Are Sweet Peas Aromatherapy? ** What Is Aromatherapy? Sorta Long

[Guest guest]

Howdy Martin, Kathleen, Christina .. other good folks ..

 

Hey Kathleen,

>

> I am going to make a reply that Butch can join in on when he has time.

> Fact 1. All flowers give off volatile chemicals.

>

 

Correct .. but modern technology is not able to economically extract usable

products from all of them .. so ..

 

 

> Fact 2. Hundreds of varieties have been analysed by special techniques

> that capture those chemicals and analyse them.

>

 

these special techniques are used to extract for the purpose of analyzing

the chemical profile .. in order to ..

 

 

> Fact 3. Most of the above is done for the perfume trade so they can

> recreate fragrances that distillation cannot capture, ie. cherry

> blossom, apple blossom, etc.

>

 

do this. And they wind up with products that have a pretty close profile

though not necessarily a natural one .. like Nature Identical products.

And this opens the door for the adulteration .. or stretching .. or other

forms of manipulation by man that Martin hit on in previous messages.

 

If we don't demand some discipline in the field of Aromatherapy we must

accept that synthetic fragrances sold by Glade and other companies .. the

plug ins, etc., are a legitimate form of Aromatherapy.

 

This is where I draw the line I can't cross and its the point I have tried

to sell in my previous posts. If we are to accept that any odor or

fragrance that enters the body through the olfactory system .. and causes

some form of change to our physical, psychological or emotion being .. is in

fact, AT, then we must accept that adulterated, stretched or manipulated

natural products .. as well as many synthetic products .. are beneficial ..

because they are Therapeutic! Therapeutic is a term that means " having or

exhibiting healing powers " . There are people who are pleased with the

synthetic odors in elevators or those emitted from the doo dads hanging from

rear view mirrors .. if they are pleased then to them there is REAL

Therapeutic value there .. strictly from a psychological or emotional point

of view. Take it a bit further and we can logically say that if one has

their head on straight due to being emotionally pacified .. they can also

gain some physiological Therapeutic benefit from their emotional state.

 

We have just incorrectly rationalized ourselves into accepting that there is

no need to pay more for naturals when we can get similar benefits from

synthetics. I stick to the " incorrectly " rationalized because the here and

now is not what it is all about .. we must look at the future. Multiple

Chemical Sensitivities (MCS) has increased 5 fold in the Western world in

the last 35 years! Many of the so-called allergies today are in fact MCS.

 

An off the cuff disagreement with the above could be .. we're not talking

about synthetics .. we're talking about flowers. But that would be

shortsighted and would evade the reality of the danger I am laying out here

... the danger of stretching the real meaning of Aromatherapy beyond what we

have become accustomed to accepting.

 

Evolution and Natural Selection play a major part in the justification of my

position. All life forms that have survived for long periods of time did

so because they were able to (1) Protect themselves from their enemies ..

and .. (2) Procreate. Few of us are decendants of a Cro-Magnon man that

was eaten by a Sabor Tooth Tiger. Evolution and Natural Selection allow

for the creation of species that are pretty darned close to perfect .. those

that are not .. those that were not able to accomplish items (1) and (2)

above fell along the wayside. There is not a single chemical component in

the profile of a healthy human or plant or other critter that is not there

for a reason .. its not like the Great Spirit created this critter and then

recognized that the profile was 1% or 2% short of being complete .. and then

threw in something else to fill the void .. to keep those other chemicals

from bouncing around and such. It is from this point that one of the

Sacred Cows of AT was born .. the one called " Synergy " !

 

If I am not wrong .. if Evolution and Natural Selection in fact created a

perfect critter then we must assume that ALL of the chemical components in

that healthy critter are there for a purpose. Martin, being a Herbalist

(that is his expertise .. not Aromatherapy) knows that certain chemical

components in a plant can be harmful if extracted and used in their pure

form .. and that they are there to counter balance other chemicals .. and

that together as a " Synergy " they allow that plant to hum along like a fine

Swiss Watch .. but extract one of them .. even a minor trace chemical .. and

you might be creating the death of that plant .. or that species.

This also leans toward Genetic Engineering but I am not going to go there

now.

 

I am going to go here .. Contraindications vs Therapeutic Value! It has

been and will continue to be my position that ANY manipulated Essential Oil

will NOT provide the same Therapeutic Value as will one that has not been

manipulated. I will take this as far as saying that FCF Bergamot or any

other oil that has been manipulated to make it safer fits into this category

... that's why I have never and will never sell one. If people are not smart

enough .. careful enough .. to properly use Bergamot they should leave it

alone! I see this as being no different than use of a firearm or driving a

motor vehicle!

