health benefits Archives - Sophie Bélisle

Essential Oils 101

Fall is my favourite time of year for using essential oils. I mean, I use essential oils year-round, but there’s something about the cooler weather and in-season produce that gets me excited to get comfy and break out my favourite essential oils—especially when used in a diffuser.

Not many people know that essentials oils—all of them—contain antimicrobial activity.[1] They are super-concentrated versions of natural plants, and contain properties that can be useful for healing in so many ways.

While there are endless essential oils to choose from, there are about 10 that I use regularly. Here is that list:

My Favourite Essential Oils

Bergamot

Commonly used for relieving psychological stress and anxiety[2], bergamot essential oil is great to have around as a natural relaxant. This makes it a great essential oil to add to your bath, or enjoy in a diffuser.

Sandalwood

In a 2015 study, researchers acknowledge that sandalwood essential oil “is known for a variety of therapeutic properties including anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-viral and anti-bacterial activities.”[3]

In practical use, the scent of sandalwood can create calmness and lend to feelings of serenity and mental clarity.[4]

Lemon

Lemon essential oil is a fabulous natural disinfectant, purifier, and energizer!

Taken in herb form (fresh lemon), lemon’s powers extend to helping induce bowel movements, killing mouth and throat infections, reducing fevers, and detoxing the body.

Lavender

Known for its calming properties, lavender is a great choice for before bed, or around babies and small children—especially just before naptime.

Lavender essential oil is also great for treating insomnia, relieving stress and tension, and helping eliminate headaches.

Peppermint

Peppermint is a natural pain reliever and anti-inflammatory! In fact, chewing on raw, fresh peppermint leaves can be a great way to relieve inflammatory digestive issues.

Used in the extracted, essential oil form, peppermint can be rubbed gently on the temples to quickly relieve headaches, and, when combined with eucalyptus, is fantastic for tempering mild breathing issues.

Tea Tree

If you’re a parent of school-aged children, you might already know that tea tree oil is a very good lice repellent.[5] Add some oil to your child’s shampoo and/or conditioner, and lice tend to stay away. Combine a few drops with half a cup of water and spray your children’s hats and coats for further protection.

A great side effect of diffusing tea tree oil, is that is helps relieve a stuffy nose.[6]

For more ways to use tea tree oil, click HERE.

Rosewood

Traditionally used for its anti-aging effectiveness, rosewood essential oil can be combined with rosehip oil (a carrier oil—something to dilute it and make it less concentrated) to create a fabulous face treatment. It’s great for acne and wrinkles, alike!

Rosewood essential oils also can help with mild pain relief, boosting the libido, and improving memory.

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a very distinct-smelling essential oil. As mentioned above, it’s fantastic for relieving respiratory issues, and opening constricted airways due to inflammation caused by viruses.

It’s also very good for purifying contaminated air, and repelling insects. But don’t ingest it—eucalyptus is toxic if taken orally.

My Favourite Methods

Bathing

Nothing is more relaxing that taking a hot bath on a cold night, with Epsom salts for detox and the right essential oils. They are not only aromatic and healing in that sense, but they also help to produce beautiful, soft skin. My favourite essential oils to bathe with are bergamot and sandalwood, but you can use almost anything you want. When fighting a respiratory virus, eucalyptus is awesome. (See more on eucalyptus above.)

Remember that a carrier oil (such as olive oil, avocado oil, or apricot oil) or something fatty such as milk (or milk powder) should always be added to the bath with the essential oils, since the concentrated oils may cause skin irritations and/or reactions once they touch the skin, if undiluted.

*Note: bathing with peppermint creates a very strange cold-hot sensation that is not relaxing in the winter, but can be extremely refreshing in the summer. Combine a few drops of peppermint essential oil with another oil of your choice (like tea tree). Add that mixture to a carrier oil, then add to your bath just before getting in.

Diffusing

Diffusing is the practice of evaporating water into the air that is scented with essential oil. It creates a little more humidity (which is great for dry, winter air), and a pleasant scent that can be very healing and anti-bacterial. (Yes—diffusing with the right essential oils—like lemon—can actually help clean the air!)

First of all, I love the diffusers from Saje. They look nice, they work well, and they last forever. You can use any oil you want in these; the smell they produce is gorgeous and perfect for adding clean and health aroma to your home.

Diffusers are especially helpful during cold and flu season, when respiratory issues and colds prevail. Oils that I use for better bronchial breath, include a combination of peppermint and eucalyptus.

My favorite oil to promote sleep and relaxation (which is also helpful during cold and flu season!) is lavender.

Cleaning

Mix a few drops of lemon, lavender, peppermint, and tea tree oil together with some white vinegar.[9] This aromatic mixture cleans everything from floors to counters, and even clothing!

Using essential oils to clean versus conventional, commercially-prepared products is non-comparable. Commercially-prepared products are full of toxins that are more harmful to your environment than helpful!

