The Truth About Cancer

12 Ways to Use Essential Oils For Healing & Health

By Marnie Clark
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One of the things new users of essential oils ask most frequently is “What do I do with them? I just bought three new bottles and I have no idea how to use essential oils, other than take the caps off and sniff them.” If you fall into this category, this article will offer some great tips on how to use essential oils as part of your healing practice and general health improvement.

Phytochemicals: the Healing Compound in Essential Oils

It is interesting to learn that the very thing that gives an essential oil its characteristic smell is also what provides that oil with its healing ability. There can be hundreds of phytochemicals (plant based chemicals) within each drop of essential oil. Science is just beginning to learn exactly how each phytochemical works in the human body. Having said that, there is still much we do not know!

These phytochemicals have funny names like terpenes, aldehydes, esters, ketones, phenols, oxides, sesquiterpenes, and many more. Each one works differently in the body.

For instance, ketones (found in lavender essential oil, patchouli, hyssop) stimulate cell regeneration, liquefy mucous, and have calming properties.

Aldehydes (found in lemongrass essential oil, melissa, and citronella) tend to be highly anti-viral and anti-inflammatory.

Sesquiterpenes (found in cedarwood, sandalwood, and German chamomile, to name a few) are known for reversing inflammation. Sesquiterpenes are also one of the only substances that can cross the protective blood-brain barrier and increase oxygen to the brain. They can also reverse DNA damage and delete it from cellular memory. As a result, essential oils that contain sesquiterpenes could be quite beneficial for cancer patients.

Essential Oil Quality Varies

The phytochemical make-up of an oil can vary from plant to plant, even on the same farm. Growing conditions, harvesting methods, and even the time of day that the plant is harvested can have an effect on the phytochemical content of an oil. For instance, ylang ylang flowers are best collected between midnight and 9:00 am in the morning. That is when the essential oil content in the flowers is at its highest and best.

So why am I sharing all of this with you? Not only because it’s interesting, but also to underscore the need to ensure that your essential oils, particularly if you are using them for regaining your health, come from a reputable company.

Make sure the essential oils you purchase are organically grown. Be sure that the company knows how to properly distill each of the oils they sell, and that they do not use chemicals during the extraction process. A good essential oil company will also check each essential oil batch using gas chromatography to ensure that each batch has the proper phytochemical constituents. Don’t just rely on a label that says “pure.” These days, that just isn’t good enough.

12 Great Ways to Use Essential Oils

#1. Bottle Inhalation Method – Begin by holding the essential oil bottle about the level of your heart. Waft the bottle a little, moving it ever closer to your nose. Deeply breathe in the aroma, gently at first. If you like it and it seems appropriate, breathe more deeply. When you breathe in an essential oil through the nose, the tiny oil molecules (the vapor) contain all of the same properties that the oil contains. They interact with the olfactory organ and the brain. Oil molecules inhaled through nose or mouth also move into the lungs and interact with the lungs and respiratory system.

#2. Hand Inhalation Method – Drip a few drops of essential oil onto your palms, rub them together to activate the oil, and cup them over the mouth and nose. As with the Bottle Inhalation Method, breathe gently at first and then if it seems appropriate, breathe the oil in deeply − as if you were dragging the oil up over your brain. Be sure to leave your eyes out of this as essential oils do not belong anywhere near the eyes. (Warning: If you do happen to accidentally get an essential oil into your eyes, dilute immediately with a carrier oil like sweet almond or olive, never water. It will burn like crazy but will ease in a few minutes.)

#3. Terracotta Pendant Method – Put a drop of oil on a terracotta pendant, fasten it around your neck, and enjoy the benefits of that oil as you move through your day.

#4. Bedtime Salt Bowl Method – Place a small amount (about 1/4 cup) of sea salt flakes or Epsom salt in a small bowl. Drip 10-15 drops of your chosen essential oil onto the salt. Keep it by your bed. The salt helps to slow down the evaporation rate of the oils, allowing you a longer diffusion throughout the night. A great way to get some anti-cancer potential into you while you sleep.