 

When you manipulate the Natural Synergy of an Essential Oil beyond the point

that it has already been manipulated by the very UNNATURAL process of

Distillation or other forms of Extraction .. you wind up with a less than

perfect product .. so it tracks that it will be less beneficial

Therapeutically. If this is not true then we must stop making demands for

PURE, UNMANIPULATED oils .. we can't have it both ways in the real world.

 

Martin and all of those who live in the EU know that the Non Democratic EU

has created panels of bureaucrats .. many of which have absolutely no

knowledge of plants or Essential Oils .. that have studied the effects of

chemicals .. extracts they are .. in a vacuum they are .. and based on

incorrect extrapolation of the effects of those isolated chemical components

they have BANNED many Essential Oils from use in certain commercial

preparations. This is pure bureaucratic Bovine Excrement .. it is Big

Brother telling the Sheeple what is best for them. Though these

prohibitions are minor compared to some of the other ridiculous decisions

made by these panels of " experts " .. it is the one that should most concern

folks who want unrestricted access to natural products. Canadians .. you

are next!

 

Just as we question the unknown long-term effects of Genetically Engineered

Foods .. we should question the unknown long-term effects of bombardment of

synthetic chemicals that might be considered as being Therapeutic if we want

to stretch the meaning of the term. We know that MCS is not a result of

Evolution of Man .. though it can certainly play a major role in the Natural

Selection process .. MCS is a result of outside interference with mankind's

Evolution .. same as all forms of pollution are outside interference!

 

On Contraindications .. we pretty much have these nailed down when

discussing the use of EO .. though there is a lot of misinformation out and

about .. misinformation like Pennyroyal being an Abortifacient and Marjoram

lowering BP and Rosemary causing seizures for those who suffer from Epilepsy

... all of this is TOTAL BS but all of this is a part of the foundation of

AT. If you take the BS out of AT it is a lot less interesting .. I tried to

point that out in my post on what EO really are and what they are not.

Those who are turned on by Spiritual Hocus Pocus don't bother me .. those

who preach or practice use of EO in an unsafe manner or peddle products that

will not do what they say they will do .. or try to rationalize the use of

synthetics .. they bother me .. but so does warm beer. I won't reject those

who think differently than I do and I won't reject warm beer if there is no

cold beer available.

 

Side Effects .. that's what the Commercial drugs have .. also BS .. what

they are calling side effects are Contraindications .. but they use

terminology that is easily understood by the average person. Since 1995, I

have taken but ONE prescription medication .. and then for a short period of

time .. and the only Over the Counter (OTC) medications I have taken are

aspirin (hopefully to avoid stroke) .. and antacids because .. even though I

am a 65 year old dude who fathered a son two years ago .. I still have a 65

year old stomach and I love onions and garlic and lots of other things that

cause a lot of stomach acid. The one prescription medication I took was an

anti inflammatory medication and it had a laundry list of Side Effects. I

challenge any of you to pull out any medication you have and find that there

are no Side Effects listed. Why are there so many Side Effects? Because

the odds are good that the medication is the result of the manipulation of

the Natural Synergy of some plant life .. they have extracted certain KNOWN

active ingredients from the plant and they have broken the Natural Chain ..

that chain we call Synergy. Now we have a creation that is far less than

perfect .. it is missing all those nice little trace chemicals that might

play more of a major role in the Therapeutic value of the plant than the

known or supposed active (major) chemical compounds.

 

ALL OF THE ABOVE IS INTENDED TO SUPPORT MY POSITION THAT WE MUST BE

RESPONSIBLE AND CONSISTENT WHEN WE DISCUSS ESSENTIAL OILS AND AROMATHERAPY

AND WE MUST DEMAND UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED DEFINITIONS!!! If we want to

Redefine the meaning of AT .. if we want to be creative and see just how

many exceptions we can list of what AT really is .. then we are helping to

justify the positions of Glade and the Pharmaceutical Companies who push

synthetics or isolated chemical treatments .. as well as those who

manipulate, stretch and otherwise adulterate Essential Oils. Martin and I

(and probably others) could (but we won't) give you the names and dates of

people in this industry who have been caught with their pants down .. who

have been found guilty with no chance of defense .. of adulterating very

costly EO with either Synthetic or Extracted Chemicals! One we know spent

time in the Hoosegow for his actions .. but I think he is still in the

business. Another was kicked out of a certain society in the UK .. but he

still sells products and is even held in high esteem by some folks who

should know better. These folks are no different than Glade except

that people like you know that when you waste money on Glade Plug Ins you

are getting a synthetic product .. others are just getting screwed out of

their money. I believe that the entire discussion on whether or not Sweet

Peas are Aromatherapy has the potential to justify the actions of Glade and

the Big Pharma and the con artists in this industry! I can never accept

that a child molester is a good person because s/he was exceptionally kind

to his/her mother and little puppy dogs .. and I can never except that the

inhalation of any odor .. any volatile molecule .. that might allow some

Psychological or Emotional Therapeutic gain to a person can be considered as

being Aromatherapy .. and I will never accept it unless there is universal

agreement on a new .. redefined .. meaning of the term Aromatherapy.