By making your own products, you reduce your family’s toxic load—which is kind of amazing.

Beautifying

As with commercially-prepared cleaning products, commercially-prepared cosmetics and beauty products are generally unhealthy, as well. (Yes—despite being advertised as safe.)

Canada’s David Suzuki has a foundation that has created a list of dirty cosmetic ingredients. They’ve also compiled a list of safe and less-harmful ones. But if you like to make your own, I have a great nighttime face oil recipe for you:

My favorite mix I make for a great face oil, is one of rosehip oil (which is a carrier oil), mixed with rosewood and rose otto (both essential oils). For a quarter cup of rosehip oil, I add approx 5 drops of each of the two essential oils (10 drops in total).

This lovely-smelling facial oil is super beneficial at night for its anti-aging and healing properties, but remember, everyone is a little bit different when it comes to scent, so you may have to adjust my recipe so that it works for YOU.

Basically, just have fun with essential oils! Make sure they’re as pure as possible (many contain fillers that really dilute their effectiveness), and try a bunch until you find what you like. Stay well, and if you need to contact me with your questions, comments, or inquiries, please do so!

Also, if you’re interested in my homemade body scrub recipes (which use essential oils), you can find those HERE.

Merci!

References

[1] http://jac.oxfordjournals.org/content/47/5/565.full

[2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25824404

[3] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26026073

[4] https://draxe.com/sandalwood-essential-oil/

[5] http://homeremediesforlife.com/tea-tree-oil-for-head-lice/

[6] http://everydayroots.com/tea-tree-oil-uses

[7] Jennifer Browne. “The Good Living Guide to Medicinal Tea.” Skyhorse Publishing, 2015.

[8] Jennifer Browne. “The Good Living Guide to Medicinal Tea.” Skyhorse Publishing, 2015.

[9] http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/queen-of-green/faqs/cleaning/does-vinegar-kill-germs/?gclid=CJqJspCeis8CFRKVfgod-UMIvA

Health Benefits of Vitamin D

It may finally be summer, but in Ottawa, we sure wait for it for a long time! The positive psychological effects that the sun has on our brains is well-known, but what about the psychological and physiological effects of vitamin D? The health benefits of vitamin D are incredible, and we should know what they are.

And what is vitamin D, anyway?

Turns out, vitamin D is not actually a vitamin—it’s a hormone, and our bodies make it when our skin is exposed to the sunshine. In areas of the world where sunshine is not a guaranteed luxury all the time (Ottawa), this means that our bodies don’t naturally make this very necessary hormone on a continual, consistent basis, and that can be detrimental to our health.

Here are the top 5 health benefits of vitamin D, and reasons why they play an important role in our health and wellness:

Vitamin D Makes Us Happy

Commonly known as the ‘happy hormone’, vitamin D contributes to feelings of joy and fulfillment. The Vitamin D Council explains:

“Exactly how vitamin D works in the brain isn’t fully understood. One theory is that vitamin D affects the amount of chemicals called monoamines, such as serotonin, and how they work in the brain.5 Many anti-depressant medications work by increasing the amount of monoamines in the brain. Therefore, researchers have suggested that vitamin D may also increase the amount of monoamines, which may help treat depression.”

Vitamin D Strengthens Our Bones, Teeth, Nails, and Hair

When your body properly absorbs sufficient amounts of vitamin D, you are able to sustain normal growth and development of bones, teeth, nails and hair. When you don’t get enough, the opposite occurs.

(If you’ve noticed excessive hair loss, brittle nails, and porous teeth, you may just need to speak to a dietician about increasing your dosage of vitamin D!)

Vitamin D Helps Prevent Disease

According to Healthline, vitamin D is key in preventing certain diseases, and reducing your risk for others. These include:

Reducing your risk of developing multiple sclerosis
Decreasing your chance of developing heart disease
Greatly reducing your likelihood of contracting the flu and other viruses

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Vitamin D Assists in Weight Loss

According to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, participants who took both vitamin D and calcium supplements in conjunction with one another were able to lose more weight than subjects who took placebo pills.

Vitamin D Enhances Athletic Performance and Recovery

“In a 2011 study conducted by the Asian Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers concluded that “vitamin D may play a significant role in muscle structure and function.”

By improving muscle recovery after exercise, vitamin D works well in the role of enhancing athletic performance and helping the body heal quickly after a workout. So if you’re an athlete, vitamin D might be one of the most important supplements for you to consider taking.

And there you have it! Although there are many health benefits of vitamin D, the 5 above are the most important, and the ones you should know about. If you don’t think you receive enough vitamin D in your life, consider taking a quality supplement and eating foods that are fortified with vitamin D.

If you’re not sure how much to take or what foods have vitamin D typically added to them, please ask me! I might be able to help you. Contact me HERE.

Stay well, health and wellness community!

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The Many Health Benefits of Essential Oils