Essential Oils 101: Using Essential Oils vs. Pharmaceuticals (Lesson 3)

Now that we’ve talked about how to use essential oils, let’s discuss why I like to use them as my first line of defense in attacking sickness before I turn to pharmaceuticals.

I am a registered nurse. I worked in a pediatric cardiovascular intensive care unit for 4 years. I have a lot of experience working with very sick children with conditions that essential oils cannot treat. I am very thankful for the technology we have these days and believe that western medicine certainly has its place. However, I also believe that when it comes to mild illness and every day discomfort, I would rather try to first take a more gentle approach with less side effects than to use pharmaceuticals. This is where essential oils come in handy!

Pros of Using Essential Oils vs. Pharmaceuticals

• Essential oils come from plants found in God’s natural creation
• Essential oils give benefits with little to no side effects
• No toxic chemicals
• Many are safe for the whole family (pregnancy/babies/children/adults)
• Versatile for multiple symptoms
• With proper care, essential oils don’t expire (except citrus oils which last 7-10 years before expiration)
• Minimize symptoms while getting to the root cause vs. managing/masking symptoms
• Unlike western medicine, essential oils can attack viruses
• Same cost or cheaper per dose with no medical fees, insurance or co-pays

Wow! That’s a lot of benefits to essential oils over pharmaceuticals if you ask me!

Let’s explore each of these points down a little further.

Essential oils come from plants found in God’s natural creation.
Have you ever looked at the inactive ingredients on the bottles in your medicine cabinet? Sodium benzoate, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavor, propylene glycol, and multiple colored food dyes just to name a few. These were ingredients I found in bottles of children’s medication. These ingredients are linked to health problems and we are giving them to our kids for symptoms like headache and runny nose! Young Living 100% essential oils are ONLY essential oils. Nothing else. No other hidden chemicals or ingredients. Just 100% natural plants that God made.

Essential oils give benefits with little to no side effects.
Have you ever noticed that on commercials for pharmaceuticals, the list of side effects at the end tends to be longer than the rest of the commercial? With essential oils, you don’t have that problem.

No toxic chemicals.
Refer to the point directly above. Although not oils can be used in the same ways (for instance, wintergreen should never be ingested because it is poisonous when consumed), there are no toxic ingredients in the essential oils. They can safely be used as directed on their bottles.

Many are safe for the whole family (pregnancy/babies/children/adults).
I think the most miserable part of pregnancy was unrelieved discomfort. I had the worst sinus infection I have ever had during the January I was pregnant with Josiah. Since during pregnancy women are limited with the medications they can safely take, I am SO thankful that I could safely use my peppermint essential oil to relieve the headache and sinus pressure. There are several essential oils that are safe when used properly during pregnancy, with infants & children. For all you mommas of little ones, this is a huge benefit to essential oils over pharmaceuticals!

Versatile for multiple symptoms.
How many times have you gone to the store to spend money on a medication, only to use it for a few days and then have it sit in your medicine cabinet for a year or two before it expired and most of the bottle was wasted? Well, essential oils are so versatile that you can use one bottle of one oil for many, many different uses so that not one drop gets wasted!

With proper care, essential oils don’t expire (except citrus oils which last 7-10 years before expiration).
Speaking of expiration, most oils don’t ever expire! If you’re like me, I use them frequently enough that one bottle would be long gone before I have had it a decade, but even if you don’t use yours very often, rest assured that you won’t be wasting your money on a product that will go bad before you can use it up.

Minimize symptoms while getting to the root cause vs. managing/masking symptoms.
Not only do essential oils help minimize the symptoms of illness, but they can also relieve problems at the root cause, helping to relieve the symptoms for good. Most pharmaceuticals work more like a band-aid where they cover up the symptoms, but they don’t get rid of the problem.

Unlike western medicine, essential oils can attack viruses.
Are there any other science nerds like me out there? This is one of the most amazing things to me about essential oils. Pharmaceuticals can attack bacteria because bacteria lives on the outside of the cell wall, but pharmaceuticals cannot penetrate to the inside of the cell wall where viruses attach and make their home. This is why antibiotics don’t work on the common cold, because the common cold is a virus. There are essential oils that can penetrate to the inside of the cell wall, fighting off viruses and relieving those awful symptoms. How cool is that?!?

Same cost or cheaper per dose with no medical fees, insurance or co-pays.
I am a frugal person. Our family lives on a tight budget. That being said, essential oils have saved us so much money over the last few years compared to what we would have paid if we were buying pharmaceuticals. I have broken down the cost per “dose” of several different essential oils vs. their equivalent in over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, and the cost has either been comparable or cheaper. Here is an example of using Tylenol vs. peppermint or lavender essential oil for a headache:

• Tylenol $25.80­-30.96 for 250­-300 tablets (325mg each), dose is two tablets
• Peppermint $28.29 (15ml) for 250­-300 drops, dose is one drop
• Lavender $30.92 (15ml) for 250­-300 drops, dose is one drop

With this breakdown, you can see that Tylenol is TWICE as expensive as peppermint or lavender. Tylenol has possible side effects. Tylenol is not nearly as versatile in its usage. Tylenol has an expiration date of just a year or two, so it may go to waste in your medicine cabinet. Tylenol is made up of a lot of man made chemicals that could potentially wreak havoc on your health. I am not bashing Tylenol… but I do think it’s only fair to say that in comparison it doesn’t hold a candle to peppermint or lavender essential oils.

Ok, now that we know how beneficial essential oils can be, let’s start learning about individual essential oils and how they can be used! In upcoming posts in this series, I will share information on some of my favorite oils and oil blends and the many different ways they can be used.

 

DISCLAIMER:
– No statements made here are meant to diagnose, treat, or cure disease. Although many people have found great relief from ailments with use of essential oils and products containing them, we legally cannot claim to heal or cure disease with essential oils because they not FDA regulated.

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