I Love This New Nebulizing Essential Oil Diffuser!
One of the things I love, use daily, and promote the use of to my clients, are essential oils. In a single bottle of essential oil there is so much potential! They contain so many amazing phytochemicals that are proving in research to be good for so many ailments. I’m continually finding new ways to enjoy their therapeutic benefits and diffusing is one of my favorite ways to use them. I had been using an ultrasonic (cool mist) diffuser but it just recently stopped working so I did a little looking around and found this new nebulizing essential oil diffuser by Organic Aromas.
I used to have a nebulizer diffuser years ago but it was one of the old styles that made so much noise I found it drove me crazy (well crazier than usual). It also ATE UP WAY TOO MUCH oil! It would take 20 drops at a time and that wouldn’t last too long. That’s when I switched to the ultrasonic cool mist diffuser and I still like that style except during the rainy season here in Australia. It does add some humidity to the room which is nice in the hot dry summer season but not so nice when it’s already 90% humidity outside and raining.
Anyway – it appears that nebulizer style diffusers have come a long way in the meantime.
What Is The Difference Between A Nebulizer and an Ultrasonic Diffuser?
Nebulizing diffusers have an air pump that sends condensed air to a nozzle tube which controls the direction of the vapor. A stream of air blows across the nozzle tube, creates a vacuum and propels undiluted essential oils upward. As they rise, the pressurized air hits the essential oil droplets and causes them to atomize into micro-particles which then fill a glass reservoir. Once in the glass reservoir, the micro-particles rise and are emitted from the reservoir as a vapor which is released into the room.
Ultrasonic diffusers have a water reservoir and a lid. When the unit is plugged in to electricity, a small, flexible membrane at the bottom of the water reservoir vibrates ultrasonically. This passes energy to the water, breaks up water molecules, and turns water from a liquid to a vapor. The vapor is propelled into the air and carries along with it the now-diluted drops of essential oil.
There are other types of diffusers too. I recently wrote an article on this very subject for the folks over at The Truth About Cancer website. Here it is: Diffusing Essential Oils 101: The Best Diffusers, How to Use Them & DIY Oil Blends Check out the article, you will get a lot more information about various types of diffusers there.
The Organic Aromas Nebulizing Diffuser
Back to the current topic, my new Organic Aromas nebulizing diffuser. It arrived in a very well-packaged and sturdy box and the company sends you links to videos on how to set up the diffuser and how to clean it properly, all good information.
The thing I like best about the Organic Aromas nebulizing diffuser, however, is that it is so QUIET! It’s fantastic, especially in comparison to my last one. I got the opportunity to use it this week for my 3-year old granddaughter who woke up with a horrible cough, it sounded like whooping cough. We placed the diffuser in her bedroom at bedtime, placed a particular oil blend called “RC” in the diffuser (it’s great for bronchial problems), let it run for just a little while and it was so quiet, it didn’t disturb her slumber and she got over the worst part of that cough in no time flat. Here are some of the features of the Organic Aromas nebulizing diffuser:
It is equipped with a “touch sensor” light switch allowing you to turn the LED “mood light” on or off any time with a swipe of a finger
It’s very quiet!
It uses no heat (which can wreck the therapeutic effects of an essential oil), and no water, so it delivers just essential oil into the air of the room where the diffuser sits
It has a dial control that allows you to precisely control how much oil you diffuse
It uses little energy, running for 2 minutes on, then 1 minute off
It has an auto shut-off feature after running for 120 minutes
It is rated for rooms up to 80 square meters (800+ square feet)
The diffuser looks great. It has a handsome hand-made wood base and blown glass top which looks elegant anywhere you place it
It measures approximately 10″ (25 cm) tall x 6″ (15 cm) wide
It arrives with the appropriate electrical cord and electrical plug adapter for your market (USA, UK, EU, Australia, etc)
Here is a link to the diffuser I’m enjoying, you can see all of their other products too. And no, I’m not getting paid to write this review, I just love this diffuser and want to share it with you. The Organic Aromas Raindrop Nebulizing Diffuser
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Continuing my series of articles about the benefits of essential oils, this week I’m focusing on the benefits of clove essential oil, a lovely, aromatic, exotic oil.
