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What
are Essential Oils?
Essential
oils are highly concentrated aromatic substances
extracted from a single plant. The extract can
be from the flowers, blossoms, leaves, gums, fruits,
seeds or roots. Today the “life force” from plants
can be used to compliment traditional medicine.
We
can use pure essential oils for small first aid
treatments such as burns, cuts, jet lag etc or
for healing the emotions that may later cause
physical problems. We can of course use them to
counteract physical problems as well. For example
taking a simple sniff of peppermint for headache,
rather than taking painkillers that are toxic
to our liver as well as other parts of our body.
If you are suffering pain, try lavender for its
analgesic qualities. However, always remember
that pain is the body’s natural way of warning
us that something is not right. If pain does persist,
consult a physician.
Essential oils are extracted by steam distillation,
which produces a liquid with a distinctive fragrance
and particular properties according to the plant.
Essential oils evaporate quickly, and are sensitive
to heat and light. Only the top quality first
crop oils should be used to maintain the highest
possible standard.
The yield of oil is individual to each plant.
For example it takes 2000 gram of rose petals
to produce 1 gram of rose oil. There is a consequent
variation in price from one oil to another, depending
on yield, country of origin and quality. You don’t
expect to pay the same price for mangoes and potatoes!!
Essential oils need never be tested on animals.
The most accurate method of testing is liquid
gas chromatography, a proven scientific technique
that identifies the active ingredients of each
extract.
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