Internal Use of Essential Oils #AtoZChallenge

Welcome to my letter I post in the #AtoZChallenge. My series is about aromatherapy and essential oils. Today, I have a quick post for you on the safety (or lack thereof) of using essential oils internally. Are essential oils safe to ingest? The short answer: no!

Essential oils are highly concentrated. This means that, just because you can safely consume, say, orange juice, doesn’t mean orange essential oil is safe to ingest. It is not!

Aren’t essential oils used in food? Yes, they are. For example, candy canes may contain a tiny amount of peppermint essential oil. Candy canes and other industrially-manufactured foods that may contain essential oils, though, are produced in such large amounts that a drop of essential oil doesn’t nearly have the same effect as it would when you added it to your food.

Can you add essential oils to your drinking water, even just a drop? No, don’t! They really aren’t safe to ingest, not even a drop.

So why do certain companies, like Young Living and dōTERRA, advocate the internal use of essential oils? I honestly don’t know. It’s probably a way of making their essential oils sound better than other companies’. In reality though, I wouldn’t trust a company whose safety advice goes against that of major aromatherapy associations such as the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy.

Can you use essential oils in lip products or toothpaste? I’d say no. Again, some cosmetic product manufacturers will put essential oils into their products and some companies say that some of their oils are safe for lip products. However, if you aren’t well-educated on aromatherapy, I recommend you don’t take the risk. I personally don’t! Instead, I will always use food grade flavor oils.