Aromatherapy 

Healing Through the Senses

Anyone interested in understanding how to use essential oils therapeutically, in concert with tones and color, needs this book. This book encompasses the full coursework with Dr. Gümbel, and continues on his first book, Principles of Holistic Therapy using Essential Oils..
For more information on how to order this book, contact Veronica Sauter, PhD, 

Cosmo-Therapy Dr. Gümbel USA
1210 Cherry Lane
Blue Bell, PA 19422-1802

Why is Science Vital to Aromatherapy?

Successful aromatherapy is dependent on four things:
Intent. Study of the scientific basis of aromatherapy.  Understanding of holistic aromatherapy. Confidence of using pure essential oils.

Before the advent of EVB Analyzed Essential Oils, buying essential oils was much like buying multiple vitamins without a label. Think about it.

Aromatherapy is natural medicine yet most essential oil and aromatherapy companies do not know what is in the oils they are selling you. Essential oils are concentrated, complex mixtures of powerful, bioactive chemicals and people have no knowledge about what is actually in the oil they are buying, using, or selling, except by the subjective smell of the oil. Adulterated oils can not fulfill the expectation of the aromatherapist and will ultimately hold back the aromatherapy movement in general.

Aromatherapy effects are proportional to purity and quality. As aromatherapy is complex in its healing effects and is much more than smell, it takes much more than a nose to tell if an essential oil is pure. The only way to really know is to analyze an essential oil by GC/MS.

- Always Use Pure Essential Oils -

What is a Pure Essential Oil?
A pure essential oil is one that is distilled or extracted from a single type of plant. Apparently, many producers, importers and distributors boost up the oils to standardize their product and to make a larger profit. Fillers or artificial substances may be added like:
1.Not fragrant solvent.
2.Co-distilling other plant material.
3.Parts of cheap essential oils.
4.Synthetic "nature identical" essential oil components.
5.Synthetic fragrance materials.
6.Synthesis by-products of 4 & 5.

Other undesirables found in trace amounts: Fermentation products, pesticides (micro trace), preservatives and oxidation products.

Bulgarian Rose Oil      Purely Essential 

*Energizer: blend 2 drops each of Niaouli (Melaleuca viridiflora), Cardamon (Elettaria cardomomum), Black Pepper (Piper nigrum), Ravansara (Ravansara aromaticum), and Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) in 8 ml. of vegetable oil.

**Steam: and add 1 drop Tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia), 1 drop of Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus), and 1 drop of Peppermint (Mentha piperita).

***Mix: 3 drops of Frankincense (Boswellia carterii), 2 drops of Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens), 4 drops of Bergamot (Citrus bergamia)

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Essential oils to build the Immune System

Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis), Black Pepper (Piper nigrum), Cardamom (Elettaria cardomomum), Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus)
Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi), Niaouli (Melaleuca viridiflora), Peppermint (Mentha piperita)
Ravensara (Ravensara aromaticum), Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia), Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)

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ENHANCE YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM WITH AROMATHERAPY,   by Elizabeth Jones, Aromatherapist

Aromatherapy is a dynamic healing modality that works at a cellular, molecular level as well as on an emotional, psychological level. Physically, it can be used as an immune stimulant to prevent infection and to mitigate symptoms of infectious disease.

Aromatherapy is the therapeutic use of essential oils, whether absorbed via the skin, the olfactory system or taken internally. When essential oils are taken internally, the therapy becomes part of herbal medicine, not aromatherapy. Essential oils are produced by steam distillation of plant material or cold expressions from citrus peel. Essential oils are extremely complex and are made up of many different chemical components.

The immune system is also an amazing, complex group of cells that are there to protect us from invading pathogens. The immune system has the ability to distinguish self from other. This is linked to a set of more than 50 genes, known as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). The immune system will generally attack any cell with a foreign MHC. (1) Steve Van Toller.

We will examine some lines of defense in our bodies and how to use essential oils to strengthen these barricades: The first lines of defense are barriers like the skin, which makes it physically difficult for bacteria, virus, or fungus to penetrate into the body. Sweat, sebum, and mucous membranes all have a pH balance and some white blood cells to discourage and cleanse bacteria from entering internal passageways.