I have previously referenced the fascinating 2014 report titled Essential Oils and Their Constituents as Anticancer Agents: A Mechanistic View 1, but the information contained therein bears repeating. As of February 2014, 135 research papers have been written about the anti-cancer properties of essential oils. Of those 135 papers, 117 were written after 2005, which definitely indicates the increase of interest in essential oils.
Research indicates that clove is known to have antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, antiseptic, analgesic, antimutagenic, antigenotoxic, and anti-inflammatory properties. Only recently, however, has clove been studied for its anti-cancer potential.
Research on Clove Essential Oil and Breast Cancer
Clove (Syzygium aromaticum L.) is one of the oils that has been studied on actual breast cancer cell lines and found to be helpful. A study reported in 2014 2 evaluated the cytotoxic activity of clove against MCF-7 breast cancer cells, which are invasive ductal carcinoma cells exhibiting both estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER+, PR+). The study utilized several different extracts, including water, ethanol and essential oil. The essential oil extract provided the highest cytotoxic (that means cell killing) activity against this particular cell line. The researchers concluded that “Cloves are natural products with excellent cytotoxicity toward MCF-7 cells; thus, they are promising sources for the development of anticancer agents.”
A study reported in 2013 3 indicated that eugenol, the most prevalent phytochemical within clove, increased apoptosis (planned cell death, a good thing), decreased a protein coding gene known as E2F1 or survivin, inhibited cell proliferation, inhibited oncoproteins known to be highly expressed in breast cancer cells and tissues, and it did this both in vitro (in test tubes) and in vivo (in the body). The really exciting part about this research study, however, was that they tested various breast cancer cell lines, including triple negative, and found that eugenol exhibited anti-cancer effects on both estrogen receptor positive and estrogen receptor negative breast cancer cells. Eugenol was found not to be toxic to normal, healthy cells.
A 2012 study 4 indicated that eugenol not only had the ability to inhibit cell proliferation and promote apoptosis (both features which are lacking with cancer cells), it also exhibited the ability to inhibit estrogen, making it similar or even better than tamoxifen and its metabolites for inhibiting estrogen. Did you get that? A NATURAL ANTI-ESTROGEN AGENT!
Having said that, I always say that healing from breast cancer is about more than just blocking the body’s own estrogen, a hormone we need in our bodies. There are many other ways to heal from breast cancer than suppressing a hormone that does so much for our health. Find out what some of those things are via my free newsletters – you can sign up for them from any page on my site.
Other Studies on Clove’s Anti-Cancer Effects
Another 2014 study 5 indicated that clove “can be explored as a viable source of bioactives for the development of chemotherapeutic drugs against cancer in addition to acting as nutraceutical and functional food ingredient.” This study found that the phenols found in clove were anti-mutagenic and highly antioxidant, making clove a valuable chemotherapeutic agent (that means cancer preventative).
A Chinese study also reported in 2014 6 investigated the anti-tumor effects of clove on colon tumors, specifically an ethyl acetate extract of cloves (which the first study referenced at 2 below also utilized and found was inferior to the essential oil of clove). They also tested oleanolic acid, one of the constituents of clove, and found the ethyl acetate extract to be superior to oleanolic acid, as well as superior to the chemotherapy drug 5-fluorouracil at suppressing growth of colon tumor xenografts. The study found clove inhibited tumor growth, promoted cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.
Exciting research, is it not?
Disclaimer:
I am not telling you to cure your breast cancer using essential oils. I would certainly not rely upon essential oils alone to do that job. But in combination with a holistic regimen of nutrition and other lifestyle changes, together with chemotherapy and radiation (should you choose to go that route) I believe that essential oils can be an extremely beneficial healing tool and chemopreventive aid.
