Three Pillars of Health: Eat Right

It can be really hard to eat right, especially when there are so many opinions on what "eating right" means!

The first step is to stop eating wrong.  Make a list of those things you know are in your current diet which are hindering your health and work to eliminate them.

Example:

Breakfast cereal

Fast food lunch

TV dinners

Carbonated beverages

Candy

Processed snack foods

White bread

Choose one and work to change your habit.  Let's take carbonated beverages.  Say you drink a soda every day with your lunch.  For the first few days, swap your soda out and replace it with fruit juice mixed with seltzer water.  Then swap the seltzer water for probiotic-rich water kefir, eventually lowering the amount of fruit juice with the goal of eliminatin the juice entirely.  Just this one change can make a big impact on your health!  

What if your diet is clean?  You drink water and herbal tea, limit sugar and processed foods, eat plenty of vegetables and healthy proteins, but portion control is a problem.  Aromatherapy can help.

Portion Control Aromastick

Prepare an aromatherapy inhaler with:

5 drops cardamom eo

3 drops vanilla absolute

2 drops peppermint eo

2 drops pink grapefruit eo

Take two deep breaths in each nostril before eating.  The sweet scent helps to curb the appetite.

Real Bread

Mmm mmmm mmmm!  Nice warm bread from the oven.  Bread has a bad reputation though.  All that gluten, all that starch!  But, it doesn't have to be that way.

Pictured above is naturally leavened whole wheat bread.  A good portion of the gluten protein matrix as well as a significant part of the starch and sugar is broken down by the natural leavening process, leaving a healthy loaf of REAL bread.  

Natural leavening yields what we commonly call sourdough.  It is begun with a "starter" which, when active, is full of beneficial bacteria which digest the flour and produce a small amount of alcohol and carbon dioxide which results in a rising loaf.  This particular loaf was made from Camaldoli (perpetual) starter which is quite mild.  The starter is fed every day and used when wanted.

For much more information about the amazing health benefits of REAL bread, check out The Vintage Remedies Guide to Bread by Jessie Hawkins.  There are plenty of recipes in her book as well.

"Real Tree" Spray

Vines of Wellness "Real Tree" Spray

An artificial tree at Christmas time certainly has its advantages, but it misses the mark with regard to scent.  Here is my take at a "Real Tree" room spray:

Storage

I do a lot of traveling with my family, particularly, camping.  One challenge is taking any aromatherapy blends I may want on the road.  Here is one solution that works well for me:

This shotgun shell box is divided into 25 mini compartments.  I found it at a sporting goods store.  It is compact and keeps small items separated.

There is a removeable insert.  With the insert in place, 1dram vials and aroma inhalers fit nicely.

Without the insert, a 5mL rollerball is held secure.

The box is deep and closes neatly over the organized aromatherapy supplies.  It snaps shut and does not pop open easily.  

A nifty, inexpensive solutions for a happy camper.  

Books

The world of aromatherapy has grown exponentially in the last ten years.  Availability of quality essential oils has increased, but so has the availability of adulterated oils.  Solid research and evidence-based education has increased, but so has unsafe word-of-mouth advice.  

Above, is just a sample of some of the better books on aromatherapy.  There are a couple in on the shelf that I would not recommend, but most of these are solid.  Len and Shirley Price and Jennifer Peace Rhind are my go-to authors for reliable monographs and safe effective essential oil use.  To the right, is a partial view of my text books from Vintage Remedies.  

My current favorite beginner level book is:

This is a fun book with plenty of ideas including a good starter list of basic monographs for essential oils, carrier oils, hydrosols, and other ingredients.  It advocates safe practices such as dilution for topical application and avoidance of certain EOs in the presence of various contraindications.

Always learning

It is important to always expand the knowledge base.  As aromatherapy has "come into its own", more research and more information is becoming available.  Safety and effective usage is possible through best practices and evidence-based use.

Here are a few ways to dig deep into aromatherapy:

• Get your education from multiple sources.  There is always a bias in information.  Being familiar with a wide variety of philosophies is helpful.
• Find a mentor who is an experienced clinical aromatherapist.  This can include getting an education from a solid school of aromatherapy. (Vintage Remedies, and others)
• Read evidence based books by solid experts in the field (Len and Shirley Price, Jennifer Peace Rhind, and others)
• Learn to fact check research citations.  Note:  Evidence-based resources will be well cited!
• Become familiar with the "best practices" laid out by Alliance of International Aromatherapists, National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy and similar organizations.
• Set up a consultation with a certified aromatherapist.

Chai blend

Nothing says autumn quite like the aroma of chai.  A couple drops of this blend in a diffuser adds a sweet spicy warmth to the air invoking the beauty and calm of the fall season.  

