Wintergreen and Sweet Birch

December 4, 2002

Thank you Butch - I have been researching both lately and this is a great amount of good information. I have seen it referenced in some of my books. Some reference, but then don't use in blends. Makes one think. In one book, it's listed as a hazardous oil.

I think I found the reference to the detoxifier. In Ody's new book on Joint Pain, under Birch it says: "In aromatherapy is sometimes used in massage mixtures for muscular pains and it also a cleansing remedy so helps elimination of toxins. The oil can also help remove uric acid from joints so can be valuable in gouty conditions. (Franchomme and Penoel, 1991; Veal, 1998)." Please note she does list cautions under both oils. Feller you spoke to may have heard this from the YL quarter as GY took a lot of his research from the works of Penoel IMO. I just had on another newsletter that I a listing of birch in 2 recipes for muscle pain. She too is a French aromatherapist.

I would love to see the article you wrote if possible.

I also want to share this with a friend of my mine who does holistic footcare. She recommends Tiger Balm like she has stock in the company. And she does it causes she doesn't know any better. I had problems with it cause it's in mineral oil. They only problem is it does work really well. That is the reason for the research. I am trying to make up something that will help with muscle and joint pain.

Are there any eo's that are recommended to work as well as wintergreen and birch, but not be lethal? I appreciate any assistance I can get.

Once again Butch thanks for the great info.

Patty Corapi

In a message dated 12/4/02 12:34:01 PM Eastern Standard Time, butchbsi writes:

Hi y'all,

Reference questions on Wintergreen. Lotta good answers came out on the

list. Lemme also present some parts of a post I made to another list

the other day. Someone asked on another list if they truly existed ..

some claimed to have them in hand. The answer is .. they can exist but

why should one demand and pay for the natural when in the case of Methyl

salicylate its not found in the original plant material in the first

place .. it has to be laboriously processed to obtain it .. and the

enantiomers are the same for the natural or synthetic .. the body uses

both BADLY in the same manner - synthetic or processed from the plant

materials. So its not really so much an issue of natural vs synthetic.

Those few who claim its natural (even when taken from the natural plant)

might be the ones who would also argue that gasoline/petroleum jelly is

natural cause they're taken from an originally organic source. ;-p

-

If we're gonna talk about Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) we might

as well discuss Birch (Betula lenta) because both are generally made of

synthetic Methyl salicylate. Such discussion upsets some folk sometime.

Makes'em wanna shoot the messenger. Anyway .. see below if you want

some facts on the two products above .. and don't shoot me. ;-p

True Birch and Wintergreen are technically available but very expensive.

They've been replaced by synthetics. They are irritants and toxic, and

were replaced because both are 99 percent Methyl salicylate in the first

place so they use a cheaper lab chemical rather than the more expensive

natural process. In fact, in the case of Birch - the Methyl salicylate

is produced by enzymatic destruction of the plant material. Difficult.

Birch and Wintergreen are never less than 98% Methyl salicylate and are

generally 99% plus. There are MANY scientific studies documenting Methyl

salicylate poisoning .. and it's as high as 50% fatal. Several medical

studies say lipid solubility is the reason why it can be so toxic.

Most chemists will say there is no such a thing as "real" Birch and

Wintergreen oils available in the commercial market .. they say this

cause they've never seen one and they're real good at making them. They

can't imagine why anyone would want to pay for the real thing anyway as

it's not practical - there's no reason to because Methyl salicylate is

one of the few chemicals that the body will handle (badly) the same way

be it from a chemist's bottle or the actual production process.

If we do find a pure Birch it will cost more than we would want to pay

because Methyl salicylate isn't even in the original plant material.

The plant has to be soaked for 24 hours in warm water and then the oil

is steam extracted as it decomposes. It's a labor intensive, expensive

process .. and as the Essential Oil is not in the living plant material

anyway it's not a natural oil ... so why not use the synthetic?

Its NOT impossible to find true Birch or Wintergreen - but it's not very

likely you will because substituting Methyl salicylate at a cost of less

than $5 a pound is the norm - and its not unsafe or unethical - unless

the seller claims its the real thing and knows it's not. Most sellers

make such claims. Do you know of any who don't make such claims? Its

generally not (methinks) because they want to cheat you - they just flat

don't know themselves - which I think is a shame! :-(

As for requesting an analysis .. its a waste of time. Why? Because

claims of "real" wintergreen and birch oil are hard to disprove even if

you disregard the economically responsible logic I presented above.

