Cold Season Herbal Defense — Part 2, section 1: Essential Oils

Last week I shared some tips on how to get the sleep and rest you need to fend off unwanted flu season bugs. This week, I’ll go through a few more herbs for immune system support and make my way to the herbs for when it’s too late and you are ALREADY sick. These herbs don’t just mask your symptoms, they help you help yourself by stimulated the various systems of your body that are functioning sub par. By supporting your body, you strengthen your natural defenses, get over the cold sooner, and bonus – are less likely to catch something next time!

Herbs have been in use as medicine for centuries and in many ways have served as the foundation for modern medicine. Here at the house we use herbs as teas, tinctures, and essential oils. (For what its worth, our health is also aided by the use of probiotics in the form of homemade kombucha and kefir, as well as unrefined coconut oil and high quality cod liver oil on a daily basis.) In the last month, several guests have come and gone through our home only to find out later that they were just getting sick at the time they visited. In our church alone, it seems everyone is ill, one person even has a terrible case of swine flu. Yet the 8 of us have so far remained unscathed by the viruses and bacterias that have made their way around us. (Lacey is constantly reminding us to take an essential oil called “Thieves”, a blend that has been shown to kill airborne viruses and bacterias when diffused.) Is this really just a coincidence? Of course not.

So this particular post takes a look at herbs in the form of essential oils that can be used for colds/flus/infections. My roomate is the essential oil guru, but the more I hear testimonials and read the studies, the more convinced I am of how powerful these oils can be as medicine. As one article put it:

The household, medicinal, and prescriptive uses of essential oils are described in some of the most ancient records known. The history of herbal science, as reconstructed from a huge body of public and private records, chronicles man’s development and application of the arts of medicine, healing, disease prevention, and pest management. … essential oils continue to be used, today, in each of these arts, and for a myriad of diverse applications. In light of all this, it seems paradoxical that herbal science is not championed–or even respected–everywhere, or by everyone. Unenlightened “experts” often equate the use of essential oils to quackery, old wives tales, and the brews of witches. In fact, some of our most authoritative professional associations, particularly in the fields of medicine and pest management, have lent support to that equation despite a mountain of easily verified facts that tells quite another story. In medicine alone, over 25 percent of today’s most valuable prescription and over-the-counter drugs contain, as key ingredients, herbal extracts.

This article explains:

A study (J Infect Dis, Dec 1990; 162(6):1277-82) showed that people who take aspirin and Tylenol (acetaminophen) suppress their body’s ability to produce antibodies that destroy the cold virus. This actually causes the body to take longer to fight the cold and it accounts for any secondary infections and post-nasal drip. …

Colds can be contracted as the result of contact with more than 200 different viruses. However, among all of the cold viruses, the rhinovirus and the coronavirus cause the majority of colds. Each time you have a cold, it is caused by a distinct virus – e.g. adenovirus, rhinovirus, parainfluenza virus, and coronavirus. Viruses are much smaller than bacteria. They are tiny clusters of genetic material surrounded by a protein ‘wrapper’. Medical science currently does not have any drugs that can kill these viruses. Antibiotics, including penicillin, do not have any effect on viruses. They are only used to treat secondary bacterial infections that can further complicate the effects of a cold. While orthodox medicine does not have the answer for colds and ‘flu’, nature does – it comes in the form of pure organic unadulterated Therapeutic Essential Oils. Why? Because they are made up of very high frequency molecules (ranging from 52MHz to 320MHz) and contain nature’s wisdom and power to raise the body’s frequency and to assist our immune system in fighting viral invasions.

For greater clarity, organic Therapeutic Essential Oils are not the same as everyday aromatherapy oils, which are produced for fragrance and other purposes.

We now know that, in order to prevent colds, we need our immune system to be working in top gear and our overall body frequency to be in its optimal range. Our optimal range of body frequency can be lowered by negative thoughts/emotions, stress, blood chemistry imbalance, and ingested chemicals, which allow us to contract colds and viruses in the first place. Research has found that the high frequency of essential oils creates an environment where bacteria, fungi and viruses cannot survive. Essential oils provide a high frequency environment for the body.

Researchers have found that some essential oils – oregano, thyme and rosewood oils, in particular – create an autolytic (destruction of cells and tissues by enzymes produced by the cells, themselves) reaction in organisms, including streptococcus pneumonia. Dr. Diane Horne of Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, told the 98th general assembly of the American Society of Microbiology about the serendipitous discovery of the impact of essential oils on cells such as streptococcus pneumonia (bacteria that causes a very serious type of pneumonia in children with sickle cell disease).

When Dr. Horne’s co-researcher was spraying aromatic oils in the laboratory, Dr. Horne looked at the streptococcus pneumonia bacteria that she was preparing for another experiment and noticed that its cells were literally falling apart. Dr. Horne and co-worker Sue Chao, of the Young Living Essential Oils Company of Payton, Utah, tested the autolyzing properties of 74 essential oils and discovered that the best results occurred with oregano, thyme and rosewood and that intermediate inhibition of the pathogens was achieved with cinnamon oil and clove oil. Dr. Horne pointed out that the oils also proved to be a powerful remedy against E. coli (a bacterium and virus in one) and several species of fungi.

What these tests revealed is that essential oils, such as oregano, clove, cinnamon, rosewood and rosemary, are so powerful that viruses and bacteria cannot survive in their presence. That is, the viruses and bacteria are destroyed when they come into contact with these therapeutic essential oils.

Therapeutic grade oils like those by Young Living, (which I and my roomate happen to distribute for your money saving convenience ). One thing on my next order is a new daily use kit that is formulated with oils to support the immune system, including thieves, here. Another major oil for viruses is Oregano. Yup, this isn’t just a nice tasting dry herb for your Italian dish, folks. Same thing with clove (which is in Thieves, so there ya go.)

In 1996, YM. Siddiqui and colleagues examined the antiviral actions of oregano and clove oils against RNA and DNA viruses. The antiviral powers of oregano oil were made clear. A look through the microscope showed that the viruses’ outer protective membrane “disintegrated” after exposure to the oregano oil.

In another 1996 paper, which appeared in the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry, researchers tested extracts from oregano oil against eight strains of bacteria, such as: Escherichia coli (otherwise affectionately known as E. coli, and sometimes found in poorly packaged juice products and elsewhere), Salmonella, staph, Bacillus and other nasties. The findings? The essential oil of oregano was “extremely bactericidal” (antibacterial), even at very dilute concentrations. Even watered down preparations caused “considerable decrease in bacterial growth rates.”

Toward the end of 1998, Dutch researchers looked at the effectiveness of one of oregano’s most potent compounds, carvacrol (mentioned earlier), against the food-borne baddy, Bacillus cereus. The results showed that the compound was effective against this bug in a dose-dependent manner – from total block on growth (for the top concentration) to reducing spread of the Bacillus bacteria (for the lowest).

Also in 1998, another group of researchers published their results in the Journal of Essential Oil Research in which they examined the anti germ powers of five aromatic Sicilian plants: laurel, sage, rosemary, oregano and coriander. While all of the plant extracts showed impressive germ killing (antimicrobial) effects, the “highest and broadest activity was shown by the oil of oregano.”

Stay tuned for Part 2, Section 2: Herbals for Colds and Flus: decoctions, teas, tinctures…

Further, if you are interested in ordering some essential oils yourself, feel free to order through Lacey’s distributor line to get deep discounts.