Terminology of Essential Oils for Health, Beauty and Healing

In the latter part of the book, you will come across several terms denoting the properties and characteristics of essential oils, which you are not familiar with. You might find them confusing. Thus, before proceeding to the further chapters of essential oils, you must go through the terminology used in explaining essential oils and their properties.

Anti-spasmodic: Firstly, you must understand what spam is. It is an unpredictable and involuntary contraction of respiratory tracts, nerves,  severe cough, stomachache, cramps, an ache in chest plus many more symptoms. Thus, when we say that an essential oil is antispasmodic, it means that it helps in inducing relief in the affected area of the body. The painful symptoms of spasm are relieved with anti-spasmodic oil.

Carminative: A carminative essential oil is the one which relieves flatulence. It drives out gas from even your intestines. Such oils relax the abdominal and intestinal muscles and make the gas gorge through a descending motion. This is a healthier way of passing gas rather than pushing it up towards the torso. If you are suffering from troubles relating to the excess of gas like stomach ache, indigestion, cramps, headaches, flatulence, high blood pressure, and nausea; you must take help of a carminative essential oil.

Depurative: Depurative oils purify the blood. If an essential oil is depurative, it promotes urination and sweating. Thus, toxins such as uric acid, excess salt, fat, bile, and water are taken out of the body through urination and sweating. Thus, if you are undergoing ailments related accumulation, you must use depurative oil because oils reduce fat and lower blood pressure. It gives you relief from problems like arthritis, rheumatism, renal calculi, and gout.

Diaphoretic: A diaphoretic essential oil induces perspiration. You might think that sweating is an annoying characteristic of our body. But, if you do not sweat, it may cause a lot of problems for you. Sweating is a method employed by our bodies to naturally remove waste products and toxins from our body. Sweat contains water and salt like magnesium chloride and sodium chloride, as well as fats, uric acid, sebum, bile and many other toxic elements, which are harmful to our body. Thus, you must perspire to dispose of these toxic substances to stay away from arthritis and rheumatism. Sweating also helps to increase the ratio of potassium in the blood and reduces blood pressure, reduces fat content and lowers body weight.

Digestive: When an essential oil is digestive in function, it helps in stimulating the emission of digestive juices such as bile and acid into your stomach. Such oils also promote appropriate traveling of food through your intestines. They also help intestinal villi in absorbing digested food.

Diuretic: Oils consisting of this property induce urination in the person suffering from the excess accumulation of liquids like water in t he body, persistent renal failure. People suffering from obesity, renal calculi, hypertension can utilize oils containing diuretic properties. They also help in healing symptoms related to the accumulation of toxic substances in the body like arthritis, gout, and rheumatism. Diuretic property of an essential oil increases the quantity and frequency of urination, which in turn helps to take out excess salts, water and fat (urine consists of 4% of fat) and toxins such as uric acid from the body.

Hepatic: Hepatic property of an essential oil benefits liver. Such oils protect the liver and help in its proper functioning by encouraging secretions of healthy juices from the organ. The oils defend the organ from infections as well as help to heal any internal wounds inside it if any.

Emenagogue: Emmenagogue oils stimulate the flow of blood in the uterus and pelvic area. They are basically used to stimulate menstruation in women, who suffer from obstructed menstruation. Such oils also regulate menstruation. Also, women also experience relief from other symptoms of menstruation like abdominal cramps, headaches, nausea, fatigue and vomiting.

Expectorant: Oils containing this property promote the squirting of sputum through the air passage. People suffering from amassed phlegm in their respiratory tracts must use such oils. They fight infections which cause a cough and cold and thus give relief from congestion in lungs and sinus.

Febrifuge: This property of essential oils helps to lower fever. They fight infections which act as fever causing agents. Most Febrifuge oils have diuretic and diaphoretic properties, which in turn contribute in the removal of waste products and toxins from the body. These oils swift up the recovery time from fever. Also, perspiration is equally helpful in lowering fever.

Nervine: Nervine oils calm down the nerves. They are very effective in healing nervous disorders and afflictions. They also strengthen the nerves. Such oils behave as a stimulant as well as a relaxant all at once, tranquilizes the nervous afflictions. They also relax the nerves in case of hyperactivity and shock. They also stimulate the nerves to make the person more alert and active.

Relaxant: Oils containing this property have a relaxing outcome for the body, mind and nervous system. If you are suffering from anxiety, depression, shock, hypertension and shock, relaxant oils help a lot to calm you down.

Stimulant: Stimulant oils help in fueling blood circulation, enzymes, hormone secretion, and other juices. These oils also encourage metabolic processes like digestion, absorption, excretion, etc. Thus, such oils help in healthy growth of the body in total.

Stomachic: Oils consisting of this property are beneficial for the stomach. They keep the stomach in good health by keeping the proper balance of bile and acids as well as defend from infections. They also treat any kind of ulcers and wounds which occur in the stomach.