The weather is warming up and I'm tending to a tiny garden on our boat. Just love the smell of basil.

Did you enjoy the essential oils 101 class last month? You can return to it here if you skipped class and want to catch up. Because today you get lesson number two : the history of essential oils.

I would like to put these lessons into a free e-book format for future subscribers but need your feedback at the E-N-R Facebook Page Let me know how big of a fan you are!

You'll also find a timely article by Barbara Rozen in this newsletter about the swine flu outbreak and what you can do with your oils right now to protect yourself.

Stay diligent in your oil use. Don't let them sit on the shelves!!

Yvonne Lewis
www.Essential-Natural-Remedies.com
Tweet Me: www.twitter.com/yvonne_lewis
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* * * * * * * Disclaimer * * * * * *

The information provided here is for educational purposes only and is not intended as diagnosis, treatment, or prescription for any disease. The decision to use, or not to use, any of this information is the sole responsibility of the reader.

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In this issue:

1. Essential Oils 101 - Class Two
2. The dreaded Swine Flu, and What YOU can do

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1) Essential Oils 101 - Class 2

So you learned last time that essential oils are very complex substances that can not be duplicated in the lab! They are pressed or distilled from all parts of a plant and are not oily but have volatile properties.

We left off where the fragrance of the oils affect your brain when you take a whiff of them. You don't even have to take them out of the bottle. AROMA-THERAPY!

You had your chemistry lesson, now it's time for
A HISTORY LESSON: mind you, this is fun and fascinating history.

Alabaster jars found at King Tutankhamon's tomb (see the interesting looking vase in the bottom of the picture)in 1922 still held essential oil resins in good condition. I guess you don't need to worry how long your essential oils will keep if stored correctly!

The recent find in 2006 of tomb KV63 (King Tut's was KV62) by Dr. Otto Schaden, is revealing even more about the sacred embalming process. A fully intact large cotton swab tool, covered in oil, used for embalming, was the first of its kind ever found.

This picture shows the young King Tut receiving an oil-application from his wife Queen Ankhesenamun.

The famous Ebers Papyrus, found in 1817,dates back to 1500 B.C. and gives us over 800 recipes for herbal remedies. Other scrolls found describe the success of treating over 80 different diseases with various plants.

This time also provides the earliest examples of the Egyptian "Book Of The Dead". A collection of scrolls and tablets found in many tombs with instructions for embalming (70 day process) using myrrh and infusing organs with sandalwood.

Ancient Greece and Rome 800 B.C - 455 A.D.
The Greeks and Romans loved using perfumes and scented oil to purify their temples and political buildings and squares. They diffused aromatics and resins throughout the cities and baths, also to ward off disease. Romans perfumed themselves several times a day and incense was widely used.

The Old and New Testaments of the Bible give over 200 wonderful examples of the use of oils, especially Frankincense, Myrrh, Cassia, Spikenard and Cinnamon. The references speak of ointments and incense and give recipes for a holy anointing oil.

Around 64 A.D. a Mr. Dioscorides, wrote a fabulously big herbal book, in five volumes, called De Materia Medica. It describes about a 1000 remedies using 600 different plants. This book remained in use until 1600 A.D.

During the Middle Ages- Use of essential oils and herbs as medicine was often surrounded with superstition and with the huge growth in population in cities, along came the many plagues.

One notable plague, the Black Plague of 1348 was responsible for creating our very own Thieves blend of essential oils. It shows that spice traders knew of uses for certain herbs to ward off disease:

The history of the Thieves essential oil blend This blend was created based on the account of four thieves in France who robbed the victims of the killer plague. They did not get sick themselves because they rubbed cloves, rosemary, cimmamon and other spices on their bodies and clothes. Once captured they were offered a lighter sentence in exchange for their secret recipe. Which was then posted in all the town squares.

The Arab cultures can be credited for linking the past and present of the essential oil industry. The Arabian scholar Avicenna (981-1037 A.D.)developed the distillation method of extracting oils from plants.

I photographed this example of an early model copper distiller at a convention in 2002.

In 1907 he and several collegues began studying essential oils. His book Aromatherapy (1937) describes his famous accident in the laboratory, where an explosion set him aflame. After dousing the flames by rolling around in the grass he wrote that "both my hands were covered with rapidly developing gas gangrene". After just one rinse with lavender essence he noticed the gasification of the tissue stopped.

Dr. Gattefosse shared his knowledge with Jean Valnet, a medical doctor who used essential oils during World War II. With antibiotics running out he was able to save many soldiers by substituting essential oils.

Two of Dr. Valnets students expanded on his work, and in 1990 two more medical doctors from France wrote the first reference book of over 270 essential oils.

Dr. Daniel Penoel (whom I've had the honor to listen to at lecture) and Pierre Franchomme co-autored L'aromatherapie exactement, still a primary resource for learning the antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties in essential oils.