#5. Steam Bowl Inhalation – Drip your chosen essential oil into a bowl of steaming water (please use filtered so that no chlorine is also inhaled). Place a towel over your head and over the bowl of water and breathe in deeply (be careful if the water was boiled, the steam can be hot enough to burn). Please keep your eyes closed when using this method or use swimming goggles to protect your eyes. The steam quickly vaporizes the oil and it is rapidly absorbed into the throat, sinuses, and then bloodstream. This method is a very direct and potent method. Do not use any more than 1-2 drops of essential oil, or you may find it overwhelming. Please note that heating oils can diminish the therapeutic value of the oil so do not use this method exclusively if you are fighting cancer.

#6. Ultrasonic Diffusing – An ultrasonic diffuser uses air, water, and ultrasonic vibrations to diffuse the oil into the air. A fine mist is created and released into the air, so it doubles as a humidifier. The concentration of essential oils is gentler since water is used. This method allows the oil molecules to remain air-bound for several hours and does not affect the structure or therapeutic value of the oil. You can use several oils together, for instance frankincense and sandalwood. Two or more oils are better than one, because the phytochemicals in each oil offer different healing properties.

#7. Car Diffuser – Many companies now make car diffusers for their essential oils. Imagine getting a great smelling anti-cancer treatment right in the safety of your car as you drive to work or while running errands! Don’t have a diffuser? Don’t worry − just get a cotton ball, drip a few drops of your chosen oil onto it, stick it in the air vent, turn on the vent and enjoy.

#8. Essential Oil Massage – There are a couple of ways to go about this. You can massage the essential oils into your body, neat, meaning without dilution. Be sure to have some guidance from your practitioner about which ones may require dilution. You can also dilute essential oils by adding a natural carrier oil (organic wherever possible) such as sweet almond or coconut oil, or even olive oil. Apply the diluted essential oils to skin areas with gentle massage strokes. As a guideline, you can make a 1% concentration, which equals one drop of essential oil to one teaspoon of carrier oil. A 2% dilution would be two drops of essential oil to one teaspoon of carrier oil. Be sure to consult a practitioner when using essential oils for children, as they require much weaker dilutions than do adults.

#9. The Foot Absorption Method – Massage a few drops of your chosen essential oils into the bottoms (the soles) of your feet before you go to bed. The soles of the feet contain some of the largest pores in the body. Therefore, the oils are easily absorbed and working in your bloodstream within just a few minutes.

#10. Oral Ingestion – Unless you are working under the guidance of a certified health practitioner, it is not suggested that you take an essential oil internally. It is not that taking oils internally is necessarily a bad or dangerous thing, but you do need some guidance as to which oils are safe to take internally, how much to use, and how frequently.

#11. Essential Oil Bath – Drip your chosen essential oils into a warm (not hot) bath. Use a few tablespoons of a dispersant like full cream milk or coconut oil which will assist in the absorption of the oils through your skin. Then just step into the bath and soak. Not only are you absorbing the oils, but also directly inhaling them at the same time. This is also a great way to finish off those bottles of essential oils that just have a drop or two left in them − just drop the entire bottle into your bath.

#12. Instead of Perfume – Rather than using man-made (and potentially toxic) perfumes, combine your favorite essential oils and wear them on your pulse points, behind your ears, on your collarbone, and on both sides of your neck. Not only will you smell fabulous, you are bringing the phytochemicals in those oils right into your body.

As you can see, there are many ways to use essential oils. Don’t be afraid to try new methods. The important thing is to begin, and to use them every day… because they can’t help you improve your health if they stay in the bottle!

