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Are You Sure about the Quality of Essential Oils that You Use? Part IThe quality of essential oils will determine its therapeutic benefit. This is an obvious statement but much more difficult to explain and describe. I will attempt to paint a picture of the problem of describing the quality of essential oils by braking this article into several parts. First I will provide an outline of the conclusions, and in a later version the details will be provided. Second, let me acknowledge the author of this thesis, Dr. David Stewart who wrote about the question everyone seems to ask about the quality of essential oils in a newsletter published in 2005. So let's go ahead with the a summary conclusion: Summary of Key Points: 2. Therapeutic grade has not only to do with the chemical compositon of the oil, but also with its origin--how and where grown, how distilled, as well as how packaged and distributed. AFNOR and ISO do not consider these factors, which are crucialin the determination and maintenance of therapeutic gradeproperties. So What's an Essential Oiler to Do? With respect to any particular oil or brand of oils, the question you need to ask is this: Do you obtain therapeutic results with that brand of essential oils or not? The proof is in the healing that results-a factor anyone can experience, observe, recognize, and document for themselves. No laboratory test is needed for that. This is anyone's perogative, and it is available to you at no cost. As for YLEO oils, those of us who use them know of their authentic healing power first hand. We have seen it and we have experienced it repeatedly. We don't need AFNOR, ISO, or any other test for that. So, are Young Living oils therapeutic grade? You can answer this for yourself. I know they are, not because they are designated as AFNOR, but because I have seen and experienced their healing power over and over again. I need no other proof. Your personal experience is more valid than any lab test, however scientific. A USP/NF Postscript: Until recently, there were no American standards for essential oils. Young living scientists are currently working with the United States Pharmacopeia and National Formulary ( USP/NF) which are American standard setting organizations that have been around for more than a century. As recently as one year ago USP/NF had virtually remained uninvolved in establishing standards for essential oils. That is now rapidly changing as of the Spring 2005 Pharmacopeial Forum. Standards for essential oils are now being established bythe joint efforts of various industries (including pharmaceutical), various government groups (including the FDA), as well as university scientists and consultants who know what standards for therapeutic grade oils should be--including authorities from Young Living. USP/NF standards go beyond AFNOR/ISO in that the latter concern themselves only with a chemical profile in the finished oil whileUSP/NF also specifies the manner in which the herbs are grown,cultivated, and harvested, as well as how the oils are distilled,extracted, bottled, and labeled. In other words, if things work out they way they should, an essential oil that qualifies to be designated as a USP/NF grade oil will not only fit a minimum chemical profile (like AFNOR/ISO), but will also fit the definition of a therapeutic grade oil, as defined by YLEO. Hence, at some time in the future, we can expect to see aromatic oils that carry the designation of USP/NF on their lables which will have valid meaning in defining a therapeutic grade oil, whereas AFNOR does not. Source: Official Newsletter of C.A.R.E.The Center for Aromatherapy Research and EducationVolume 3, Number 3 April 2005 |