The Science of Oils

How Essential Oils Work

Essential oils are organic compounds extracted from plants that have therapeutic properties. They can be found in the plant’s flower, stem, leaves, bark or fruit. The chemistry is extremely complex and may consist of hundreds of different chemical compounds. This is what gives each oil its unique attributes and characteristics.

The oils are also the lifeblood of a plant. They protect the plant from disease, provide nutrients and keep the plant healthy and functioning at its best!

Young Living’s essential oils can do the following:

• Reach every cell in your body within 20 minutes when applied topically to the body.
• Can support the natural detoxification process in your body.
• Can help support your body’s natural regeneration process.
• Have the capability of passing the “blood-brain” barrier.
• Work on emotions via the limbic system of your brain when inhaled.
• Help to release emotional trauma, relax and clear the mind.
• Can help to transport nutrients to starving human cells.
• Can act as powerful antioxidants.
• Can increase atmospheric oxygen.
• Can help remove purify the air.
• Can increase ozone and negative ions in the area it is diffused, creating a cleaner atmosphere.

Essential oils are made up of different constituents: monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and phenols.

Phenols

What do phenols do? They clean and repair receptor sites. Meaning that the damage that our fear-based emotions have caused can be cleaned and repaired by using essential oils.

Use oils, breathe them in, and they quickly work on your amygdala (the amygdala is a roughly almond-shaped mass of gray matter inside each cerebral hemisphere, involved with the experiencing of emotions), and they affect every single cell in your body within 20 minutes. Even cooler, they are adaptogenic, which means that they will work on the receptor sites that need help.

To clean those receptor sites, look for oils high in phenols. Some great ones include:

• Clove
• Cassia
• Basil
• Cinnamon Bark
• Oregano
• Anise
• Peppermint

Sesquiterpenes

Now, what do sesquiterpenes do? They bring oxygen into the brain. This helps our amygdala (remember, that is the emotion-processing center of our brain) to work as it should.

So, when it comes to using oils for your emotional health (which is really your overall health, because 87-93% of disease comes from our thought life/emotions), what should we look for? Oils high in sesquiterpenes! Some great options include:

• Cedarwood
• Vetiver
• Spikenard
• Sandalwood
• Black Pepper
• Patchouli
• Myrrh
• Ginger
• Frankincense
• Lavender