An Old Beginning For A New Year

Using Essential Oils has been a soothing way to maintain good health and well-being for centuries. Creating a old beginning for a new year is easier than you might imagine.

For instance, Lavender is much more than just a calming scent, it can also heal an amazing variety of ailments. The combination of compounds that make up lavender contribute to it legendary healing powers.

Lavender contains up to 50% of the alcohol linalol. Linalol is the property that helps to kill bacteria as well as many viruses. It also is the compound that helps to quickly heal burns, wounds and many types of sores.

Lavender also contains a high number of ketones, about 30%, which help to relieve pain and build new skin tissues. These ketones can also reduce inflammation.

Esters are found in Lavender as well. Esters are the compounds that ease swelling, tenderness and swelling. Esters are responsible for helping to prevent muscle spasms. They also are very effective at fighting fungal infections.

Lavender is one of the essential oils that can be used undiluted, even on sunburns!

For a fantastic jump start on the New Year, look to the effective use of essential oils.

Our store front, located at www.zhealthinfo.com has a great variety of essential oils, information and many other health related products that can assist you in create great health for you and your loved ones.

Quick Relief For "Pain in the Butt"

Many people suffer from lower back pain, especially in the area of the sacrum causing the common complaint of sciatica. The symptoms of this condition can be a cramping sensation of the thigh or shooting pains from the buttocks spreading down the legs. Sometimes, there can be tingling, or a pins/needles sensation in the legs and thighs as well as some complaints of deep and sometimes severe pain starting low on one side of the back.

The cold weather of winter will sometimes aggravate the sciatic nerve which is the longest and widest single nerve in the human body. This nerve begins in the lower back and runs through the buttock and down the leg. This nerve supplies feelings to the whole skin area of the leg, as well as the muscles of the back of the thigh and the muscles of the leg and foot. Pain that is caused by a compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve by any problems in the lower back is then called sciatica.

As with any major health or pain related problem it is important to be diagnosed by a qualified health care professional. The use of essential oils can greatly reduce this type of pain as well as create healing to the muscles and nerves while at the same time increasing circulation and helping to cool inflamed areas.

One of the most common causes of sciatica is when the nerve is being compressed by the periformis muscle and can be as simple as making sure that you are not sitting on a wallet or other bulges in the back pocket of your trousers. The periformis muscle can also be easily compromised by a fall or other trauma to the hips and buttocks area, causing the muscles to be hypertonic and thereby compressing the nerves.

Compresses with essential oils over the inflames and painful areas would certainly be a part of your treatment strategy. Cold compresses can be very helpful when the area feels warm to the touch. Hot compresses are very soothing for painful areas, but should be alternated with the cold.

Here are just a few of my favorite essential oils to use when plagued with sciatica pain.

German Chamomile has mild analgesic, antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory properties.
Geranium is great for all types of neuralgia problems.
Marjoram is a wonderful for relaxing tight, muscles.
Rosemary has amazing anti-inflammatory properties and is antispasmodic.
Black Pepper helps to tone the muscles and reduce swelling to the nerve pathways.
Peppermint is good for cooling inflamed areas and is a great analgesic.

So next time you feel that tight, cramping "pain in the butt" sensation reach for some essential oils to help bring about quick, effective relief.

The Rich Aromas of the Holidays

Everyone loves the smells of the holiday season, orange and clove mixed with splashes of cinnamon and nutmeg as well as the fragrant ginger and allspice. Did you ever stop to think that perhaps one of the reasons that these warm and earthy smells are so inviting this time of year is because of the healing properties that they infuse into our beings?

Orange Oil is a harmonious oil that loves to play nicely with other oils. Orange helps to lift the extra tensions that can be found during the winter months, especially around the holidays. This wonderful oil has an invigorating effect and can help increase circulation.

Clove Oil is very effective at killing germs and bacteria. It is also great as an anti-inflammatory agent. During the winter months when house plants will sometimes get an infestation of tiny gnats, clove oil will kill them.

Cinnamon Oil is a great anti-septic and is wonderful for instilling emotional strength, offering peace and composure. Cinnamon Oil also helps to remove dampness and mildew from the air.

Nutmeg helps to increase energy by supporting the adrenal glands. Nutmeg is a wonderful oil for nausea, especially brought about by over eating. Nutmeg is also wonderful for joint pain associated with the cold and flu season.

Ginger's warm and somewhat spicy aroma can help to set a romantic as well as a relaxed mood. It is wonderful for congestion associated with colds and flu. This oil is a wonderful immune booster.

Allspice stimulates the circulation system of the body creating a warming and relaxing effect especially in cases of physical and mental fatigue. The oil can also help to relieve stomachaches and intestinal colic. Allspice is also used to help balance the appetite and give encouragement during times of sadness and grief.

Now that we have talked about a few of the spices of the holidays lets not forget the beautiful fragrance of the stately pine. Pine helps to keep our respiratory passages open and helps promote expectoration when needed. The smell of pine will also relieve swollen nasal mucosa lining, and relieve sore throats. It's cool scent has anti fungal and antiseptic properties. Pine can also be a tremendous help with insomnia.

So perhaps the smells and aromas of the holidays are not just pleasing, they are also extremely beneficial to the overall health and well being of you and your family through the long winter months.

Happy Holidays!

