Show 1101: How You Can Use Essential Oils for Better Health (Archive)
The People's Pharmacy
Joe and Terry Graedon
4.6 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 30 August 2018
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Plant-based oils often carry the scent of the plant. Plants may use them to attract insects, but people have found numerous uses for them as well. Some can be used in skin care, while others may be used for relaxation or to improve digestion.
What Are Essential Oils?
The volatile aromatic compounds found in plants have been used in healing traditions that reach back thousands of years. Frankincense and myrrh, so familiar from the Bible story of the Magi, contain essential oils. So does Vicks VapoRub.
Using Essential Oils:
People take enteric-coated peppermint oil to ease symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. It is very effective. Lavender oil, on the other hand, is usually used topically or as aromatherapy to ease depression, calm anxiety, promote sleep and treat skin blemishes. Tea tree oil, from the Australian plant Melaleuca alternifolia, has antibacterial and antifungal activity. It can be used against acne, athlete’s foot or vaginal yeast infections.
Essential oils are potent, so they should be diluted in a carrier oil before you apply them to the skin. For a 2 percent dilution, add 10 or 12 drops of the oil to the carrier oil, which could be almond oil or another oil you would use in cooking. For delicate skin, a 0.5 percent dilution is preferable: add just two or three drops to an ounce of carrier oil.
Be careful not to put any citrus oils on the skin before going out in the sun. That could result in a bad burn.
Tune in to learn how to use essential oils to improve your health.
This Week’s Guests:
Tieraona Low Dog, MD, is an internationally recognized expert in the fields of integrative medicine, dietary supplements, herbal medicine and women’s health.
Dr. Low Dog is a founding member of the American Board of Physician Specialties, American Board of Integrative Medicine and the Academy of Women’s Health. She has served as Chair of the US Pharmacopeia Dietary Supplements/Botanicals Expert Committee.
Her books include: Women’s Health in Complementary and Integrative Medicine; Life Is Your Best Medicine; and Healthy at Home. Her latest is Fortify Your Life: Your Guide to Vitamins, Minerals and More. For more information, see her website: drlowdog.com
Stacey Brower is a physician assistant in the Department of Surgery at Duke University Hospital.
Listen to the Podcast:
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, I'm Joe Grady. I'm Terry Grady. |
| 0:03.3 | Welcome to this podcast of the People's Pharmacy, where we bring you the stories behind the |
| 0:08.8 | health headlines. This podcast is brought to you by Reddex Industries, makers of utterly smooth body cream. |
| 0:16.0 | 800, 345, 7339 on the web at utter cream.com. |
| 0:35.0 | Do you enjoy the smell of rosemary lavender or eucalyptus? Essential oils from such plants have been used for thousands of years. |
| 0:39.0 | This is the People's Pharmacy with Terry and Joe Grady. |
| 0:43.4 | Heelers and |
| 0:51.4 | Kealers and cultures as diverse as ancient Egypt, China, and India have relied on aromatic |
| 0:56.4 | oils for their ability to affect human physiology. |
| 1:00.0 | Is there any science to support a romotherapy? |
| 1:03.2 | To help us better understand the role of essential oils and health, we turn to medical Dr. |
| 1:08.6 | Teroni Lodog. |
| 1:10.4 | She's an internationally recognized expert in the field of integrative medicine. |
| 1:14.4 | You'll also hear from researcher Stacy Brower of Duke Health System. |
| 1:18.9 | Coming up on the People's Pharmacy, learn how you can use essential oils for better health. |
| 1:27.0 | In the People's Pharmacy Health Headlines, new guidelines from the American Heart Association |
| 1:36.2 | and the American College of Cardiology state that all adults should get their systolic |
| 1:41.1 | blood pressure to 130 or lower and their distolic blood pressure to 1.30 or lower, and their diastolic blood pressure |
| 1:45.0 | to 80 or lower. |
| 1:47.0 | That's 10 points lower than prior recommendations. |
| 1:50.2 | It means that nearly half of the adult population of the United States will be labeled |
| 1:54.4 | hyper-tensive. The hope is that the new guidelines will increase hypertension awareness |
... |
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