The Wellness Prepper

I hope you are here because you are considering jumping on the Young Living oil train with me and millions of other savvy people worldwide!

I’d like to focus for a minute on the absolute science behind these biblical era products you’re considering bringing into your home. You see, as a medical professional with a strong science background….Well……that is what brought me to Young Living. Frankly, I didn’t even care what the products smelled like as long as they worked! (Although, that is a definite added bonus!…. the lovely air freshening with attitude and body system adjustments built in!!!)

At its very core, YL’s focus is one of purity and consistent effectiveness. No other essential oil company on the planet is as committed (or able!) as Young Living to ensure that their product (our product) retains its therapeutic effectiveness when that little bottle of magic is sealed. What does that mean?

Think of an essential oil like a chocolate chip cookie (I know, weird analogy… work with me here!). The essential oil that comes from a plant is comprised of natural chemical structures called constituents (think ingredients). Every constituent (ingredient) plays a vital role in making that oil “work its magic” in our bodies. If key constituents are compromised in the process, it will probably smell the same, but it sure won’t work! (Just like a chocolate chip cookie…. if you leave out a key ingredient like flour, sugar, butter etc, it might smell similar, but it sure won’t taste the same!).

Constituents are very delicate and can be easily altered and destroyed in the oil distillation process, and for maximum therapeutic value, each and every batch of oils must be tested multiple times during the distillation to ensure they are protected. This is done by gas chromatography (see the video below for a little more info on that process). No other company has their own farms and dedicated partner farms who must contractually abide by the same testing procedures to protect these valuable molecules.

In addition to protecting the constituents within the oils, Young Living has several other “non-negotiables” that we can be guaranteed by using YL products. The oils are guaranteed to be free of:

• Contaminants (plasticizers, pesticides, trace solvents etc)
• Biocides (chemical pesticides, herbicides, fungicides etc that are frequently used in agriculture)
• Solvents (benzene… a known carcinogen, cyclohexane) & Phthalates (plasticizing agents commonly used to liquify more resinous oils)
• Adulteration (adding substances in order to dilute an oil). This is a very common issue with other oil brands. If you find a normally ‘expensive’ oil for an inexpensive price….. don’t walk…. RUN…. from that product! Adulteration has taken place.
• Exposure to excessive heat and pressure during the distillation process. (While higher pressures and temperatures do make the distillation faster, it nearly always ensures destruction of key constituents)

I did not choose to use Young Living products without some serious thought and research. And I’ll be honest, it took several years to find them. Looking back, before finding Young Living, I used oils from companies with no true sourcing trail, and no commitment to supplying me with superior effective product. My ignorance ‘before YL’ shames me… especially as a pharmacist.

Know that you have made (or are about to make) a brilliant decision in your choice to become part of the Young Living family should give you a sense of pride. Whether you intentionally did it or not, you’ve hit the wellness jackpot. Well done my friend! Well done!

A Testimonial! (reprinted with permission from Amanda Simas)

I’ve had a good amount of confrontation in my oily life. It doesn’t really phase me, it actually makes me quite happy to talk about it. But today I dug up my response to a volley one day, and was encouraged to share. This was my response to a professional degrading what I do, sorry it’s long:

sci·ence – sīəns
noun: the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.

What is science? I combat this question a lot. Because much of our culture wants us to believe that science is fact. When really science is a living breathing ever-changing world of possibilities, failures, successes, and more questions from answers. My grandfather, an inventor, designer and builder, once told me “Up is up until someone discovers it’s sideways.” Meaning, don’t define what you understand as fact, define it as observation. If we are speaking scientifically anyway.

The world that we live in is very defensive. Especially when it comes to health. Why? People’s lives are on the line, more than ever. Our babies lives are on the line. And further some people spend their entire lives practicing, through observation, experiment and studying others observations and experiment outcomes, and understand their focus very well. Their expertise and knowledge aren’t to be taken for granted. But their expertise only goes as far as their focus. Outside of your focus is where life gets colorful. You cannot be sure of what you have not observed.

Our world is innately natural. We live in the natural world and modern science is based off the observation and experimentation of it, and conclusions we have derived from them. Medicine, the science of healing, has as long a history as humans do. Human beings are natural, the science of healing them is natural, the tools we now use to heal are both natural and synthetic replicas of natural chemistry, along with the physical tools used. Why is this important when talking about science and medicine? Because the natural world, despite what we’d like to think, is exponentially more complex than we are capable of understanding, or outside of a lab, controlling. Meaning, my chemistry, genetics, environment and other influences are different from yours and that complicates science. We have SO many questions unanswered when it comes to the human body and the way that it interacts with the natural, and synthetic world. Every single doctor and scientist I’ve known would say that we know a great deal especially in this day and age, and still we do not understand enough, there is so much more to understand. This doesn’t mean that science is useless. The contrary. But that medicine is not absolute, it’s as much an art as science.

I discuss this in length for a purpose. When two people debating a topic can come to a place where they realize the ultimate and only certain medical truth, that they do not understand all that they need to be definite about the natural world (meaning medicine, science, and otherwise) a scientific discussion can be started.

Now, as a medical professional, you know more than anyone that you don’t know everything. And if you have a specialization, and you encounter a problem outside of your specialization, you send that person to a specialist that can better help with that problem. Because you likely took an oath that says: “I will not be ashamed to say “I know not,” nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient’s recovery.” This is the humility of medicine, and it is a difficult balance to both be confident in what you do know and humbly accept what you do not, especially in our world of blame.

The hippocratic oath also says: “I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.” This is where, admittedly, modern medicine fails dramatically. Early detection is wrongfully assumed as prevention, and prevention is all but nonexistent. Though there are experts in the field of prevention, they are (almost) never utilized by practitioners, and the field is completely undervalued by the medical world. Medicine (in general and as a whole) understands this, but does not change. Why? Because the majority of people will not or cannot spend the time, money, effort, and brainpower on prevention. And there are corporations making a very large amount of money both poisoning you and on the other side treating you, through food, environment and medicine. Wellness is undervalued, unwell is normalized.

This disconnect is where I believe frustration resides. When we defend one end and not the other. Really, what we need is a balance of the 2 worlds. Natural wellness paired with emergency and chronic medicine. Natural wellness is my focus when it comes to young living.

Thankfully when it comes to essential oils there is both customizable wellness benefits observed by a vast amount of testimony, along with cold hard science. The study is just as vast as it’s unanswered questions and there are experts that have spent their entire lives in the focus of essential oils, as well as a history far exceeding modern medicine. Their expertise is well respected and also deserves the learners humility and consideration.

Because you’re reading this, I am assuming your interest is in the science and expertise of the professionals that study essential oils and their roles in both medicine and prevention. Unfortunately, though there is a huge amount of information out there on essential oils and medicine, as a business owner my job is to highlight the wellness and prevention aspects of essential oils. If you are interested in the medicine may I suggest searching for essential oils of your choice, like Oregano or Frankincense, on pubmed.gov. I would however love to talk to you about essential oils and how they support your body systems, and are a great tool for encouraging and maintaining whole body wellness. Let me know if you’re interested!

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