Essential Oils

Contributed by: Carol Kline

Essential oils can provide therapeutic benefits in very small amounts.  For example, patchouli and rose oil can stimulate sympathetic nervous system activity.  Jasmine oil can uplift your mood and help improve depression.  Consider adding aromatherapy to your plan of overall health.  Aromatherapy is where you place a couple of drops in a diffuser and it dispenses the oil through steam.  These oils are not intended to replace good lifestyle choices, like healthy eating and exercise, but it can really help enhance your physical and emotional health.  Essential oils such as lavender, lemon, bergamot, peppermint, vetiver, pine, have all shown to help manage daily stress.  Try lavender, chamomile, jasmine, rose, sandalwood, nutmeg, or sweet marjoram to help improve your sleep.  Diffusers for your essential oils can vary in price, but often are on sale, so shop around.

Sources:  draxe.com, naturalnews.com, mercola.com, and huffingtonpost.com