1. Essential Oils and Their Constituents as Anticancer Agents: A Mechanistic View – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4070586/
2. Anticancer Potential of Syzygium Aromaticum L. in MCF-7 Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4166826/
3. Eugenol Triggers Apoptosis in Breast Cancer Cells Through E2f1/Survivin Down-regulation – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3931838/
4. Structure-based Design of Eugenol Analogs as Potential Estrogen Receptor Antagonists – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3488830/
5. In Vitro Antimutagenic, Antioxidant Activities and Total Phenolics of Clove (Syzygium Aromaticum L.) Seed Extracts – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25015457
6. Clove Extract Inhibits Tumor Growth and Promotes Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4132639/
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Essential Oil Research – Limonene Has Great Potential For Breast Cancer
Lately I have been trolling through the vast quantities of research available, specifically looking at a particular little phytochemical known as limonene, found in high quantities in the peels of citrus fruit, and lesser quantities in the pulp of citrus fruit. I am excited to report that the research I have found indicates that limonene has great potential for breast cancer.
Limonene (pronounced lime-oh-neen) is classified as a cyclic terpene and in some research you will also find it referred to as d-limonene. A great way to obtain limonene is through citrus essential oils, more specifically lemon, mandarin, grapefruit, lime, tangerine and orange.
The research I am about to share is mainly about limonene, although citrus essential oils do contain other potent phytochemicals as well.
Research On Limonene Showing Anti-Cancer Potential
A lot of research has been done on limonene, it has been fairly actively studied since the 1970’s and possibly prior to that. Those early studies done in the 70’s indicated that limonene inhibited the initiation phase of skin cancer.
This website is all about breast cancer, however, so I will limit the research I mention herein to limonene’s helpfulness for breast cancer. Here we go.
A 2011 study 1 reported that limonene had potential chemotherapeutic properties, exhibited chemopreventive (meaning cancer prevention) effects, was an immune modulator and had anti-proliferative properties.
Another 2011 study 2, although done with lemon fruit extract (LE) and not limonene, showed that the extract induced apoptosis (anti-tumor activity), in vitro (meaning in the test tube), on MCF-7 breast cancer cells. MCF-7 cells are invasive ductal carcinoma with estrogen-receptor-positive (ER+) and progesterone-receptor-positive (PR+), and HER2 negative cells. I have included this one because although the study didn’t specifically study limonene, it is highly likely that the anti-cancer activity exhibited by the fruit extract was due to its limonene content.
One 2012 study 3 concerned itself with the safety and efficacy of using limonene via orange oil on the breast as an “alternative dosing strategy” and found that limonene is “bio available in mammary tissue after topical orange oil application in mice and this novel route of administration to the breast is safe and feasible in healthy women.”
A study done in 2013 4 on 43 actual women with breast cancer was very interesting. The 43 women were newly diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and about to undergo lumpectomies. The women took 2 gm of limonene daily 2-6 weeks prior to surgery. Limonene was found to “preferentially concentrate in the breast tissue” and reduced breast tumor cyclin D1 (a cell-cycle regulatory protein) expression that could lead to cell-cycle arrest and reduced cell proliferation. Researchers felt that limonene should continue to be studied to establish its role for breast cancer prevention or treatment. A subsequent study reported in January 2015 5 came to a similar conclusion, that limonene reduced cyclin D1 in patient tumor tissues.
One Iranian study reported in 2014 6 showed that a combination of an extract from lime peels and the cancer drug doxorubicin increased apoptosis (programmed cell death) in MCF-7 breast cancer cells.
Finally, a study reported in 2014 7 reflected that limonene had anti-inflammatory properties (always important in cancer, which is an inflammatory condition), exhibited “surprising” anti-angiogenesis properties (which relates to a tumor’s ability to invade surrounding tissue by sending out new blood vessels) and was useful for skin healing and tissue regeneration.
A Personal Note And A Bit Of A Soap Box
In the past, I have purposely held back from promotion of essential oils on this website – despite the fact that I have used them successfully myself for the past 16 years – indeed, as a representative for Young Living Essential Oils, we are specifically asked not to say that essential oils will treat or cure any disease. The United States Food & Drug Administration keeps a very close eye on the claims that essential oil representatives make.
I am not telling you to cure your breast cancer using essential oils. I would certainly not rely upon essential oils alone to do that job. But in combination with a holistic regimen of nutrition and other lifestyle changes, together with chemotherapy and radiation (should you choose to go that route) I believe that essential oils can be an extremely beneficial healing tool and chemopreventive aid.
