What Are Essential Oils, Anyways?

Bella Breakdown

I love using my diffuser to make my apartment smell AH-mazing. I have all of the essential oils on the market – lavender, lemongrass, grapefruit, frankincense, eucalyptus – you name it, I have it. And I know the basic science behind it all.

Certain scents will make me feel a certain way. For example, if I put lavender in my diffuser, it helps me feel calm and relaxed. If I put grapefruit in my diffuser, I will feel more energized and awake. But beyond how they make me feel, I didn’t really know where they come from or why they make me feel the way they do until I watched the video above.

it turns out, the oils are always extracted from plants and they contain only the oils from the plant that most essentially represent the flavor and smell. Essential oils have been around for centuries, and their use has been cited in ancient documents.

Today, EOs are primarily used in the food industry, spa industry, medical industry, and home industry. Essential oils have been known to promise many things: increased sleep, getting rid of cold and flu, dementia, reduction of autism symptoms, and reduced stress and anxiety.

However, the truth of the matter is that there has really been no official testing on whether or not essential oils can cure diseases. And when it comes to essential oils decreasing stress and anxiety, the results from studies vary, and the results are often influenced by the participants’ perceptions of essential oils.

In fact, the only results that have definitively shown that essential oils can have an affect on people are the studies of lemon EOs and rosemary EOs. Studies have proven that lemon can have a positive affect on a person’s mood, regardless of their expectations regarding essential oils. Rosemary proved, in one study, to improve the memory of students.

So, before you decide to jump on the essential oils train, you may want to talk to your doctor about what is actually best for your health. Or, you could just continue to use a diffuser like I will because you love things that smell good.