 

This might happen in time .. language is a direct reflection of culture.

My nickname is Butch but I am a male and it has a different meaning today.

We might in time start calling chairs " butt relaxers " .. we now call

janitors and garbage collectors " engineers " of a type. After spending 30

years in the U.S. Army I am NOT willing to go along with the new Politically

Correct terms they have been forced to accept .. to me Stockades are not

Confinement Facilities and Mess Halls are not Dining Facilities and

Dependents are not Family Members .. and when those who wish to redefine or

rename the practice of Aromatherapy are able to do so I might not accept

their changes .. odds are I will be out of the industry by then .. or Under

Snakes. ;-)

 

 

> Fact 4. The definition of an 'essential oil' is a trade fixed term

> mainly based on way outdated French trade definitions that I do not

> accept as valid.

>

 

Gattefosse coined the term " Aromatherapie " back in 1928 .. but there are

many today who would like to redefine the meaning.

 

The term " Hydrosol " has been used for hundreds of years .. though for some

reason Jeanne Rose claims to have first used that term .. I would not

mention this except that I once wrote a long explanation of why she was out

in left field and she didn't accept it .. she still makes this ridiculous

claim. ;-)

 

The term " Essential Oil " was used by alchemists back in Medieval times ..

back when you Limeys were drawing and quartering folks for shooting the

king's deer and such .. there is nothing new about the term. Those who want

to know why they used " Essential " can do a bit of research and learn why ..

this is long enough now and I'm not being paid to write this. ;-)

 

Whether the term " Essential Oil " is valid or not is a matter of opinion ..

but we damn sure have to have a universal meaning or we are opening a door

for the con artists and the Commercial dudes to come into the industry!

 

 

> In my view the only true essential oil is that substance found in the

> glands of plants or resins. That is NOT what you get in your little

> bottles because hot distillation IS an un-natural chemical process.

> That said, it in no way detracts from the usefullness of these " oils " .

>

 

I agree with all the above .. but I fear it will be misunderstood by some of

the readers. Few of those readers will have an opportunity to experience

an EO that does not come in a bottle. And its those EO in the bottle that

have allowed this industry to function .. that has allowed folks to benefit

from the Therapeutic value of EO. Martin .. when you visited me in the

Rose Fields in Isparta, Turkey you will recall that we crushed Damask Rose

(Rosa damascena) blossoms and spread them over our hands and faces and such

... we were spreading Essential Oil on our bodies .. the oil from those Roses

is easily extracted in that manner. But there are many aromatic

botanicals that contain EO but will NOT smell nice if you crush them and rub

them on your body .. and there are many botanicals that have a pleasing odor

when we sniff them .. BUT .. will NOT allow the economic production of a

useable product .. that is why the Fragrance Oil industry is bigger than the

EO industry .. they can REcreate those odors using synthetic or partially

synthetic Nature Identical chemicals.

 

 

> Taking into account the fact that we know thousands of chemicals are

> emitted by plants into the atmosphere, and some research indicating an

> effect on humans in forest airs and gardens, I will stake my

> reputation (for what it's worth) that some of these chemicals do have

> profound effects on both our physiology and our physchology. Will we

> get to find out which chemicals are involved? I kind of doubt it

> because most of the analysis is only for the fragrance trade. So is

> walking in a fragrant garden aromatherapy - you bet it is.

>

 

I will agree that the above is logical .. but I will not agree with

REdefining the terms Essential Oil or Aromatherapy. When I was in the

'Nam we used to stay out in the bush for days when the temperature was in

the upper 90s and the humidity was so high in the jungles that fish could

swim from rice paddy to rice paddy through the air .. but when we came back

for a stand down most of us would rush off to a bar for some " 33 " Beer and

sniff the odors of all those pretty little Vietnamese Bar Gals .. lemme tell

you that this had one helluva profound effect on my psychology and morale

(emotions) and in most cases led to me having some profound physiological

relief.