New and exciting research is being released nearly daily now on the healing properties of essential oils and it is proof positive and undeniable. The authorities absolutely cannot keep a lid on this any longer and we are sick of being silenced.
References:
1. d-Limonene: a bioactive food component from citrus and evidence for a potential role in breast cancer prevention and treatment – http://www.oncologyreviews.org/article/view/oncol.2011.31
2. Apoptosis-mediated inhibition of human breast cancer cell proliferation by lemon citrus extract – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22126498
3. Safety and Feasibility of Topical Application of Limonene as a Massage Oil to the Breast –
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24236248
4. Human Breast Tissue Disposition and Bioactivity of Limonene in Women with Early-Stage Breast Cancer – http://cancerpreventionresearch.aacrjournals.org/content/6/6/577.short
5. Plasma metabolomic profiles of breast cancer patients after short-term limonene intervention – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25388013
6. Combination of Ethanolic Extract of Citrus aurantifolia Peels with Doxorubicin Modulate Cell Cycle and Increase Apoptosis Induction on MCF-7 Cells – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4177652/
7. Skin repair properties of d-Limonene and perillyl alcohol in murine models – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24160248
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Healing the Body With The Mind – and Essential Oils
One of the things I learned long ago was not to discount how much we can achieve simply by setting our minds upon achievement of a particular goal.
Healing can be achieved in the same way – by focusing our mind, attention and intention upon the area of your body where you wish healing to take place. There are a myriad of books and authors, such as Deepak Chopra, Bruce Lipton, Andrew Weil, Bernie Siegel, and Wayne Dyer, which discuss the subject of healing the body with the mind, and I would encourage you to check them out.
My sole intent with this article is to open your mind to the possibility of using not only your mind, but also essential oils for healing. Why? Read on.
Our Powerful Minds
Way back in the 1950’s a scientist by the name of Franklin Loehr explored the effect of prayer and human thought on water and on plants. Loehr discovered that human thought was able to alter the bonding angles between the oxygen and hydrogen atoms, thus changing the physical properties of the water. (See The Power of Prayer on Plants by Franklin Loehr).
What quantum physics is teaching us is that human thought and human intent affect the behavior of electrons. Since every chemical and neural process in the human body involves the activity of electrons, we see that our bodily functions are not simply matters of traditional chemistry and classical physics – they are mental, emotional, and spiritual as well. The mind-body connection everyone is talking about happens through our electrons.
Essential Oils Amplify Healing
One of my favorite healing modalities is the use of essential oils. I’ve been using them for years on myself (see my page Essential Oils For Overall Health and Specific Health Problems), my family and my clients, with great success. How they work like they do is often a mystery to me, but I know they have chemical constituents, provided to us by Mother Nature, which (in part) explain how and why they work so well and are, in fact, potent little healers.
Here’s something you might not know though — essential oils have electrical properties which are subject to our thoughts and feelings. Mind blowing?
It is known that the same essential oil will have different effects on different people, and the usual explanation is that different people have different chemistries. But is it truly just about chemistry?
Desire, Feeling and Intent Matter Too
It is taught in every aromatherapy class that the chemical composition of an oil determines its role in healing. But quantum physics is teaching us that essential oils are also subject to desire, feeling and intent.
In short, the potential actions of an oil are thought to be defined and limited by its chemistry, but the real determining factor as to which potential action will manifest is definitely also affected by the attitudes of the anointer and receiver.
Our thoughts won’t change the chemistry of an oil, but our thoughts can determine which aspects of the chemistry of that particular oil will work in our bodies.
How To Amplify Healing When Using Essential Oils
Essential oils amplify intent – the intent of the person applying the oils, and the intent of the person receiving the oils. Healing practitioners who anoint with oils know from experience that essential oils work better with prayer, faith and belief. What this means is that the receiver of an essential oil can participate in their own healing. The oils are not healers, they are the vehicles that must be facilitated by our supportive thoughts for them to work optimally! They will work reasonably well without the conscious participation of the receiver because of the intent given to them when grown, distilled, packaged and distributed – but they work so much better when the receiver actively participates in their own healing.
