DYI Home Potpourri

DYI home potpourri is an easy way to bring the holidays into your home. To start all you will need is some of your favorite spices and herbs. These can be purchase at your local craft store very inexpensively. Place the items in a decorative bowl, and then add a few drops of Good Thyme essential oil for a heartwarming holiday aroma. When the aroma starts to fade, add a few more drops of your favorite essential oil. Holiday guests will enjoy the smell of your home.
 http://www.goodthymeoils.com/singles-1

Directions:

1. Place desired herbs, spices or potpourri into a bowl. Assemble as you desire to make an attractive presentation.
2. Add 3-5 drops of Good Thyme essential oil on top of your herbs, spices or potpourri.
3. When the aroma starts to fade, add more essential oil. Try placing the same essential oil blend into your diffuser and make your entire house smell like the holidays. 

Reflexology, the guide to your bodies systems.

Reflexology is the physical art of applying pressure to the feet or hands using the fingers, hands or tools. Reflexology can be used with or without oils. The favored method, is to use essential oils that have been cut with a carrier oil for greater therapeutic effect. The hands and feet are maps to the body’s internal systems or zones. Reflexologists are able to gather information from the hands and feet. The feet are a sensory organ, by using pressure movements and stretching the reflexologist can interrupt the stress or accumulation of the system’s constipation. By doing this the body will respond in a predicable manner or effect. Using pressure and specific techniques to the feet or hands, will create movement or stimulation in the targeted areas which the body will respond to. 

Using the body’s nervous system, the reflexologist can outline the body’s mechanisms and interrupt the system’s constipation.  Our reflexes are made to protect the body from being hurt or damaged. If you put your hand over a fire, the heat from that fire will trigger a sensor to pull your hand away before it gets burned. This reaction is very common because the body’s autonomic nervous system will send a signal to the brain, the brain then interprets the signal as something is wrong and tells the muscle to pull the hand a way.

Stimulation to the feet or hands is a route to the different areas of the body. The reflex images on the feet and hands are a map which represents the paths the system can take.  Within the different zones, individual body systems can be effected with pressure. The ball of the foot—with stimulated massage or triggering—can affect the chest, lungs and heart. The arch of the foot contains areas that will affect the diaphragm, stomach, pancreas and duodenum.  The reflexologist goal is to respond to key areas of stress or constipation to help the individual regain his or her normal state or function.

Capsicum

The word Capsicum refers to several different types of fruits from plants belonging to the genus Capsicum—a member of the Solanaceae family. The word capsicum is taken from the Greek word “kapso” meaning to bite. The South American and Asian indigenous people have been cultivating and using peppers for hundreds of years. Different types of peppers have been grown over the years and are still the most important spice or condiment next to salt. All different types of capsicum species have been used in ancient times for their wondrous properties. Modern day researchers have found that capsicum contains compounds such as capsorubin, zeaxanthin, lutein, kryptoxanthin along with A- and B- carotene and also vitamin C. They have also found that capsicum, contains powerful antioxidants to help aid the body’s ability to fight off free radicals.

Ancient cultures from around the world have been using capsicum throughout history for their religious ceremonies and by their healers in order to do several different things: increase the body’s temperature and metabolic rate; relieve indigestion, diarrhea, chronic ulcers; and for pain relief. Capsicum has been categorized by the FDA as a “Topical analgesic for OTC human use”. Capsaicin is classified by the FDA as a “counter irritant which may be applied to the skin for pain relief”. As opposed to other spices and essential oils such as cinnamon, clove, lemongrass, and cassia which can produce redness and irritation to the skin when applied net or undiluted in large qualities. They can even cause burning or blistering to the skin.

Autumn: The Perfect Thyme For Peppermint Tea!

It’s Autumn again, and with the mornings and evening getting cooler, there is no better time to sit in front of a warm fire with your favorite novel and a cup of delicious peppermint tea.

Peppermint tea has many herbal properties that throughout history has help to aid the body to improve digestion, sleep, bad breath and helps to relax the mind and body.

Most herbal teas including peppermint are caffeine-free, so many people with concerns about sleep or drinking caffeine can always enjoy a delicious cup of peppermint tea.

The botanical plant name for peppermint is Mentha piperita, when using peppermint, always make sure that you are getting pure unadulterated Mentha piperita. Peppermint is a cross between water mint and the spearmint plant. The peppermint plant is a perennial that grows up to 12–35 in tall. It has smooth stems with leaves that are broad and dark green with a slightly fuzzy texture to them. The flowers of the peppermint plant are purple with a four-lobed corolla usually flowering from mid to late summer in the mountainous and cooler regions. In warmer climates, peppermint will cycle its flowering throughout the year.

So enjoy a comforting cup of peppermint tea and treat yourself to a day or evening of relaxation.

