essential oils

Most of us are already familiar with essential oils in everyday life, probably without realising it. Each time we add spice to a recipe, put Mint sauce on roast lamb or crush a clove of garlic for a salad dressing, we are using essential oils. Many sweets are flavoured with essential oils or their derivatives; some liqueurs rely on them for the characteristic flavours, including aniseed and caraway.

Essential oils, or 'essences', are the most potent form of a plants aromatic and fragrant materials. They are obtained, usually by distillation from the flowers, leaves, stems, bark or wood of aromatic plants and trees. For example, for Chamomile oil the flower heads are used, for Lemon, the zest of the rind. Mint is made using the whole herb, and Sandalwood using the heartwood of the tree. Often huge amounts of raw material are needed to produce just a few drops of oil.

Essential oils are not oils in the everyday sense: they are not greasy or fatty. They are volatile, highly concentrated and extremely complex substances, which evaporate quickly leaving little or no stain. Individual essential oils may contain many hundreds of chemical components, some in infinitesimal quantities, which all react together in a way impossible to reproduce synthetically. Essential oils are far more pleasant smelling perfume oils: they have specific actions, many of them medicinal. All of them are to some degree antiseptic, some (such as Tea Tree) quite powerfully so; some are also anti viral and antibiotic, and so can help to combat infections. Others are anti-inflammatory and can relieve both external burns and inflammatory conditions. Many are very useful in helping to stimulate the body's immune system and can be used not only for convalescence but also preventatively. Many are detoxifying and can help to clear congestion in the organs and lymphatic system.

Unlike drugs, some essential oils are particularly good at harmonising states of imbalance. Thus, when you read the descriptions of the individual oils, you will see that some have both a tonic and a sedative action, according to the state of the user. Also unlike drugs, many of the essential oils listed in this booklet have similar or overlapping properties. Thus you may find different properties for the same oils listed in different books.

The newly expanding field of complimentary and holistic medicine recognises the importance of the link between mind and body; that is, our emotional response to external stress has a direct effect on the body. How stresses affect us depends on our own constitution; some people may respond with ulcers or digestive upsets, some with anxiety and insomnia, while others may develop high blood pressure. Holistic medicine takes into account both the difference in symptoms and the individual stresses underlying them.

Essential oils appear to work on all levels. In massage, their physical properties penetrate the skin and reach the blood stream in infinitesimal quantities to heal our muscles and organs. At the same time we are receiving their scents through the nose, whether through massage or other applications. It appears that they can activate a deep part of our brain, which stores memories, and that they also have an effect on the nervous system so that they can help to reduce anxiety, for instance - without the side effects of chemical tranquillisers.