Article Summary

New users of essential oils often wonder what to do with them beyond taking off the caps and sniffing the oils.
There can be hundreds of phytochemicals (plant based chemicals) within each drop of essential oil. These phytochemicals have funny names like terpenes, aldehydes, esters, ketones, phenols, oxides, sesquiterpenes, and many more.
Each phytochemical has different properties and science is just beginning to understand how each phytochemical works in the human body.
The phytochemical make-up of an oil can vary from plant to plant. You need to ensure that your essential oils, particularly if you are using them for regaining your health, come from a reputable company. Don’t just rely on a label that says “pure.”
Here are 12 ways you can use essential oils (see the article for details on how to use each method):
1. Bottle Inhalation Method
2. Hand Inhalation Method
3. Terracotta Pendant Method
4. Bedtime Salt Bowl Method
5. Steam Bowl Inhalation
6. Ultrasonic Diffusing
7. Car Diffuser
8. Essential Oil Massage
9. The Foot Absorption Method
10. Oral Ingestion
11. Essential Oil Bath
12. Instead of Perfume

The Truth About Cancer

Is Lymph Node Removal with Cancer Surgery Really Necessary?

By Ann Fonfa
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Is Lymph Node Removal After Cancer Diagnosis necessary?

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On March 6th the lymphedema community will celebrate the 22nd annual Lymphedema Awareness Day, otherwise known as Lymphedema D-Day. But despite all these years of awareness, lymphedema is still not curable and remains “an unfortunate side effect” of conventional treatment for cancer. It’s time for the medical community to acknowledge that lymphedema is often avoidable and linked to lymph node removal.

It’s common practice for oncologists to recommend lymph node removal after cancer diagnosis. Removal of lymph nodes occurs with many cancers – breast cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer, melanoma, ovarian cancer, and others too.

The conventional medical view is that lymph nodes contain cancer cells and therefore must be removed. At the same time, cancer is a systemic disease, so removing parts of the body doesn’t provide a real solution. In other words, the swollen lymph nodes aren’t the problem and neither is the tumor, which is often also surgically removed. The tumor and/or the swollen lymph nodes are a result of the problem.

Surgery doesn’t address the underlying cause of why someone got cancer in the first place, and neither does chemotherapy or radiation! This is an important concept to grasp.

Moreover, when lymph nodes capture cancer cells, might they just be doing their job? And if so, is this really metastasis, which is what is commonly believed?

Lymph Node Removal in Breast Cancer Patients

Monica Morrow, MD, a well-known clinical researcher and conventional medical doctor, has been studying tissue from breast cancer survivors who have small numbers of cancer cells called micro-metastases in their lymph nodes. Currently, even small findings of cancer cells such as these are considered deadly by the allopathic community.

But Dr. Morrow’s findings show that these small numbers of cancer cells do not affect survival rates. Other medical professionals are just beginning to question the common practice of lymph node removal. Surgical removal of lymph nodes, as a way of reducing metastasis, may actually be causing more harm than good because of the potential lifelong complications of lymphedema.

A European study in 1981 evaluated 716 women with breast cancer and found no difference in survival when extra lymph nodes were removed.

Yes, that’s right, this study was done in 1981. And yet, how many times in recent years have you heard someone with cancer having surgery to have their lymph nodes removed? I have heard it dozens of times. However, one must ask of this accepted practice, “Has the correct outcome been looked at to justify surgical removal of lymph nodes?”

The key issue that is not being discussed is… what is the most important outcome when the lymphatic system is harmed, either by surgery or radiation?

Studies into Lymph Node Removal Needed

Beginning in the late 1800s massive surgeries were performed for breast cancer. This universal surgery, called the Halstead Radical (after its originator), removed the entire breast, muscle, axillary area (underarm) and more, in an effort to cure breast cancer.

Almost 70 years later European surgeons began offering lumpectomy, a less aggressive partial breast removal surgery, and found that survival rates were similar. In addition, a large clinical trial from the United States proved the same thing with a report on a 10-year follow up in 1985. This study actually compared mastectomy to lumpectomy with and without radiation and over time has continued to show similar survivals for each segment of the trial.