Research into essential oils continues and is reaching an all time high as we search for substances that can affect the diseases that have become immune to antibiotics. Like MRSA and new strains of tuberculosis and the flu.

A few historic facts about the extraction of essential oils. Methods for extracting fragrance and oils from plants were very crude at first.

It started off with enfleurage: Raw plant material was crushed and mixed with olive oil and animal fats, then placed in a wool cloth. The cloth was heated which pulled the essential oil out of the plants and into the waxes. The cloth was then pressed to extract the essential oil.

Flower petals were pressed into waxes and later extracted in a similar way. Today the extraction of Neroli and Jasmin is still performed in this manner since these flowers are to delicate to distill. These are called expressed oils.

Plant materials were also boiled creating fragrant waters.

Plants were cold pressed and mixed with goat fats, which the Egyptians carried with them throughout the day in the form of cones, that would melt on their bodies and clothes with the heat of the day.

Plants and flowers were soaked in alcohol .

Finally steam distillation was invented in the Middle East around 1000 A.D.and is being perfected by Gary Young at the largest distillery in the United States.

But we will leave the art of distillation for next month. See you then!

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2) The Swine Flu Outbreak

The following information was written and compiled by Barbara Rozen:

Hello Everyone,

If you haven’t been hiding under a rock in the last several days, you're undoubtedly aware of the recent Swine Flu outbreak in Mexico. And with 50 confirmed cases in five states, the U.S. government has declared a national health emergency. In fact, cases have now been reported in 7 countries as the virus jumps borders via air travel. The whole world is on alert and taking this very seriously.

( notes from Yvonne: as of 4/30/09 over 100 cases have been confirmed in 16 states in the US. The WHO just changed the name to influenza A or the H1N1 virus.)

While I am not an advocate of buying into the scare rhetoric of conspiracy theorists who use paranoia-inducing language to get people fired up, an ounce of prevention is certainly worth a pound of cure. And I’m reasonably certain that being scared and stressed out doesn’t help in any way.

Whatever the truth is about the roots of the health threats that are confronting us today, it is prudent to be proactive by taking steps to naturally boost our immune systems and ameliorate stress.

This is the area where Young Living really shines. What could be more effective or more pleasant than using Young Living’s therapeutic grade essential oils?!

Young Living offers so many oil-based immune system and stress reduction support products, that it’s not difficult to find something that works and that you are also attuned to.

Some basics that come to mind are:

The whole line of Thieves products, and in particular:

• Thieves Spray and Thieves Waterless Hand Cleaner – Don’t leave home without it…really! Frequent hand-washing is one of the most highly recommended preventive measures for keeping the flu at bay and nothing does it better than Thieves. You can also use the spray on door knobs and other surfaces.
• Thieves Oil – Use on feet before bed and when leaving the house.
• Thieves Household Cleaner – For countertops, floors, laundry and more.
• NingXia Red – Great immune system booster.
• Internal Oil Use -- Longevity Capsules, Inner Defense Capsules, Thieves in capsules, make your own formulas.
• Oregano Oil and other potent and proven anti-viral singles, plus great blends like Immunpower, Exodus II, Egyptian Gold and Raven.

And remember, if your oils are sitting on a shelf, they are not working for you. It’s so important to use the oils consistently for prevention and aggressively for acute situations. May the oils be with you!

With many blessings for your health and well-being,

Barbara

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From The Essential Oil Desk Reference, 4th Edition, page 246

INFLUENZA

FIRST RECOMMENDATIONS: Ravansara, ImmuPro

Single Oils: Blue cypress, mountain savory, oregano, Eucalyptus radiate, peppermint, clove, tea tree

Blends: ImmuPower, Di-Gize, Exodus II, Thieves, Inner Defense ParaFree, Essentialzyme, Polyzyme

EO APPLICATION METHODS:

Ingestion: IN RICE MILK, 2-4 times a day IN CAPSULES 00 size, 1 cap, 3 times a day

Inhalation: DIRECT: 2-4 times a day

Topical: DILUTE 50-50, 2-4 drops on chest, stomach or lower back, as needed, 2 times daily. RAINDROP Technique, 1-2 times weekly COMPRESS: warm, over lower abdomen 1-2 times daily.

INFLUENZA RECIPE FOR BATH:

2 drops Eucalyptus radiate 6 drops frankincense 3 drops blue cypress 6 drops spruce 15 drops ravensara 1 drop wintergreen

Stir above essential oils thoroughly into quarter cup Epsom salts or baking soda, and then add salt/oil mixture to hot bath water while tub is filling. Soak in hot bath until the water cools.

DIETARY SUPPLEMENTATION: Essentialzyme, Polyzyme, ParaFree, Digest & Cleanse Softgels, Exodus