Essential Oils - A Beginners Guide to Better Health Through Ancient Practices

Diet is a huge concern for many people today who are either trying to control a preventable disease or those people who are trying to lose the excess weight that they are carrying around with them. Not only has our diet as Americans been steadily getting worse but as our population has risen there have been very few attempts to counter the negative effects that over processing our food has done. Every Single American, who has eaten the hot lunches at school remembers and has a first hand knowledge of the taste of preservatives and manufactured flavor of the food they ate during their formative years attending Elementary through High School. revive essential oils

To get an understanding of our diet we need to see the what has been in front of our faces for generations. In fact at least 2 generations. The only generation in its entirety to to not see food that was processed and packaged for "shelf-life" was that of our greatest generation... those people who fought and won World War II. Many of them were exposed to it during their time in the Military but up until then had probably grown most of their food themselves or, at the very least, had access to fresh, food sans preservatives. What was it about that time frame that has now caused the greatest lack of basic constituents that food has ever known? I will cover that in another article.

You, like me have gone to the store and bought a box of cereal, or a bag of flour, rice, or other grain or canned vegetable to see the words "enriched" or "fortified" on the side or label. What do those words mean? Why does food need enrichment or fortification? The answer is very simple, so simple in fact that that the next time you go grocery shopping, you will begin to see it everywhere! It will be on at least one thing you bring home from the store and depending on how you shop, you might be lucky to get home with one thing that isn't fortified or enriched. They need to be enriched and fortified because they have been stripped and altered prior to getting shelved at your local grocery store.

Because of this process of stripping our food of vital nutrients, minerals, and essential compounds, all Americans are told that we need to be taking a "good vitamin supplement. " There are so many out there that it is confusing to determine which ones are going to be useful in our attempt to bolster our own diets. It is a meager attempt as most of the multi-vitamins that we consume are passed through our digestive tract with minimal absorption by our intestines. I guess you could hypothesize that the solid tablet form are going out the same way they went in... as crap.

The worst is yet to come as far as our health and wellness if we can't or don't change the way our food is distributed and prepared. What other vital constituents are being removed aside from the vitamins and minerals that we are not replacing on a day to day routine? Is there anyway to counter the negative effects of our over-processed, fast on the go, canned, fortified and enriched food source? The answer is a resounding YES!

Unfortunately, the stripping of our foods is usually irreversible once it is done. we can't take the same constituents that made up our fruits and vegetables or herbs and reconstitute them so that the same foods have the same chemical make-up and benefits to us as we consume them. There are substances that are now being reintroduced as one of several of the most beneficial substances that is stripped during the processing of our dietary foods is that being essential oils.

Essential Oils are the essence of the plant and are never derived from an animal source. This doesn't mean that I advocate vegetarianism or veganism as that is a specific choice with it's own dietary needs and choices. However essential oils are a good way for vegetarians and vegans to supplement what they are lacking in their diets unless they grow all their food themselves, but I digress. Essential oils are part of the Alternative Medicine category but are becoming more and more relevant in Conventional Medicine as scientists are realizing the importance of these very basic substances because of their wide variety of constituents.

Essential oils are natural aromatic compounds found in the various parts of the plant, from the bark to the roots to the leaves to the flowers. They can be both beautifully and powerfully fragrant. To test this, take the leaf of any fresh herb, like thyme or cilantro, and rub the leaves in your hands. Take a deep breath and you can smell the essential oils. If you have ever enjoyed the gift of a rose, walked by a field of lavender or the fresh smell of cut mint then you have experienced the aromatic qualities of essential oils. Essential oils are ten times more powerful and healthy than their dried herbal counterparts that are often bottled and sprinkled to give food specific flavors and aromas. These basic oils give the plants they are found in a distinctive smell but also provide protection against predators and assist in pollination.