 

I will agree that we are not likely to ever know which of the many volatile

molecules emitted by aromatic plants or Essential Oils are the key to the

Therapeutic values we are aware of .. nor do I think the Fragrance Trade

will be able to do that anytime soon. The level of sophistication of the

most costly analysis equipment today does not allow us to test more than a

few hundred compounds in Rose Otto .. and it is not inconceivable that a

single compound present in as low as 1/1000th of a percentage could have a

MAJOR impact. This is even more support for use of natural synergies .. for

not using oils that have been manipulated .. like FCF Bergamot. And .. it

is possible that some trace chemicals are not even emitted as volatile

molecules when we crush a Rose blossom .. or when we walk through a Sweet

Pea garden. They may or may not even be extracted via distillation alone

... as you well know, some aromatics require laborious preparation prior to

distillation and the results can be the creation of a chemical compound that

was NOT naturally present in the aromatic when it was alive. There is much

we can not know about this .. we can only make logical assumptions based on

observed effects.

 

 

> Lastly bear in mind that the term 'aromatherapy' is an entirely modern

> one without any real analysis of what it means.

>

 

Language unto itself is mostly modern today .. and if 1928 is to be

considered as modern then I feel a helluva lot younger now cause 1942 was

just a few days ago. ;-)

 

For you new folks .. Martin and I are buddies and we have been butting heads

for close to 15 years now .. we have mutual respect and agree to disagree on

a helluva lotta subjects. Come to think on it .. about the only thing we

ever had a 100% agreement on was that the Rose Fields of Isparta, Turkey are

worth the time and money to visit .. as is the natural earth energy center

at Catalhoyuk (King Midas' Tomb) outside of Ankara .. and the Turkish

pastries are perhaps the finest in the world. On the latter point .. there

is a pastry shop on every corner in Turkey and Martin had me stop at least

twice every kilometer. ;-)

 

 

> Martin Watt

> http://www.aromamedical.com

>

 

Y'all have a good one .. and keep smiling. :-)

 

Butch .. http://www.AV-AT.com <http://www.av-at.com/> .. Purveyor

of Wholesale & Retail GC Tested EO, Tested Hydrosols, Turkish Rose Products

and other nice things shipped from our store/warehouse in Downtown

Friendsville, Maryland .. population 597.

 

PS: I will concede that when the majority of folks decide that the terms

Aromatherapy and Essential Oils should be changed .. and there is at least

51% agreement on this .. then that change can become legitimate. But odds

of that happening are about as good as are the odds or the Democrats picking

a presidential nominee in the next few days. ;-)

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi Butch

Some real food-for-thought here, thank you for opening up the real

issues and implications of being too liberal with terminology when

talking AT.

My first reaction when this question came up was Yes! of course

flowers are AT! But then I'm feeling summer happy as Manchester has

had at least 3 days sunshine with No Rain. The horses are out in the

field tonight for the first time since last August - and I'm

mucking-out-free!! Woo-Hoo!! Though a well rotted muck heap smells a

lot like perfume to me, I'm glad to be free of shifting that equine

excrement at last :-)

Coming back to your post, you made me realise I'm a bit of a hypocrite

because I'm right up the front line shouting against the Glades, dog

shampoos - and all -being called AT. And there I was doing (almost)

the same thing.....

Fragrant flowers do have their own special place - those narcissus in

the field are really wonderful - but you are 100% right, they are not

AT, and extending the word AT to accommodate them is wrong. We DO need

to be consistent in how we use the word Aromatherapy, because if we

aren't, we cant complain when others step in and pinch it.

Thank you for the eye opener and wake up call :-)

LLx

 

 

> If we don't demand some discipline in the field of Aromatherapy we must

> accept that synthetic fragrances sold by Glade and other companies .. the

> plug ins, etc., are a legitimate form of Aromatherapy.

>

> This is where I draw the line I can't cross and its the point I have tried

> to sell in my previous posts. If we are to accept that any odor or

> fragrance that enters the body through the olfactory system .. and causes

> some form of change to our physical, psychological or emotion being .. is in

> fact, AT, then we must accept that adulterated, stretched or manipulated

> natural products .. as well as many synthetic products .. are beneficial ..

> because they are Therapeutic! Therapeutic is a term that means " having or

> exhibiting healing powers " . There are people who are pleased with the

> synthetic odors in elevators or those emitted from the doo dads hanging from

> rear view mirrors .. if they are pleased then to them there is REAL

> Therapeutic value there .. strictly from a psychological or emotional point

> of view. Take it a bit further and we can logically say that if one has

> their head on straight due to being emotionally pacified .. they can also

> gain some physiological Therapeutic benefit from their emotional state.

>

> We have just incorrectly rationalized ourselves into accepting that there is

> no need to pay more for naturals when we can get similar benefits from

> synthetics. I stick to the " incorrectly " rationalized because the here and

> now is not what it is all about .. we must look at the future. Multiple

> Chemical Sensitivities (MCS) has increased 5 fold in the Western world in

> the last 35 years! Many of the so-called allergies today are in fact MCS.