known as a powerful aromatic, topical, and internal cleanser and can be used to complement many other oils. Diffusing lemon in a room can cleanse the air and uplift mood. It can also be used on surfaces throughout the home as a non-toxic cleaner. Here a few other ways you can use lemon:
• Add a drop to a glass of water served at a restaurant to cleanse
• Diffuse or apply topically for mood elevation
• Add to drop of honey to soothe a cough or sore throat
• Dilute with fractionated coconut oil for a daily conditioning nail massage
• Apply directly to cold sores for soothing relief
• Diffuse in a room to neutralize odors
• Remove gun, label adhesives, and greasy substances from fabric
• Add to olive oil for a non-toxic furniture polish
• Use to clean kitchen counters and stainless steel appliances

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Be On Guard This Flu Season!

On Guard™
Protective Blend

On Guard™ is dōTERRA®'s proprietary blend formulated to support healthy immune function. A blend of wild orange essential oil, combined with clove, cinnamon, eucalyptus and rosemary offer natural and effective alternative to synthetic options for immune support. On Guard also has an amazing aroma and can be used in over 52 ways.

Check out this list!

1. Mix with a tbsp of water, gargle for 1 minute then swallow at the on-set of a sore throat.

2. Put 5 drops Oregano and 5 drops on guard in a 00 capsule and take 3 times daily at the on set of cold or flu symptoms.

3. Put on the soles of children’s feet at night during cold & flu season to support immune system.

4. Put several drops in a bowl of hot – hot water and breathe in the vapors as it begins to volatilize when you have lung congestion.

5. Put 50 drops in a spray bottle with 30 oz of distilled water. Shake often and use to sanitize kitchen and bathroom surfaces (cleans great too).

6. Add to your dishwasher for micro clean dishes.

7. Add to your laundry cycle for micro clean clothes.

8. Add to your mop water for cleaner floors.

9. Apply to bee and insect stings to neutralize the toxin and relieve the pain.

10. Gargle and brush daily for healthy teeth and gums and to prevent and treat gum disease.

11. Apply to gums and teeth, or swish with 5 drops of on guard & 1 tbsp of water for pain relief from toothaches and after dental work.

12. Diffuse in homes or business to kill air borne pathogens, inhibit mold and build immune systems.

13. Put a few drops on air filters when changing them to kill pathogens in the duct work.

14. Add to Emergen-C or orange juice to help congestion and fight flu and cold.

15. Put a drop in your mouth and push or squeeze it around to relieve smoking urges. (Enhance with an extra drop or two of clove.)

16. For warts, apply topically, rotating between Oregano & Frankincense.

17. Apply a drop on a pet sore or wound to enhance healing.

18. Have the diffuser going in your home when the kids come home to ward off germs.

19. Make an anti-biotic blend using On Guard (12 drops) Oregano (6 drops) Frankincense (2 drops) in a 00 gel cap.

20. Add 15 drops to every cup of corn starch, mix and sprinkle on carpet. Rake carpet, leave for 1 hour, then vacuum for micro clean carpet.

21. Mix a 2-3 drops of On Guard and 2 drops of lemon EO with honey or agave in a teaspoon for a cold or cough relief medicine for kids.

22. Gargle with 1 tbsp of water and 1 drop each of lemon and on guard hourly for laryngitis.

23. Put several drops on the HVAC vents of a hotel room or office to kill airborne pathogens and germs.

24. Mix with baking soda to clean bathtubs.

25. Apply neat to the toes and nails to combat fungus.

26. Combine 2 tbsp of water with 5 drops of on guard in a small glass and store your toothbrush overnight to sanitize.

27. Use a 50/50 mix of On Guard and purified water and spray onto oven interior. Leave for 15 minutes, and then wipe away greasy spots.

28. Apply to hands to remove stubborn, sticky substances like tree sap.

29. Add to the water in your vacuum cleaner/steamer to disinfect the carpet.

30. Put a few drops in your vacuum bag to kill pathogens.

31. Put 15 drops in a 6oz spray bottle, shake and spray rooms, desks, or bed sheets to protect against pathogens.

32. Clean the upholstery and dashboard of your car.

33. Gargle with On Guard and 1 tbsp of water prior speaking engagements or singing performances.

34. Rub on stains as a pre-wash stain remover.

35. Add 3 drops to your tooth brush and brush every day for a healthy mouth and to prevent cavities, gum disease.

36. Apply to teeth that have been damaged or broken to help them heal.

Make an On Guard spray with 15 drops for every 6 oz of purified water, use the spray for:

