Essential Oils: The Therapeutic-Grade Difference

Therapeutic-Grade essential oils are naturally-occurring oils that provide healthful benefits for all kinds of diseases and disorders. Not only can therapeutic-grade oils be used aromatically and topically, they can also be ingested in beverages or in capsules.

Gary Young developed his proprietary distillation method by combining knowledge of history’s finest distillers, modern technology, and decades of trial and error. Variations in the distillation process can result in a reduction or destruction of quality. To maintain purity and quality, Young Living Essential Oils have a proprietary stainless steel distillation process that uses low temperatures, low pressure, and only pure water free of heavy metals and contaminates to foster the preservation of plant properties, capture the pure essence of the plant, and maintain the quality of the oils.

Why is it so difficult to find pure, therapeutic-grade essential oils?

Producing the purest of oils can be very costly because it may require several hundred pounds, or even several thousand pounds of plant material to extract one pound of pure essential oil. For example, one pound of pure melissa oil sells for $9,000-$15,000. Although this sounds quite expensive, one must realize that three tons of plant material are required to produce that single pound of oil. Because the vast majority of all oils produced in the world today are used by the perfume industry, the oils are being purchased for their aromatic qualities only. High pressure, high temperatures, rapid processing and the use of chemical solvents are often employed during the distillation process so that a greater quantity of oil can be produced at a faster rate. These oils may smell just as good and cost much less, but will lack most, if not all, of the chemical constituents necessary to produce the expected therapeutic results.

What benefits do pure, therapeutic-grade essential oils provide?

1. Essential oils are the regenerating, oxygenating, and immune defense properties of plants.

2. Some essential oil constituents are so small in molecular size that they can quickly penetrate the tissues of the skin.

3. Essential oils are lipid soluble and are capable of penetrating cell walls, even if they have hardened because of an oxygen deficiency. In fact, essential oils can affect every cell of the body withing 20 minutes and are then metabolized like other nutrients.

4. Essential oils contain oxygen molecules which help to transport nutrients to the starving human cells. Because a nutritional deficiency is an oxygen deficiency, disease begins when the cells lack the oxygen for proper nutrient assimilation. By providing the needed oxygen, essential oils also work to stimulate the immune system.

5. Essential oils are very powerful antioxidants. Antioxidants create an unfriendly environment for free radicals. They prevent all mutations, work as free radical scavengers, prevent fungus, and prevent oxidation in the cells.

6. Essential oils are anti-bacterial , anti-cancerous, anti-fungal, anti-infectious, anti-microbial, anti-tumoral, anti-parasitic, anti-viral, and antiseptic. Essential oils have been shown to destroy all tested bacteria and viruses while simultaneously restoring balance to the body.

7. Essential oils may detoxify the cells and blood in the body

8. Essential oils containing sesquiterpenes have the ability to pass the blood brain barrier, enabling them to be effective in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis.

9. Essential oils are aromatic. When diffused, they provide air purification by:

     1. Removing metallic particles and toxins from the air.

     2. Increasing atmospheric oxygen

     3. Increasing ozone and negative ions in the area, which inhibits bacterial   

         growth

     4. Destroying odors from mold, cigarettes, and animals

     5. Filling the air with a fresh aromatic scent

10. Essential oils help promote emotional, physical, and spiritual healing.

11. Essential oils have a bio-electrical frequency that is several times greater than the frequency of herb, food, and even the human body. Clinical research has shown that essential oils can quickly raise the frequency of the human body, restoring it to its normal, healthy level.

{Information on this page is from the Reference Guide for Essential Oils by Connie and Alan Higley.}