Unlawening of the debunkers - the true medical value of aromatherapy

Unlawening of the debunkers - the true medical value of aromatherapy

was aromatherapy wrongly accused?

When searching for the term "aromatherapy", several pages are displayed on which it is claimed that aromatherapy is a fraud. That manufacturers and dealers essential oils make “dubious” claims about the effectiveness of essential oils. These people do not seem to have done their homework or to have compared the validity of scientific studies with those of conventional medicine that could actually easily be described as "doubtful" with the same criteria. Okay, actually no criteria are used, only a few blurb texts that represent aromatherapy as a gentle science that should be neglected together with everything else, which can be found under the heading "New Age".

How about if we agreed: that some of the aromatherapy is actually a "soft science"? That some people feel more relaxed when inhaling lavender, for example, and others don't? Aroma therapists will not disagree on this point - but they will defend themselves if the medical applications of essential oils are rejected with the soft side of "aromatherapy". Science supports many claims of aromatherapy with valid data, even through the "soft science" of practice. Here is a look at science behind aromatherapy, the holes in the arguments of the popular exposure and why aroma medicine has its place in today's medical practice.

The image problem of aromatherapy

We see that the image problem of aromatherapy is the following: Most people hear the word and believe that it has more to do with the "smell of things" than with "things that smell". It is a small but very important difference. Aromatherapy is really the complete branch of medicine, which uses the chemically fleeting (slightly evaporating) components of plants to treat a variety of symptoms. It has not only to deal with the effects of these plant chemicals that they smell. Almost every professional aroma therapist will tell you that the great medical promise of aromatherapy is not in its pleasant aromas, but in its ability to successfully treat a variety of infectious diseases (such as MRSA, the 'Superbug'), their effects as chemotherapy, active ingredients, anti -inflammatory active ingredients, wound -healing active ingredients and other "hard" medical applications.

Search for real data on the effectiveness of essential oils

A brief look at the research results of PUB Med, a database with thousands of examined bioscientific and medical magazines that are freely available online, shows thousands of quotations from research carried out with essential oils. Yes, there are actually some studies that have no convincing proof that hand massages with lavender cream did not feel better than hand massages with perfume -free lotion. But there are studies that show that people sleep better after lavender inhalation. And there is a study that shows that the stress makers of the immune system have remained unchanged after the inhalation of Linalool (an isolated component of lavender), but there are also 15 studies (according to the last count) that show positive significant results when looking for "lavender" and "Axiolytic". (The specialist expression for stress reducers). The results for "acetaminophen" and "pain" can be just as strong; Those for 'Minoxidil' and 'hair' are not quite certainty.

The unfounded view of the skeptics

aromatherapists even emit that there are mixer results. While the noisers use this data to say "aromatherapy does not work", the reasonable statement seems to be: "Everyone is different. Some people react and others. By Robert T. Carol from Skepdic.com: "... I have to conclude that aromatherapy is mainly a pseudo-scientific alternative medical therapy. It is a mixture of folklore, attempt and error, anecdote, testimony, New Age-Spiritualism and Fantasy." Stephen Barrett, MD from QuackWatch, does not really sound about etheric oils, but simply sounds Angered over the whole idea.

Sure, some unfounded claims may be in circulation, but we play fairly. How many deadly medication were taken from the market after the drug manufacturers had paid strict scientific studies who claimed that they were "safe and effective"? A table orders deaths that can be attributed to "properly prescribed and consumed drugs", between which alcohol and those through alcohol - these just above the "avoidable medical" misfortune and all of them. How many died from the use of essential oils? Can you draw a circle? How about the letter that stands between 'n' and 'p'?

The latest from aroma medicine research

The latest state of aroma medicine: The great news is that essential oils, yes, exactly the same that is used in aromatherapy (this is the idea we want to convey!), Highly effective antibiotics and antiviral means. Here, too, we invite you to search for "essential oil" and "MRSA"-this is the "Superbug" of the Staphylococcus Aureus bacteria, which has become resistant to generally available antibiotics (the MR in the name stands for "methicillin-resistant"). You will find studies that show the effectiveness of essential tea tree oil in clinical applications and positive results in the laboratory with several other oils. And so far it has been assumed that these oils have no negative effects in effective doses.

essential oils identified as cancer destruction

Then there are countless studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of essential oils in the destruction of cancer. A study recently published in the magazine "Chemico-Biological Interactions" found that Linalool, a frequently part of essential oils, fully exterminated a certain liver cancer cell line in very, very low concentrations. Try 'essential oil' and 'cancer' in Pub Med and you will receive results such as "incense oil from Boswellia Carteri induces tumor cell-specific cytotoxicity" (maybe this is the terminology of "New Age Spiritualism", which I do not yet know). Another result is "anti -cancer activity of an essential oil made of cymbopogon flexuosus" (essential lemon grass oil) with the conclusion "Our results show that the oil has a promising anti -cancer activity and causes a loss of vital to tumor cells by activating the apoptotic process, as by electron microscopy." The list continues, of course (actually there are 388 results for this search today).

why then the whole criticism?

Why is this criticism of aromatherapy so popular, at least in the eyes of Google? Why do some people like horror films and car accidents - not safe, really. It could have to do with the fact that there is a closer relationship between "aromatherapy" and "Glade Plug-in Air Freshener (TM)" in the minds of many people than between "aromatherapy", "frankincense" and "tumor cell-specific cytotoxicity". A reality is that the GLAD plug-in concept spends a lot more money. Since essential oils cannot be patented as a drug, the amount of money that Really Big Business can earn is negligible.

change the popular view of aromatherapy