Why do essential oils work

Due to clinical and anecdotal evidence, essential oils are continuing to be researched for their effects in skin care. Here's what you need to know. Candles for aromatherapy are everywhere these days, from grocery stores to clothing boutiques. These are the best candles to shop for. Lemon essential oil is a natural home remedy.

Find out what the research says about possible benefits, how to use this essential oil safely, and more. A diffuser is one of the best ways to enjoy the benefits of essential oils while making your home smell amazing. Learn more about the benefits and…. Looking for relief? Check out these three essential oils and the specific hangover symptoms they may help with.

Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. What they are How they work Types Benefits Uses Tips for choosing Safety Bottom line Essential oils are often used in aromatherapy, a form of alternative medicine that employs plant extracts to support health and well-being.

However, some of the health claims associated with these oils are controversial. This article explains all you need to know about essential oils and their health effects. What are essential oils? How do essential oils work? Popular types. Health benefits of essential oils. Other uses. How to choose the right essential oils. Safety and side effects. The bottom line. Lin says most people use tea tree oil as an antiseptic, antimicrobial or antifungal.

You can also use it to help:. One note of caution: Since tea tree oil can be neurotoxic, Dr. Eucalyptus is a great essential oil to have on hand during cold season. It soothes a stuffed-up nose by opening your nasal passages so you can breathe easier.

Peppermint oil can also help with this. Be careful when using essential oils in children, people with weakened immune systems, pregnant women and seniors. The essential oil business is booming — and mostly unregulated. An integrative medicine specialist explains what you should know about essential oils, including the evidence behind their health benefits and how to use them.

Most essential oils are inhaled via diffusion or applied topically to the skin after being mixed with a carrier oil. Other essential oils are supposed to be ingested, but medical professionals and health authorities generally warn against the safety of this method.

When essential oils are inhaled via aromatherapy, compounds are absorbed through receptors in our noses , which send messages to our olfactory system, the part of the brain responsible for our sense of smell. Eventually, these messages reach other areas of the brain, such as the limbic system, which plays a role in our emotions. But beyond that, even scientists have a tough time figuring out what various essential oils really do. But other issues — which are surprisingly commonplace in scientific research — further complicate matters.

For instance, human studies on essential oils are few and far between. Of the research that has been conducted on humans, many studies involved small numbers of participants, which can skew results. As a rule of thumb, reviews or meta-reviews, which draw conclusions from large numbers of similar studies, tend to be the most reliable and comprehensive. We also must remember that correlation does not equal causation. In other words, a mere association between two things isn't enough to prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship.

So, even if a study found people who smelled lavender aroma felt less anxious, something else may be responsible for the effect such as controlled breathing. On top of that, the results from scientific studies can sometime be misinterpreted or blown out of proportion. So the impact of an essential oil might be scientifically significant, but fall far short of what we might view as meaningful.

In light of the shortcomings of essential oil studies, a lot of the information concerning their benefits tends to be anecdotal or rooted in folklore. But essential oils may not be totally worthless. Based on his own work, Moss said rosemary, sage and peppermint oils might improve memory and cognition to a degree.

He also says lavender has been linked with improved sleep. Just don't expect essential oils to be magical elixirs. But most are still inconclusive. One of the scientific studies that have revealed positive results from essential oils involves patients with dementia. There are other proven success stories for essential oils, such as the treatment of acne with tea tree oil and the treatment of alopecia areata or hair loss with oils like thyme, rosemary, lavender and cedarwood.

Research into the use of essential oils found in citrus fruits is particularly intriguing due to their natural antibacterial qualities. For example, citrus oil, particularly when combined with Dead Sea salts, was shown to inhibit bacterial growth in mice and act as an anti-inflammatory agent.

The citrus essential oil bergamot could help fight the growth of common causes of food poisoning like listeria, e coli, and staphylococcus. However, most of these studies have not yet extended to clinical trials, meaning there is still much more work to do before essential oils would be potentially prescribed by physicians.

Given the strong public interest in essential oils, whether it be to target things other medicines have so far failed to fix like migraines, anxiety, stress, insomnia, and memory or to control what goes into their medicine cabinet without a prescription, more research into the possible benefits of essential oils is clearly worthwhile.

There are very few noted side effects associated with the use of essential oils, although in the US they do not require approval from the FDA. One exception is the estrogen-like effects noted for lavender and tea tree oils which have been linked to breast enlargement in pre-pubescent boys when applied over long periods of time.