Chai Diffusion Blend

Equal parts:

Black Pepper EO

Aniseed EO

Clove Bud EO

Ginger EO

Sweet Fennel EO

Cinnamon Leaf EO

Cardamom EO

It only takes a couple minutes for this blend to fill a room, so diffusing for a short period of time a couple times per day is sufficient.

Real Food: Zattar bread & Labneh

It is fermented food day at Vines of Wellness.  Cultured yogurt, water kefir, and sourdough are all rebooted and happily fermenting.  They are stored in different areas of the kitchen to avoid cross-contamination.

Probiotic foods are a great way to maintain healthy gut flora.

Above is labneh.  This is a Mediterranean dip made with probiotic rich Bulgarian yogurt which has been strained then drizzled with olive oil and a generous pinch of zattar seasoning.

Zattar seasoning:
2T toasted sesame seeds
2T sumac
2T thyme
2T basil
1T oregano
1T sea salt

All of these herbs and seeds are health boosters.  They are used generously to top a pita with olive oil and baked until lightly crisp.  This Zattar bread (right) is used to scoop up the labneh dip.

This is a great example of incorporating real foods into the diet.

Back to School blend

Whether you are preparing for college, traditional back-to-school, or homeschool, the transition from summer to study can be smooth with some preparation.

The citrus family of essential oils are known to be antiviral.  This is great for back-to-school and all those new exposures to nasty-bugs.  Citrus essential oils are also great for reducing anxiety and are usually uplifting.

Try this blend for back-to-school:

2 parts bergamot
2 parts lime
1 part lavender



It can be diffused in the home before and after leaving the house as well as in an aromastick.  Older children (teens) and adults may like the aromastick option to be able to take a few whiffs in the middle of the day as a pick-me-up.

Safety Guidelines

Essential Oil Safety

Aromatherapy is a safe and effective use of essential oils to promote wellness when used correctly.

Basic Safety Guidelines:

• Keep essential oils out of the reach of children.
• Essential oils should not be applied to the eyes or in the ears.
• Do not ingest essential oils without consultation with a qualified aromatherapist.
• Do not use undiluted essential oils on the skin without consultation with a qualified aromatherapist.
• In general, diffusion / inhalation is the safest use of essential oils, followed by diluted topical application.
• Pregnant or breastfeeding women, children, persons with seizure disorders, and those with chronic medical conditions should consult with a qualified aromatherapist prior to essential oil use.
• Prolonged exposure to an essential oil, inhaled or topically, can cause sensitization, so periodically changing the oils used is highly recommended.
• Some essential oils are contraindicated for some persons, and some essential oils are known to be sensitizers, photosensitizers, or toxic. (For example, bergamot essential oil is a known photosensitizer.)
• Any adverse events resulting from essential oil use should be reported to your aromatherapist.
• Adverse events can be any unexpected negative effect such as: headache, nausea, dizziness, redness of skin, itching, irritation, blistering, heart racing, palpitations, and more.

Three Pillars of Health: Sleep

Eat right.  Exercise. Sleep.

These three basic pillars of health are like the legs of a three-legged stool.  All three are needed to build and maintain health and each one affects the other two.  Eating poorly can affect exercise motivation and endurance, but it can also cause sleep problems such as lying awake with indigestion after a large meal.

Depending on the season of life, any or all of these factors can be out of balance, but the focus today is on sleep.

Aromatherapy offers safe and effective help for sleep problems.  Antianxiety essential oils can help calm the racing mind.  Sedative essential oils help induce sleep and promote deeper, more restful sleep.  Ideally, any essential oils chosen to promote sleep will have both sedative and antianxiety properties.  Some citrus oils, though they are antianxiety are also stimulating and have been shown to lessen sleep quantitiy!

An ideal method for introducing aromatherapy for sleep is the linen spray.

Help-Me-Sleep Spray

2 drops Valeriana officinalis (Valerian) 

4 drops Origanum majorana (Marjoram)

6 drops Lavendula angustifolia (Lavender)

10 drops Matricaria recutita (German Chamomile)

1 oz. vodka

1 oz. distilled water

Combine the above in a 2oz. glass spray bottle.  To use: Apply 2-3 sprays in the air over the bed at bedtime, or on bed linens earlier the day.



________________________________
References:

 Price, S., & Price, L. (2012). Aromatherapy for health professionals (4th ed.). Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.

Teruhisa Komori, Takuya Matsumoto, Eishi Motomura and Takashi Shiroyama The Sleep-Enhancing Effect of Valerian Inhalation and Sleep-Shortening Effect of Lemon Inhalation Department of Psychiatry, Division of Neuroscience, Institute of Medical Science, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Tsu, Mie 514-8507, Japan  http://chemse.oxfordjournals.org/content/31/8/731.full.pdf

Alternative vs. Complementary Healthcare

First, it is prudent to have a working definition of conventional or mainstream healthcare.  Conventional (a.k.a. mainstream) medicine is that which is practiced by licensed MDs (medical doctor) and DOs (doctor of osteopathy) and their associated practitioners (phamacists, registered nurses, and more).  ONLY licensed medical practitioners may legally diagnose, treat, or prescribe.