When an oil is applied to any part of the body you can mentally direct it to go wherever it is needed and affirm the outcome you desire. Your affirmation should be more than a one-time thought, it must come from your deepest convictions, emotions, and faith, and be repeated and consciously retained until the desired results are manifested.
A single oil then is full of possibilities – almost unlimited – for example, an oil could be known to be supportive of liver function, but not known for nerve regeneration. Even so, that oil could be used for nerve regeneration if directed to do so. Knowing this, if you don’t think you have the right oil for a specific application, using your intuition, choose an oil that you do have, and with intense concentration and feeling, direct the oil to do whatever you wish it to do. Essential oils are imbued with an intelligence non-existent in pharmaceutical drugs.
Essential oils are vehicles of living energy and work on all human levels: physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual. I even believe that essential oils work on the financial level as well (if you don’t believe me, start wearing the blend of “Abundance”, which has a beautiful, exotic aroma, and direct the oil to help you create whatever it is you are looking for in your life – then watch what happens!).
For more information on which brand of essential oils I use (and they are the best!) or to sign up for my essential oil newsletters, contact me.
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When I was going through chemotherapy, all of the people in my cancer support group who were also undergoing chemo were complaining about chemobrain – and it was clear that they were forgetful, vague, preoccupied, and befuddled!
While I had it to a certain degree, for me it was much more manageable and manifested itself as a slightly sort of foggy or vague feeling.
Finally someone asked me why I seemed to be doing so much better than the others and I confessed I really didn’t know. And then it hit me several days later while I was in the bathroom applying my essential oils. Of course, it was the essential oils that I use daily, and I knew that no one else in my support group was doing that.
Certain essential oils have the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, which is a naturally occurring barrier in your brain created by brain blood vessels that prevents many substances from leaving the blood and crossing the capillary walls into the brain tissues. It’s a defensive mechanism designed to protect your brain from harmful chemicals.
Here are my favorites for battling the effects of chemobrain:
1. Frankincense – used in religious ceremonies for thousands of years, frankincense has wonderful medicinal properties – it has potent anti-disease properties, it is an immune stimulant, good for respiratory infections, it helps promote meditation, improves attitude and uplifts spirits.
Frankincense resin
2. Sandalwood – it grows in India, it has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine for skin revitalization, meditation and yoga. It also has potent anti-disease properties, it enhances sleep, stimulates the pineal gland in the brain which is the center of emotions and is responsible for melatonin production. Sandalwood was mentioned in Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica (A.D. 78), which was Europe’s first medical guide and became the standard reference for herbal treatments for over 1700 years.
Sandalwood log
3. Palo Santo – found in South America, used by the Incas to purify and cleanse, to repel mosquitoes, for fevers, infections and skin diseases. Its name means holy or sacred wood. It is one of my favorite oils. It also has anti-disease properties, good for arthritis, respiratory problems and breathing it deeply opens your brain!
Palo Santo Tree
4. Peppermint – this is especially good for digestion. I used it when going through chemotherapy because it helped ease excess stomach acid. Put a drop of peppermint oil in a glass of water – it will not only wake up your brain, it will relieve the icky tummy that chemo causes. It also improves your sense of taste by stimulating the trigeminal nerve.
Peppermint
5. Lavender – calming, relaxing, balancing, lavender is another anti-disease oil, it helps with respiratory infections, it’s an anti-inflammatory, great for mosquito bites, burns, skin conditions, so many things. University of Miami researchers found that inhaling lavender oil increased beta waves in the brain – the beta waves are what come out to play when you are in an ultra-relaxed state such as meditation or sleep. I love deep breathing lavender – it has such a profound effect on the nervous system.
Lavender fields
Regular use of essential oils – whether it be through inhalation, diffusing, bathing, or massaging them into your body promotes health in so many ways. Battling chemobrain is one of many uses for essential oils. Just beware of the source because not all oils are created equally. Use a a medicinal grade essential oil! For more info, see my page: Essential Oils for Overall Health and Specific Health Problems.
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