They are difficult to prove because tests to determine authenticity

would require isotopic studies so even chiral analysis really won't

prove anything. The cost of chiral analysis is BIG BUCKS and the better

tests are even BIGGER BUCKS!

Preparations containing Methyl salicylate are effective pain relievers -

and Methyl salicylate is used in many medications for pain. But that

doesn't mean it's safe - doesn't mean you and I can use it effectively

as can the experienced and professional OTC medication manufacturers.

Most folks don't really care why it works - but I heard an "opinion" of

why it's good for joint pain. Feller said it's an effective detoxifier.

Said the build-up of toxins around the joint is part of what causes the

pain, so the use of a detoxifying substance gets toxins moving on down

the road. Not sure if I buy that or not .. just passing it along.

In addition to that, Methyl salicylate is a rubifacient and analgesic.

Check this out for Ben Gay.

http://store./buyinprivate/benorfor4ozt.html

Active ingredients are Methyl Salicyate 18.3% and Menthol 16%.

And this one for Icy Hot.

http://home.intekom.com/pharm/searle/icyhot.html

Each 100 g of Icy Hot has 29.02 g Methyl salicylate and 7.65 g Menthol.

In my opinion, both the above have far too much Methyl salicyclate

because folks suffering from arthritis and other lingering pain are

going to continue to use them .. that's the problem. The effects are

cumulative.

Methyl salicylate is a dermal and oral toxin and there is not one person

in the world of chemistry or medicine that will tell you otherwise, but

that doesn't mean you're gonna fall down and die the first time you use

it. But in concentration, and/or with frequent use, Methyl salicylate

does make people sick, and it can be fatal if the overdose is high. I

want to emphasize "frequent use" because of the cumulative effects of

Methyl salicylate. Don't ask me what is too much .. I don't know .. but

I won't sell them or use them.

I'm not one to hang onto invitro/invivo studies on what does this or

that to a rat .. but I pay attention to data reported by dermatologists

and the medical folks when they report real, live results from real,

live human critters. This data is collected by various agencies.

Methyl salicylate builds up in the body so using the same amount every

day is in effect giving yourself a higher and higher dose. And there is

no disputing that such build up can cause permanent damage to the liver.

I'm not smart enough to tell folks how to use it and I know that many

folks aren't as smart about EOs as I am - so I don't sell it.

I think the bottom line is Yes they smell good and Yes they can help you

with pain and Yes you can get poisoned from arthritis medications - to

include Ben Gay and Icy Hot. You are not gonna be poisoned with very

infrequent use (most likely) but its frequency of use you gotta really

be concerned with. I wrote an article on this once for the Saponifier.

The odds are better of finding an honest politician than of finding a

natural Birch or Wintergreen. And those who would want the natural

product would pay out the nose if they did find it .. and the fact that

they were willing to do so would be proof of their lack of knowledge of

the facts I've reported above .. synthetic or natural will be the same

dadgummed thing.

Y'all keep smiling, Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

December 4, 2002

Hey Butch

> generally not (methinks) because they want to cheat you - they just flat

> don't know themselves - which I think is a shame! :-(

I agree on that one- i dont believe what I have ever seen to be true Sweet

Birch- and probably wouldnt unless I saw the actual distillation.

>

> In my opinion, both the above have far too much Methyl salicyclate

> because folks suffering from arthritis and other lingering pain are

> going to continue to use them .. that's the problem. The effects are

> cumulative.

And this is really sad because most people with arthritis have damaged

livers already- the reason for their current state- and using symptomatic

relief like those products will only make it worse.

I was looking for Sweet Birch for a woman around here who uses it for

inhalations for " clearing " elements in the body(she is a pretty eccentric

" healer " )- the smell of it makes my liver cringe- this woman was also

looking for sassafras! I told her it was toxic and no reputable source had

it...she said " toxic when used how? " I would think that inhaling them is

just as toxic as dermal application... with the current research. I am

taking a class from her and am a bit put off by her " aromatherapy knowledge-

she has several oils that I dont use in her kit- she only uses htem for

inhalation, though(hmm) I like to stick to " non toxic oils " - but then even

they can be toxic if used inappropriately...all essential oils are solvents-

and solvents are toxic to the liver!

Enough for now-

Michelle

December 5, 2002