So readers I am back again with yet another blog about insight to therapeutic properties. Hope you had a look on my previous article where I promised to dedicate one whole article explaining about therapeutic properties. So let me start from scratch.
What is therapeutics?
Therapeutics is a branch of medicine that specifically deals with treatment of disease. Hope you can relate therapy with therapeutics. Therapeutic involves chemicals which affect any course of conditions, diseases or syndromes.
These generally help to benefit health of an individual. You must have come across many sorts of medication that helps in one way or another. As the increasing lifestyle diseases made people rely on blood pressure medication or used to treat infection, these all provide therapeutic benefits.
So should we shift our discussion to therapeutic properties of essential oils? I hope you all want to read ahead.
Therapeutic Properties of Essential oils
Now we know much about essential oils and I don’t feel to iterate it again. But let me tell you essential oils are not something new that we have come across. These plant products have been exploited by ancient people since long time. They were recognized for their therapeutic properties and used appropriately. And what one should know is that the journey that started years before is still of paramount importance.
Yes, that’s the beauty of India. Essential oils are loaded with therapeutic benefits in them. Human exposure to essential oils through diet or environment is widespread.
Okay let me make you understand what actually I meant with therapeutic property.
It happens at times that we smell some fragrance and feel that oh! Wow it smells wonderful. The fragrance we smell creates calm and relax atmosphere that we acknowledge by appreciating its aroma
This serenity is something that is related to therapeutic benefit. Mental health is supreme, hope you agree me on this. These properties are reason why essential oil is so prevalent in aromatherapy. Essential oils contain chemical compounds that trigger emotions because of the properties it hold. Let me now jot some therapeutic properties to make it crystal clear to you.
- Anti-inflammatory: You all must have heard the term inflammation. Inflammation is body’s immune response to an irritant or foreign substance. The symptoms of inflammation include redness, swelling and pain.
And trust me inflammation is really painful if not treated properly.
Anti-inflammatory substances in general provide treatment to such conditions. As per researches, Essential oil have tendency to act against these symptoms of inflammation. It is believed that Ginger, thyme, Turmeric, Clove etc have anti-inflammatory properties in them.
- Antioxidant: Antioxidants are those substances that act against oxidation reactions. I believe you all know something about this; it is so popular term these days. These oxidation reactions take place in body and results in formation of free radicals. These free radicals are unstable molecules that cause damage to cells. Antioxidants help to prevent or slow this damage to cells. Essential oils are blessed with compounds that possess such activity.
Just think, incorporating such oils will be so beneficial.
Researchers suggest that Cinnamon, clove, Rosemary, Thyme oil etc have antioxidant property in them.
- Anti-spasmodic: Now you can probably what it means. These are drugs or agents that help to relief from muscle spasms. Though it is short-lived but really painful. Oils with this quality include orange, nutmeg, peppermint oil etc.
- Digestive: Yes, having digestive property is considered really critical. Good digestion means good health. This simply correlates with good performance in personal or professional front.
But please hold; with digestion I don’t mean that you should digest essential oils. That is surely not recommended. There is some other ways by which essential oil aids in digestion. I am going to discuss the same in coming segment, till then you all keep thinking. Oils containing such features are ginger oil, lemongrass oil, lemon oil etc.
- Energy: The exhilarating aroma of essential oils is such that it increases the inflow of positive energy. People often felt that the aroma of oils helped them to overcome feeling of stress and depression. Energy is again correlated with enhanced productivity at workplace. Citrus family oils are best in this approach which includes lemon oil, grapefruit oil or orange oil.
Well therapeutic properties of essential oil are a long list and I am totally not in mood to make my readers bore, so would like to head on to topic ways to utilize these properties.
WAYS TO UTILIZE THERAPEUTIC PROPERTIES
These properties can be utilized by the action of essential oils. These essential oils can enter human body through 3 different ways which is listed below:
- Inhalation: This simply involves inhaling essential oils but with safety measures. Because of essential oils volatile nature they can be easily inhaled via respiratory tract and lungs. From this it can get distributed in the bloodstream, and starts its action. It is often considered as most rapid mode of entry.
- Ingestion: Oral ingestion of essential oil can be done but only after consultation with doctor. This is because of the potential toxicity of some oils.
- Absorption: Absorption through skin cells is an important factor as it helps to provide relief from pain. Essential oil compounds are fat-soluble and thus have the ability to cross the membrane of the skin.
So I should now believe that you have idea about therapeutic properties and ways to utilize it.
Thank you for reading till the end.
What has been your experience of the therapeutic properties of Essential Oils.Share it in the comments below. Let’s Make it more engaging comments. I will try to answer as many query of yours as possible.
Sharmistha