Alternative healthcare encompasses those modalities of healing outside the conventional / mainstream system.  So, seeing a chiropractor instead of a MD for back pain is a form of alternative healthcare; some other modality is used in place of the mainstream method.

Complementary healthcare includes those things which fall into the alternative definition but are use along side conventional / mainstream healthcare.  So, diffusing Eucalyptus radiata in the home during a sinus infection while taking an antibiotic for the sinus infection as prescribed by an MD is complementary.

This line is not always as clear as the examples above, so, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is the term used to describe the use of these modalities either in place of or alongside mainstream medicine.

Aromatherapy is a CAM modality.  An aromatherapist may not diagnose, treat, nor prescribe, however, they may educate and empower people with regard to wellness using essential oils.

Time to Grieve Blend

Memorials, viewings, and funerals are times of great emotion with many people around.  Often, when the immune defenses are low, "insult is added to injury" with a cold coming on after the family has dispersed back to their own homes.

This blend is applied as a spray to be used as needed during these difficult times.  Since the blend contains antiviral essential oils and it is in an alcohol spray, it can also double as a make-shift hand sanitizer since out of town accommodations may necessitate packing quickly and lightly.


Essential oil blend:

• 2 parts Melissa - antiviral & calming
• 2 parts Frankinscense - calming
• 1 part Coriander - indicated for sadness
• 1 part Lavender - calming, antiviral, improves the scent of the blend
• 1 part Black Spruce - adrenal support for stress

Add 1.5mL of the essential oil blend to a 1 oz. glass bottle of vodka.  Cap with a sprayer, shake vigorously and label.



Resources

Price, S., & Price, L. (2012). Aromatherapy for health professionals (4th ed.). Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.  

Diffusion

Essential oils are highly concentrated substances.  In some cases, thousands of pounds of plant matter are required to distill a single ounce of pure essential oil.  "Less is more" is a common reminder among aromatherapists to heed the strength of the essential oil.  

In general, inhalation is the safest way to use essential oils - and it is quite safe.  Inhalation can be as simple as a drop of EO on a tissue nearby, a drop in a bowl of water for steaming one's face, or a couple of drops in a high end diffuser.  Diffusion allows a larger space to be affected by a very low concentration of the scent.  

Is aromatherapy effective by inhalation and diffusion?  For certain uses, yes!  This method works because aromatic molecules, when inhaled through the nose, bind with olfactory receptors which lie very close to the limbic section of the brain.  The limbic area is the brain's seat of emotions and behavior. According to Jennifer Peace Rhind (2012),

Via the sense of smell and the limbic system, aromatics can act directly on the mind and emotions, and different odours will induce different states, such as sedation, stimulation, happiness, relaxation, apathy, depression, irritation, sensuality, euphoria, etc.  These effects will vary between individuals; therefore it is important to account for individuality when selecting essential oils for therapeutic use.

Studies have shown the effects of diffused rosemary and lavender essential oils on academic tasks.  These effects are not only measurable, but they are repeatable, giving scientific credence to the historic uses both rosemary and lavender.  

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Buchbauer, G., Jirovetz, L., Jáger, W., Plank, C., & Dietrich, H. (n.d.). Fragrance compounds and essential oils with sedative effects upon inhalation. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences J. Pharm. Sci., 660-664.

Diego, M., Jones, N., Field, T., Hernandez-Reif, M., Schanberg, S., Kuhn, C., . . . Galamaga, R. (n.d.). Aromatherapy Positively Affects Mood, Eeg Patterns of Alertness and Math Computations. Int J Neurosci International Journal of Neuroscience, 217-224.

Rhind, J. (2012). Theoretical Perspectives. In Essential oils: A handbook for aromatherapy practice (2nd ed., p. 55). London: Singing Dragon. 

What is Aromatherapy Anyway?

The rose distils a healing balm

The beating pulse of pain to calm.

- Thomas Moore

Narrowly, the art and science of aromatherapy involves using steam distilled essential oils from specific botanicals for the purpose of promoting wellness.  Inhaling the steam from a cup of peppermint tea is a crude form of aromatherapy.

A broader definition would include the use of some absolutes, such as rose or jasmine, and expressed products such as those which are extracted from citrus peels.  

Aromatherapy is generally a complementary rather than alternative form of health promotion.  It is not a panacea, but it is effective when used properly.  

Welcome to Vines of Wellness, home of Crystal Brothers, Aromatherapist.