| Aromatherapy in the United States really suffers | | | | payment) they deserve. So most folks go at it |
| from an image problem, and a few highly visable | | | | themselves, valiantly attempting self-diagnosis and |
| 'debunkers' are not really helping the matter. | | | | treatment., while FDA demands the instructions |
| Googling 'aromatherapy' returns thousands of | | | | for these treatments be in the most vague form |
| results, and in the top 15 are sites belonging to | | | | possible! The result is comments like "It |
| allopathic medical professionals who seem to only | | | | (aromatherapy) is a mixture of folklore, trial and |
| have given a cursory glance at the practice, and | | | | error, anecdote, testimonial, New Age spiritualism |
| chalked it up to New Age, feel-good balderdash. | | | | and fantasy" (Stephen Barrett, M.D. of |
| Horse manure. Bull -hockey. The trouble with their | | | | Quackwatch). Another popular site points to a |
| analysis is that they're based on a very limited | | | | few inconclusive studies and claims all of |
| investigation, lumping all of aroma medicine in with | | | | aromatherapy to be dubious. What if we used |
| every claim about the 'softer science' of | | | | these same guidelines investigating conventional |
| psycho-emotional aromatherapy healing. The result | | | | medicine? How many deaths occur each year |
| is that many folks whom may benefit from | | | | from properly prescribed and used drugs? From |
| aroma medicine may not get it, and many | | | | medical mistakes? The combined total makes |
| physicians investigating alternative medicine | | | | these about the third leading cause of death in |
| modalities may overlook the true potentials of | | | | America (after heart disease and cancer, but |
| essential oils. What can be done to change | | | | before auto fatalities and cigarette use -- See |
| aromatherapy's touchy-feely image? | | | | Mercola.com, 'Death by Medicine'). Guess the |
| How about we'll start be agreeing on this: That | | | | number caused by mis-use (or any use for that |
| SOME of aromatherapy is in-fact a 'soft science'? | | | | matter) of essential oils. What's the smallest |
| That SOME people may feel more relaxed when | | | | non-negative number you can think of? That's the |
| inhaling Lavender, for example, and some will not? | | | | currently accepted statistic. |
| Aromatherapists will not disagree on this point -- | | | | Really, the medical, therapeutic applications of |
| they will however put up a defense when the | | | | essential oils (repeat: aroma-therapy!) are making |
| medical applications of essential oils are thrown | | | | huge advances in acceptance in the scientific |
| out with the soft side of 'aroma' therapy. Science | | | | community -- among the labs and scientists that |
| IS BACKING UP many of aromatherapy's claims | | | | do independent and educationally funded research. |
| with valid data, even on the 'soft-science' of the | | | | Important studies are released every month |
| practice. Here's a look at the science behind | | | | showing the strong efficacy of certain essential |
| aromatherapy, the holes in arguments of the | | | | oils in treating serious bacterial infections. Try a |
| popular debunkers, and why aroma-medicine has | | | | Pub Med search on 'staphylococcus' and 'essential |
| it's place in today's medical practices. | | | | oil' or 'tea tree', or 'mrsa' and 'essential oil'. You'll |
| Aromatherapy's image problem is this: Most | | | | find pages of results. The big test will be whether |
| people hear the word, and believe it has really to | | | | these result in protocols for medical use. The |
| do with 'the smell of things' rather than with | | | | most important factor in this may be how much |
| 'things that smell'. Its a small but very important | | | | we all demand that natural 'alternatives' are |
| distinction. Aromatherapy is really the complete | | | | available in the main-stream, as the profit-driven |
| branch of medicine that uses the | | | | conventional medical system is just not designed |
| chemically-volatile (easily evaporated) constituents | | | | to utilize very low cost natural treatments. |
| of plants for treatment of a wide variety of | | | | There's a huge body of data affirming the strong |
| ailments. IT DOES NOT only have to do with the | | | | anti-tumorial effects of essential oils. Linalool has |
| effects these plant chemicals have on people that | | | | been shown to completely destroy certain liver |
| smell them. Virtually every professional | | | | cancers. Frankincense has other powerful |
| aromatherapist will tell you that the great | | | | anticancer action -- cellular toxicity that's specific |
| medicinal promise of aromatherapy does not | | | | to tumors! (One of the great challenges of |
| reside in their pleasing aromas, but rather in their | | | | chemotherapy is killing the cancer cells without |
| abilities to successfully treat a wide range of | | | | killing the rest of the human). Lemongrass too has |
| infectious illnesses (like MRSA, the 'Superbug'), | | | | "promising anticancer activity". Search for yourself |
| their action as chemotherapy agents, | | | | and you'll find more pages than you can get |
| anti-inflammatory agents, wound-healing agents, | | | | through any time soon. |
| and other 'hard' medical applications. | | | | So why are these criticisms of aromatherapy so |
| You can read these research abstracts yourself | | | | popular, at least in Google's eyes? Why do some |
| by Googling 'Pub Med', and searching for 'essential | | | | folks like horror flicks and car crashes -- not sure, |
| oil' and things like 'cancer' or 'staphylococcus' or | | | | really. It might have to do with there being a |
| 'axiolytic'. You'll find a few studies too that were | | | | closer relationship between 'aromatherapy' and |
| inconclusive, like inhalation of a certain oil did not | | | | 'Glade Plug-in Air Freshener (TM)' in many people's |
| change the immune system stress marker | | | | minds than there is between 'aromatherapy' |
| researchers use. But there's also another showing | | | | 'frankincense' and 'tumor cell specific cytotoxicity'. |
| that EVERY OTHER marker of stress WAS | | | | One reality is that there's a lot more money |
| changed. It may be the study chose the right oil, | | | | pushing the Glad Plug-In concept. Because essential |
| or the study population was better treated with | | | | oils cannot be patented as medicines, the amount |
| the selected oil in some studies and not in others | | | | of money to be made by Really Big Business is |
| (one showed a stress reduction in women from | | | | negligible. So it's up to small natural health |
| lavender essential oil, but not in men). You'll find a | | | | companies, individual practitioners, and the |
| full page of results showing a statistically significant | | | | wonderful education and research facilities doing |
| effect on stress from lavender and linalool. Try | | | | the technical work to get the word out. And |
| other combinations of pharmaceutical preparations | | | | particularly to rock the boat a bit when so-called |
| and see if there are more significant results than | | | | authorities make truly dubious claims about the |
| that! | | | | dubious nature of aromatherapy. Plant medicine |
| Many practitioners of conventional medicine have | | | | has kept human beings alive for millennia -- |
| decided that natural medicines in general are | | | | essential oils are just very active molecules |
| ineffective at best, and at worst they are | | | | produced by plants, and aromatherapy is so-called |
| considered a cruel hoax. What seems to be the | | | | as it deals with the therapeutic applications of |
| challenge is the availability of well educated natural | | | | these aromatic molecules. Aroma-therapy. Get |
| therapists -- our medical system is not set up to | | | | the word out! |
| give these practitioners the respect (and | | | | |