Does Aromatherapy Offer Health Benefits? Unlikely

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Here is another example of a study with incorrect protocol. I earnestly support Natural Haven with the comment that all essential oils are not the same. That's like saying Crisco oil is as good as butter or inexpensive Wesson oil is as good as cold pressed olive oil straight from a well taken care of olive grove. It never ceases to amaze me that individuals don't do their homework and then, because they are some kind of doctor, feel entitled enough to make statements on something they obviously know nothing about. I really wish that would change!
http://healingperspectives.younglivingworld.com
Sarah

Sarah James of NJ 12:32AM October 13, 2010

I would like to add that the therapeutic use of essential oils (aromatherapy) for pain reduction is often administered topically, not just through ambient inhalation. The analgesic effects of essential oils are received mainly through absorption into the skin and deeper tissues. And, in this day an age, can't we agree that "enhanced positive mood" is a "solid health effect"? We know that happier people are in general healthier....

Nicole of CA 7:19PM May 10, 2010

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irwin naturals acai berry cleanse 14 day tablets of 5:04AM May 08, 2010

I am a Aromatherapist and have used the said oils and got great results with my clients.
As Rachel mention " there are countless studies listed on PubMed done by researchers at Universities proving the effectiveness of many different essential oils." This proves to me that the quality of oil is your problem. A therapeutic quality oil is what you should be looking for. Perhaps you should do a little more research on the quality of your oils.

Natural Haven 12:30PM April 11, 2010

So, there are countless studies listed on PubMed done by researchers at Universities proving the effectiveness of many different essential oils. Yet, with little information given as to the size of the study or how it was conducted, and basing your information on only two essential oils, which may have been of very low quality, you're going to say that essential oils have no medical benefits? Perhaps you should do a little more research.... into research that has been done scientifically.

Rachel Cook of CO 12:06PM March 18, 2010

My thoughts are who funded this research? Who determined the study parameters? There have been numerous articles written and posted on the web regarding the efficacy of essential oils for certain aliments. But I don't remember any of them stating that essential oils are great for alleviating the effects of sticking you body appendage into ice water. What is the real purpose of this study, other than to discredit the essential oil field and create doubt.
The author seems credible with her biography. Janice Kiecolt-Glaser holds the S. Robert Davis Chair of Medicine as well as the title of Distinguished University Professor at the Ohio State University College of Medicine. A clinical psychologist and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, she is an authority on stress and its effects on health. She has authored more than 200 articles, chapters, and books in the area of psychoneuroimmunology, most in collaboration with Ronald Glaser, M.D. Their groundbreaking research has shown that stress can slow wound healing, diminish the strength of immune responses to vaccines, enhance susceptibility to infectious illness, boost allergy symptoms, and reactivate latent viruses. She is among the world's most highly cited scientific authors, a group comprising less than one half of 1 percent of all publishing researchers.
But to put a study together such as one written is not only unscientific but not worthy of commenting on.

Mark Theno of MN 2:10PM March 17, 2010

I concur with Marge! Your 'study' is hardly deserving of publication. There are countless studies, not to mention millions of aromatherapy users, that have proven the effectiveness of specific oils and the compounds within for specific applications. Aromatherapy has been accepted within European medicinal practice for DECADES, but then, they cultivated their clinical data by performing experiments that actually make sense!
This article is nothing more than anti-aromatherapy propaganda. With one hand pharmaceutical companies rape nature for healing compounds while with the other they seek to dismiss nature from containing any value at all.
"Don't expect the good smells to work like a drug?" When was the last time you SNIFFED an aspirin? The compounds within natural oils are active ingredients in drugs, but they are applied in a way that makes sense. Aromatherapy covers topical and some internal (although not in the US) use of essential oils for their benefits, not just inhalation.
Stop insulting people with this kind of dribble. If you can't do studies that are any better than that, then go get a real job!

Michael Thompson of TX 12:33PM March 17, 2010

Yes, aromatherapy offers many benefits. To say that a rather bizarre experiment had no positive effect shows only that inhaling lavender or lemon oils will not make keeping your foot in ice water more comfortable. Now, would you care to cite the research showing that Lavender oil helps calm agitation in elderly dementia patients, or that it is a known relaxant and anti-insomnia treatment; or the studies showing how inhaling Lemon Oil has been proven to improve mental focus and memory retention. Lavender, applied topically, has been proven to relieve the pain of some migraines. Perhaps your article would be more accurate if you interpreted the research properly; ie, neither Lavender nor Lemon Essential oil was effective under these specific conditions.

Marge Clark of TN 9:24PM March 16, 2010

Yes, aromatherapy offers many benefits. To say that a rather bizarre experiment had no positive effect shows only that inhaling lavender or lemon oils will not make keeping your foot in ice water more comfortable. Now, would you care to cite the research showing that Lavender oil helps calm agitation in elderly dementia patients, or that it is a known relaxant and anti-insomnia treatment; or the studies showing how inhaling Lemon Oil has been proven to improve mental focus and memory retention. Lavender, applied topically, has been proven to relieve the pain of some migraines. Perhaps your article would be more accurate if you interpreted the research properly; ie, neither Lavender nor Lemon Essential oil was effective under these specific conditions.

Marge Clark of TN 9:24PM March 16, 2010