Allspice: Essential Oil of the Americas

Allspice is one of the few spices grown exclusively in the Americas. The spice comes from a berry of an evergreen tree. Attempts at growing this tree for a source of Allspice in the Eastern Hemisphere have met with failure--the trees will grow, but they produce very little fruit. The shipment of Allspice became a booming business soon after its discovery, and it continues even today. In fact, despite the
fact it will not grow in England, the spice was so popular, it took on the name English Spice. The name Allspice was adopted due to the versatility of the spice--it resembles a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and black pepper. Britain was not the only country to appreciate Allspice. The Russians not only used the spice in their cooking, but used the ground up powder in their boots to warm their feet and control foot odor.

As an essential oil, Allspice has some similarities with Clove. It is a great pain killer and actually has a numbing effect. When applied to wounds, it not only numbs the area, it's a natural antiseptic. It is also known to relieve congestion, arthritis, fever, menstrual cramps, heavy menstrual bleeding, and support the nervous system. Along with all those benefits, Allspice essential oil is a high antioxidant. It attacks the free-radicals responsible for aging and many age-related health problems. 

In affect, Allspice not only ads spice to your life, it can help you live a long and healthy one.

What You Should Know About Essential Oils Before You Use Them.

Gathering information about oils takes time. And the best time spent is speaking with essential oil experts. James Kelly is the former co-owner and head formulator of a major essential oil company (yes, you've probably heard of them). He has generously agreed to answer several of my questions.

What do you consider the most important thing a person should know before using essential oils? 

That's a very good question and it addresses concerns I have that have grown as the essential oil
industry has exploded over the last few years. With so many people wielding essential oils, and sorely lacking in knowledge on how to properly use them, I've seen issues that have arisen from this.

The first thing people should know is that essential oils are powerful and potent. For example, it takes upwards of a hundred pounds of Melissa (lemon balm) to produce three small 15 ml bottles of essential oil. This makes the constituents in the oil highly concentrated. Because of the concentrations, the oils can work wonders on various conditions. But there is a downside to this. If too much is used (especially if the oil is consumed--which I don't recommend), the effects can be devastating on the body. For example, Peppermint is high in menthol. Menthol is good for sore muscles, congestion, headaches, and gastrointestinal issues. But too much menthol causes menthol poisoning, the symptoms of which can  lead to seizures, unconsciousness, and even death.

It's important to note that essential oils work, and because they work, there are unsafe limits. Like vitamins, essential oils are extremely beneficial in proper amounts, but can be dangerous--even deadly in large amounts.

Why are essential oils so expensive?

I'm going to let you in on a secret (and my former business associates are going to hate that I say this), but essential oils don't need to cost a lot to be of the highest quality. As a former owner of an essential oil company, I know the cost of oils as they are received from distillers. I also know that essential oils are often marked up hundreds and even sometimes thousands of percent over the cost value.

You may think, well, you get what you pay for. That's not always true with essential oils. I'm not saying there aren't low quality oils out there, but oils don't need to cost a fortune to be of the highest quality.

How do we know whether an essential oil company has quality oils?

There are several things that determine the quality of an oil and much of the evaluation is difficult for a layperson to understand. But there are signs you can follow that will let you know that a company is concerned with quality. The first thing to look for is Purity level. 100% pure means that the oil is free from chemicals and pesticides--it does not mean that it is not diluted. If you want to find out if an oil is undiluted, look for the word unadulterated. Forget the terms therapeutic grade, medicinal grade, or any other grade...there is no government oversight for essential oils, and thus there is no official grading of oils. Each essential oil company will grade their own oils and the essential oil companies have created their own terms for grading.

And then I look for GC/MS testing results that are available to the public. This is a laboratory analysis that tells you exactly what is in an oil--the purity level and content of the oil. It will also show warning signs that can lead you to suspect that the oil has been added to, changed, or otherwise tampered with. If an essential oil company has those tests available, you can assume that the company is open and honest about the oils they carry. If an essential oil company says it's "proprietary information", I would ask myself what do they have to hide?

Lastly, I would ask the oil company if they have a head formulator and/or chemist on staff. If they do not, then I would be concerned about their quality control. It takes knowledge and training to know when there is an issue with an essential oil. And then if they do not have original formulas, what do they truly have to offer you? Quality essential oils can be found in many places, but experts knowledgeable in formulations is more difficult to come by.

Any other thoughts or things you'd like people to know?

Essential oils are incredible. Yes there are risks for improper use, but the benefits are pretty darn amazing. I've seen people who were crushed by debilitating conditions who, when introduced to the correct essential oil formulation, were able to get off their pain medication and fully participate in life once again. I've seen lives changed. I've seen lives saved. All through the use of essential oils.