Sweet Orange Oil

A beautiful orange grove is a joy to behold and a delight to smell. The fresh, sweet citrusy aroma can make you feel as if you are eating the most delectable fruit straight from the tree. The sweet orange tree gives us three types of essential oils. Petigrain oil comes from the foliage of the tree, Neroli oil is developed from the flowers and then the orange peels themselves give us a beautiful, full bodied essential oil.

Sweet Orange Essential Oil improves the mood, calms anxiety and lifts the spirits. This wonderful oil can also stimulate circulation, aid in digestion and help to maintain healthy, youthful skin. Sweet Orange Essential Oil will help boost collagen production and reduce skin puffiness and blemishes. This oil also works in harmony with many other essential oils and flowery scents or floral waters.

Sweet Orange Essential Oil has many health benefits as will as domestic cleaning application, but it is also wonderful to cook with. Orange oil is surprisingly inexpensive; so because of its many uses, it is a good choice when deciding which oils to buy.

Don't forget that the fresh scent of Sweet Orange Essential Oil is a good remedy nausea during pregnancy, and it has no side effects other than the possibility of a photo-toxic effect on the skin so Sweet Orange Essential Oil should be avoided as a topical skin application if you are planning on being exposed to the sun.

Fighting infections With Nature

Some of the most powerful infection fighters can be created with the concentrated elements of nature. Essential oils will penetrate the skin quickly and pass into the body's tissues without having to go through the digestive process first.
Major studies at several Universities, such as Weber State Unversity in Ogden, Utah as well as Hoshi University in Japan and North Dakota State University have shown that a large number of essential oil components have a tremendous germ-killing effect as well as having the ability to inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus, Micrococcus, Bacillus and Enterobacter strains of bacteria. These and many other compounds found in oils that contain menthol, eucalyptol, linalool and citral exhibit very Strong antimicrobial effects. These oils would include peppermint, rosemary, eucalyptus, geranium, lemongrass, Tea Tree and oregano.

In this season of joy and celebration we all want to be at our optimal health so why not use some of these and other oils to diffuse into the air, making our living and working spaces healthier and safer as they lift our spirits and magnify a greater frequency within our bodies.

A great recipe for sanitizing the air, while at the same time helping to boost the immune system would be to mix equal parts of peppermint, eucalyptus, geranium, orange, clove and cinnamon. Smells like the holidays and adds many layers of healing too.

Happy Holidays!

Rose-Otto Oil

Since ancient times, the rose has inspired reverence and wonder; the blossom has been called the queen of flowers. It is not surprising, then, that rose-otto oil was probably the first flower essence ever distilled. Its sensuous and infatuating aroma and the rich bouquet of ingredients give rose-otto oil a broad array of healing properties. This wonderful oil will help fight many bacteria and viruses. It promotes the healing of wounds and reduces inflammation. Today, the finest rose-otto oil comes from Bulgaria, and its production is a very tedious process. As a result, rose-otto oil is one of the most costly. About 30 flowers, picked by hand in the early morning hours are needed to make one drop of the oil. In fact, more than two tons of roses must be distilled to make a single pound of the rose-otto oil.

The active agents in rose-otto oil have germicidal, wound-healing, anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic properties. This wonderful oil can help calm the nerves and lift depression.

Rose-otto oil exerts a soothing effect on the entire nervous system. It can be used to treat many psychological conditions as well as physical. This oil works particularly well as a treatment for shingles, anxiety, stress and depression. Because rose-otto oil helps to regulate levels of some female hormones, it may help to regulate irregular menstrual periods. IT may also help to improve uterine muscle tone.

Rose water, a by product of the distillation process, clears the skin of impurities and may help to treat or even prevent acne.

Rose-otto can be used to ease childbirth, treat irregular menstruation, headaches, fever, insomnia, skin inflammations, depression, anxiety, sadness and grief. This wonderful oil works really well with essential oils of sandlewood, neroli and English lavender.

Store rose-otto oil in a dark, tinted glass bottle away from light in a place where the temperature does not fluctuate a lot. Open the bottle as infrequently as possible to retain its potency.

Magnificent Marjoram

Marjoram essential oil is extracted from the leaves and flowering tops by a process of steam distillation. A thick, pale yellow liquid, marjoram oil has a warm, herbaceous, and slightly spicy scent that many people find very comforting.

The primary components of marjoram have a relaxing and balancing effect on the body and the mind. This magnificent oil soothes muscle and joint pain and helps to promote circulation. It is often used to treat muscle and joint pain due to overexertion, rheumatism and many types of arthritis.

Inhalations of essential oil of marjoram can help relieve respiratory ailments and asthma, as well as coughs and sinusitis.

Essential oil of marjoram also has beneficial effects on the hair and scalp; it helps condition the hair and promotes healthy blood circulation to the scalp which in turn supports healthy growth.

On an emotional level, the oil of marjoram is especially valuable during the grieving process, as it can comfort and help relax the body and the mind.

Essential Oil of Marjoram works well in combination with other oils such as basil, lime and peppermint for exhaustion and nervous tension. For menstrual cramping it can be added to clary-sage or for headaches it can be mixed with black pepper and a small amount of peppermint and applied as a cool compress to the back of the neck.

Remember that the magnificent marjoram is not just a wonderful cooking spice, it has many applications for health, comfort and well being.