An aromatherapy treatment to strengthen the skin's defense would be a friction. *After taking a shower in the morning apply a blend to your palms.  Rub between your hands quickly and apply to your chest, stomach and thighs. Feel the tingle and energy! This will be absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream, killing any skin bacteria on the way.

A second line of defense is called phagocytosis. This involves larger, white blood cells called phagocytes or macrophages that are borne in lymph nodes. They are "heroes" that arrive first at any scene of damage or pending infection to the body. They engulf and kill invading microbes and then die rapidly in the line of duty (thus the term, hero).

An aromatherapy treatment to aid these aggressive fighters in an upper respiratory cold battle would be **an aromatherapy steam. Boil two cups of water, pour a blend into a ceramic bowl,  Cover your head and bowl with a towel, breathing deeply for 5 minutes. If it hurts, you know the oils are attacking infected cells.

The third line of defense is the lymphocytes called B cells and T cells. The T cells come in several forms and are born in the thymus and bone marrow. In the thymus, they undergo training to become killer T cells or helper T cells amongst several kinds. The latter travel throughout the body, soldiers on guard, looking for invaders and always ready to alert all of the white cells for a battle.

The B cells live in the lymph nodes, killing any cancer, virus, or bacterial agents traveling in the lymph system. They produce antibodies to attack an invader and let some of these antibodies survive once the threat is gone, in case this microbial enemy should enter the body again. Simply stated, this is how we develop immunity.

An aromatherapy process to bolster the lymphocytes would be to use and inhale Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis) and Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) in the shower every morning or in an evening bath. By rubbing them on the chest, neck, and lymph nodes during and after bathing, these oils would act as preventatives by stimulating the lymphocytes.

For sensitive skin, it would be best to mix 10 drops of each essential oil in 1 oz. of jojoba or olive oil. (2) Kurt Schnaubelt, Medical Aromatherapy

A fourth line of defense is the adrenal glands. These glands produce two chemical messengers called adrenaline and cortisol. They reveal the mind/body link since negative, emotional stress increases their release. This can lead to a suppression of phagocyte and lymphocyte response. (3) Shirley Price, Aromatherapy for Health Professionals. An Aromatherapy treatment can keep the adrenal glands in balance and to keep depression at bay.  Use the ***mix in a bath or unscented natural lotion, applying the aromatic lotion over the adrenals on the lower back.

Aromatherapy can actually attack invading viruses or it can address the circumstances that lead to a depressed immune system. Essential oils minimize symptoms i.e. a cold, Prevent secondary infections, and in general, support the body's terrain to prevent infectious disease. Unlike the use of antibiotics, applying essential oils before, during, or after an infection, leaves the body in an improved state of health with increased ability to fight off future afflictions. Begin using a few drops every day to support this wonderful, vigilant, army of cells we call the immune system!

more about oils...

What is the Quality?
An essential oil does not have to be adulterated to be inferior. Of course, environmental conditions directly affect the percentages of each component of the essential oil.

In the bigger picture, even "organic" essential oils are an enigma because some of the natural constituents in essential oils may be toxic themselves anyway. Analyzing an essential oil for pesticides, even by GC/MS, is very intensive. Just because an essential oil is grown organic does not mean it is verifiable or unadulterated when you buy it.

The priorities for rating an essential oil are:
1.The essential oil be high quality.
2.The essential oil should not be adulterated.
3.A GC/MS analysis should be performed to confirm priorities 1 and 2.
4.Lastly, the essential oil should be labeled , natured, tested, organic, wild crafted, etc.

Most of the world's essential oils are produced as common fragrance and flavor materials. Aromatherapists cherish these essential oils as natural medicine and even apply botanical names to these frequently adulterated oils in hopes that they are pure. The holistic aromatherapy movement will have to come to grips with the issue of essential oil purity and analysis if these materials are to be promoted as bioactive or psychoactive alternative medicine.

What is GC/MS?
It is the perfect marriage of a Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometer. HOW DOES IT WORK? Simply put, the G.C. separates each component of the essential oil and the Mass Spectrometer identifies each component of the oil and tells you the percentage of each one. This whole process is managed by a powerful computer system. There is no other way to know each constituent of oil and its percentage with high accuracy. In our investigation and search for essential oils we have found many adulterated essential oils. Some were gross adulterations with solvents, some were synthetic perfume compounds, but most had fractions of other oils or synthetic "nature identical" chemicals added.

from EVB Aromatherapy