37. Wipe doorknobs and other things touched by the public.

38. Wipe dirty piano keys to clean and disinfect.

39. Use to clean children’s hands when traveling.

40. Use on the steering wheel and gearshift of your vehicle.

41. Use on public telephones to remove germs.

42. Use on public computer keyboards and mice.

43. Use as an underarm deodorant.

44. Spray on hands before and after shaking hands with a lot of people.

45. Spray in public restrooms on airplanes to reduce airborne bacteria.

46. Carry for protection in countries with cholera, malaria or dysentery.

47. Use as an air freshener for cooking odors or other unwanted smells.

48. Take to the gym and spray all the equipment you use.

49. Take to the supermarket and use to disinfect shopping cart handles.

50. Use in the classroom for desks, tables and other items handled by children.

51. Spray in your mouth and throat at first onset of cold or bronchitis.

52. Spray on shower stalls and bathroom walls to disinfect and remove mold.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Dr. Mom Kit

Our newest collection, the Dr. Mom kit, is a collection of nine nurturing essential oils, including five single oils and four oil blends. The stunning box includes tips for using the oils, as well as an audio CD featuring dōTERRA's Chief Medical Advisor, Dr. David K. Hill.

In this audio presentation, Dr. Hill teaches listeners how to care for their family's everyday health needs with simple and safe methods using the nine nurturing essential oils. The Dr. Mom kit is ideal for beginners and essential oil experts alike, and is the perfect way to introduce others to dōTERRA's Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade essential oils.

(Kit includes: Lavender, Lemon, Peppermint, Melaleuca, Oregano, Deep Blue, Breathe, DigestZen, & On Guard Essential Oils)

To purchase this kit, click here!

Oregano Essential Oil


Powerful antioxidant and immunity support, nature's strongest antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, lymphatic stimulator, supports respiratory system.

Oregano Essential Oil is our first choice when coming down with a cold or flu symptoms. My husband and I use 6 drops of Oregano in a capsule 3 times a day and for my son, we apply 2 drops of the oil to his feet and then cover them with socks.

Oregano is a hot oil, so I do not recommend taking by mouth without first diluting it or putting it into a capsule. You can purchase capsules at your local health food store. Also, for young children, be sure to cover the feet immediately so they do not touch the oil and then touch themselves.

Here is a wonderful article on the benefits of using Oregano Essential Oil and the research. Be sure when using essential oils that you are using only Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade for health and wellness benefits!

Oil Of Oregano Rivals Modern Antibiotic Drugs
by Bill Sardi

Oil pressed from oregano leaves that contain the active ingredient carvacrol may be an effective treatment against sometimes drug-resistant bacterial infection. Georgetown University researchers have found that oil of oregano appears to reduce infection "as effectively as traditional antibiotics."

Oil of oregano at relatively low doses were found to be efficacious against Staphylococcus bacteria and was comparable in its germ-killing properties to antibiotic drugs such as streptomycin, pencillin and vancomycin. [Science Daily 10/11/2001] The findings were presented by Harry G. Preuss, MD, professor of physicology and biophysics, Georgetown University, at the American College of Nutrition'a annual meeting in Orlando, Florida.

Earlier this year researchers at the Department of Food Science at the University of Tennessee reported that, among various plant oils, oil of oregano exhibited the greatest antibacterial action against common pathogenic germs such as Staph, E. coli and Listeria. [Journal Food Protection, Volume 64, July 2001] Last year British researchers reported oregano oil had antibacterial activity against 25 different bacteria. [Journal Applied Microbiology, Volume 88, February 2000] A clinical study in Italy has shown that oil of oregano can be used to treat intestinal parasites. [Phytotherapy Research, Volume 14, May 2000]

The body of positive evidence for oregano oil as a major antibiotic is growing. Among 52 plant oils tested, oregano was considered to have "pharmacologic" action against common bugs such as Candida albicans (yeast), E. coli, Salmonella enterica and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. [Journal Applied Microbiology, volume 86, June 1999] Pseudomonas is a type of germ that is getting more difficult to treat as it has developed strains that are resistant against antibiotic drugs.

Of recent interest are reports showing that carvacrol from oil of oregano kills spores, such as Bacillus cereus and Bacillus anthracis (anthrax). [Archives Microbiology, Volume 174, October 2000; Quarterly Review Biology, Volume 73, March 1998] Bacillus cereus is considered to be from the same species as Bacillus anthracis (anthrax). [Applied Environmental Microbiology, Volume 66, June 2000] In tests of antibiotics and antiseptics, Bacillus cereus is often used in studies in lieu of the anthrax strain. [University of Michigan News & Information Service, Sept. 23, 1998]

Oil of oregano is not to be confused with common oregano in the kitchen spice cupboard, which is usually marjoram (Origanum majorana or O. vulgare) rather than true oregano (Origanum vulgare).

The growing problem of antibiotic resistance has health authorities concerned. Already various germs are showing resistance to vancomycin, particularly to intestinal bacteria (Enterococcal species) among hospitalized patients. [Southern Medical Journal, Volume 94, August 2001] Vancomycin is considered to be the most potent antibiotic available and is withheld from use as a drug of last resort. Vancomycin costs about $16 per pill versus about $1 for the purest-strength oregano oil. Drug resistance does not develop against naturally-occuring antibiotics such as garlic and oil of oregano.