doTERRA Essential Oils 101

A few things have happened lately that have pushed me from being a doTERRA user (and huge fan) to a doTERRA sharer. But since I can already tell that this post will be too long, we'll start with some basic information about essential oils to get your feet wet. This might be more of a lesson than you were hoping for, but I think a little education goes a really long way in the use of essential oils. And now I have a place to send people who come to me with questions, since I may not be able to sit down and talk with everyone. Living far from most of the people you know will cause that sort of dilemma. As for those of you who are chanting "Give us the success stories!" I'm sure I'll throw in something at the end. Or in a follow-up post.

First, a little bit of background about "modern medicine" and doTERRA Essential Oils (which are the only essential oils I am referring to when I talk about EOs...I'll get to that later), so we're all on the same page. To be clear, I do not have an agenda against modern medicine. I am grateful for it when I need it. But, I am also grateful that due to natural remedies/preventative healthcare I no longer need it for every little thing. I'm not trying to give you a cure all (though I have been known to say there is an oil for just about everything), but I can't help but share something that has been so beneficial to me, my family, and many friends. I also can't take credit for all of this information, but it is on so many different websites that I don't actually know who to give credit. Anyway, here we go:

Modern Medicine (Western Medicine):
-Is made with synthetic agents that are designed to mimic things found in nature.
-Is designed to manage symptoms, often just masking them.
-Has known and unknown side effects (we've all heard the last 10 seconds of the medicine commercials speed talking through them...). All drugs have side effects, and the misuse of prescription drugs can have devastating consequences. Drug abuse (prescription drugs included) is a huge problem.
-$4.5 trillion a year is spent on global healthcare. How much healthier are we because of it?

doTERRA Essential Oils/Natural Medicine:
DoTERRA in Latin literally means "Gift of the earth." So you can think of these oils like nature's medicine.

These oils:
-Support your body by minimizing symptoms and addressing root causes.
-Are one of the most effective forms of natural medicine. Essential oils are natural aromatic compounds found in plants. They are essential to the life of the plant and to us. Plants are used in many different ways for helping and healing, but the most concentrated way to use them is in the form of essential oils.
-Essential oils have hundreds of molecular compounds. For example, lavender has over 200 known compounds...meaning it has a myriad of healing properties. You may wonder how lavender can heal many different problems (which may be completely unrelated to each other...burns, allergies, bug bites, sleep, etc.), and the reason is because of its many molecular compounds. And you can't reproduce THAT in a lab.
-Essential oils are used safely and without harmful side effects (great news for everyone, and especially pregnant ladies!).
-They cost pennies per dose, can be administered in your own home (less trips to the doctor's office? YES please!), no co-pays or time wasted at the doctor's office.

 

Essential Oils are Powerful:
-They are 50-70 times more powerful than herbs.
-They inhibit the growth of bacteria and viruses (that's more than your average antibiotic can say).
-They enter the bloodstream within 30 seconds.
-They are the plant's own natural medicine cabinet.

Below in the magnified picture of a peppermint leaf, you will see the little white sacs that contain the essential oil. Peppermint tea is a soothing drink and is often used for its healing properties, yet it takes 28 cups of tea to equal the power found in just one drop of peppermint oil. 

Have you ever been to the doctor and they told you you had a virus and there was nothing they could give you? That is one of the exciting things about essential oils. They can help your body fight off viruses as well as bacteria! Bacteria live outside the cell membrane, so it is easy for antibiotics to reach them. However, viruses often live inside the cell membrane, a barrier that does not let in antibiotics. But essential oils are friendly to the cell membrane and can pass through them to reach the viruses that have managed to get inside. Pretty awesome.

doTERRA Essential Oils are 100% Pure: 

-Essential oils are derived from plants by extraction processes. The most commonly used is a steam distillation process. The other is a cold pressed extraction process. Many companies produce or use essential oils, but not all essential oil products are equal. In fact, some could be very toxic and harmful to our bodies.

