Friday........goodbye to January 2014

TODAY: The Essential Oil (EO)...just a little bit

Essential oils (EO) are the natural aromatic compound extracted from a plant (including the seed, root, stems, leaf, bark, flower, fruit). It is called essential because it is derived from the essence of a plant. EO's are usually extracted by distillation (often steam) this process will also produce what is called "hydrosols" (also used in room and body misting spray and many other products), other processes include expression or solvent extraction (solvent extraction leaves an EO called "concrete" or "absolute"). Before extraction, while in the plant, EO's serve as protection to the plant against disease and play a role in plants pollination. Once extracted, they are used in everything from aromatherapies to perfumes and cosmetics,  flavoring our foods and drinks, in everyday household cleaning products and the list goes on and on.

Essential Oils are the first human medicines. For centuries EO's have been used for their medicinal and therapeutic benefits. Ancient Egyptians used EO's for embalming and the Bible references EO's (such as frankincense, myrrh and several others).  With todays growing natural approach to healing and wellness,  a revival of these other uses has been growing, too. Interest in EO's has grown in recent decades and the popularity of aromatherapy and the belief that the use of EO's can help cure ailments is gaining ground. Scientist, researchers, physicians and many of us ordinary people concerned with our health are beginning to study and discover the amazing benefits of essential oils. I will explore them, too. In the future I will discuss in more detail the many essential oils and their many uses and multitude of benefits.

Have a GREAT Friday evening........see you tomorrow

Lucy Blu
for: positive living in sin city