There are different grades and it is important to be aware of the distinctions.
-The lowest grade of essential oils are synthetic. They are produced in labs that have copied the components of the oil. These oils are very low quality and are used in lotions and perfumes.
-Next are food grade essential oils. These are used to flavor foods like lemon in salad dressings or cinnamon chewing gum.
-The next grade, intended for a health benefit, is therapeutic grade. This has held the standard in the essential oil industry for the last 30 years. These are the oils that are found in health food stores and used in the health industry. These oils have served well, but now things are even better.

DoTERRA has established a new standard in essential oils called Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade (or CPTG). DoTERRA set this standard by demanding the highest quality in all aspects of growing, processing, and distributing essential oils. DoTERRA is committed to obtaining oils from the original source. So they buy oils from growers that they select, train and monitor from all over the world. For example, Lavender comes from France and Frankincense comes directly from Oman. After the oils are obtained, they are processed in the manner best suited to that plant. Then they undergo third party testing in two independent labs to certify each batch of oil is pure. There are no synthetics, impurities or chemicals. If a batch does not meet this high
standard, it does not make its way into bottles.

 

How to Use Essential Oils 
Once these oils are in your home, there are three ways to use them.

The first and fastest way is aromatically. Just take a whiff! The oils start working immediately. They kill germs in the air, open airways and affect mood. These life-changing oils can be diffused into the air, sniffed straight from the bottle, or applied to the skin where you can smell it.

The second type of application is topical. The oils can be applied to your head, feet, ears, chest, stomach, back of the neck and any troubled areas. Application on the bottom of the feet (where your largest pores are located) enters the blood stream and affects the entire body within 30 seconds.


CPTG oils can be taken internally! These oils can go right to work from the inside to relieve issues in the digestive system, mouth, throat and liver. Take under the tongue, in a gel capsule, in water, or in food.



Here are some of my favorite oils and what I use them for or what they're well known for, (but this is not a complete list. These oils are all so diverse and can be used for many things!):

Lemon-Clean and freshen (Elevate mood, neutralize odors, cleanser/antibacterial, antioxidant/detoxifies, sniffles/dry, sore throat)
Lavender-All things calming (burns, bug bites/stings, diaper rashes, anxiety)
Peppermint-Cool and invigorate (headaches, fever, alertness, mix with water and lemon and swish for a mouthwash)
On Guard-Protective Blend (immune booster, flu, colds, sore throat, eliminate airborne pathogens)
Breathe-Respiratory Support (stuffy nose, congestion, coughs, asthma, more restful sleep) 
DigestZen-Digestive Support (nausea/any digestive issues, motion sickness)
Melaleuca-First Aid for the skin (blemishes, antiseptic, ear infection, anti-fungal, anti-viral)
Frankincense (clean and dress wounds, ear infections, immune support, depression, when in doubt-USE FRANKINCENSE!)
Deep Blue (aches and pains, carpal tunnel)
Oregano-(Natural immune support and defense, anti-fungal, anti-viral)
Balance-(Keeps emotions grounded, helps cranky kids) 
Serenity-(more restful sleep, anxiety/stress) 
Slim n' Sassy-Metabolic blend (increase metabolism, reduce cravings, detox, weight loss aid) 
Past Tense-(migraine/headache blend, muscle tension...I've seen this work miracles for people!)
Purify-(deodorizes, add to laundry)

There are many more oils in my cupboards, but these are the staples. And I have officially spent way too much time writing this blog post! So with that, I will say goodnight with a promise to not leave you hanging. I will follow up with my personal doTERRA story, my successes, and let you know how you can buy some oils if you'd like to try them out. Leave me a comment (or an email) if you have any questions about a certain health problem, if you'd like to share your success stories with me (I love to hear them!), or if you'd like to know how to get your hands on some of these awesome oils. 

I used to be someone who was very shy about the fact that I used essential oils ("People will think I'm strange...I'm not good at "selling" things...etc."), and didn't really share them for about a year. But I soon found myself passing my bottles around to all my friends when I heard they were sick or had sick kids. Because it isn't about "selling" anything, just sharing a product you love. I couldn't keep these wonderful oils to myself. So I guess now I can say "I love doTERRA and I don't care who knows it!" I hope you will be able to try them, too.