The one area that unfortunately has NOT been re-examined is axillary lymph node dissection. For this reason, lymph node removal during surgery continues to be part of the procedure even though in some, fewer nodes are being removed.

What has not been concluded from any clinical trials is whether or not removal of lymph nodes directly impacts survival. Especially enough to warrant the potential complications that could arise any time in an individual’s life afterwards.

Prior studies have not been able to show a survival benefit from lymph node removal. In fact, a 2003 paper stated: “No published randomized controlled trial exists that demonstrates improved overall survival for patients with cancer of any type undergoing surgery of the regional lymphatics. We believe the presence of tumour in the regional lymphatics indicates the presence of systemic disease, and therapeutic interventions should be directed accordingly.”

So are those people with lymph node involvement already dealing with more advanced disease that current medical technology doesn’t know how to detect?

Imagine, then, if complementary or alternative therapies were incorporated in an effort to improve survival, instead of going solely to radiation and/or surgery.

After invasive treatments such as surgery and/or radiation, there is often damage, including pain, that lasts for the rest of an individual’s life. A damaged lymphatic system means that a person is much more susceptible to illness and injury as the lymphatic system ordinarily helps the body to heal faster and better. Very few, if any, studies in any type of cancers have examined the long-time results of node removal/lymph system damage with these harms in mind.

In a review published in May 2015, Cochrane researchers found that overall survival for participants with melanoma who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) had no improvement in overall survival. However, recurrence of the melanoma at a distant site occurred more frequently in those participants in the SLNB group.

Lymphedema is Not Just an “Unfortunate Side Effect” of Lymph Node Removal

Imagine a skin burn where ordinarily the lymph cells rush to the area. In a sluggish lymphatic system − one that has sustained damage − there is no “rush” involved. The clogged or swollen area does not easily allow the appropriate immune cells to reach the affected area, and healing can take much longer.

People with leg or lower body lymphedema may find walking difficult or painful. Some people may not be able to pick up their children or grandchildren due to weakness and swelling in their arms. Over time, sensations in the areas may be reduced. Anyone who has had lymph nodes removed is at much higher risk of serious infections like cellulitis, which can lead to sepsis.

And lymphedema can occur at any time. There is no time limitation on the development of lymphedema (the swelling and visible sign of damage to the lymphatic system). And current treatments are only variations on temporary reduction in swelling.

If you have cancer, surgical removal of lymph nodes is a critical subject to discuss with your doctor. Many doctors do things because it’s common practice or standard of care, without examining further. But you are a unique individual and every cancer is different – you have to weigh your own risks and benefits.

Make sure you involve an alternative practitioner who specializes in cancer to find out what other options are available to you. Sometimes, it’s a good idea to take a step back and not rush into a decision. As an informed patient, it’s important that do your own research and be proactive in all your health care choices.

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Article Summary

March 6, 2016, is the 22nd annual Lymphedema Awareness Day. But despite all these years of awareness, lymphedema is still not curable and remains “an unfortunate side effect” of conventional treatment for cancer.
Removal of lymph nodes occurs with many cancers including breast, prostate, cervical, colon, melanoma, and ovarian cancer.
It’s important to understand that surgical removal of a tumor or lymph nodes doesn’t address the underlying cause of why someone got cancer in the first place, and neither does chemotherapy or radiation.
Surgical removal of lymph nodes may actually be causing more harm than good because of the potential lifelong complications of lymphedema. A damaged lymphatic system also means that a person is much more susceptible to illness.
No clinical trials have concluded whether removal of lymph nodes directly impacts survival − especially enough to warrant the potential complications that can arise any time afterwards.
There is no time limitation on the development of lymphedema (the swelling and visible sign of damage to the lymphatic system). Current treatments only provide temporary reduction in swelling.
If you have cancer, surgical removal of lymph nodes is a critical subject to discuss with your doctor. Many doctors may do things because it’s common practice without examining further. Be your own advocate and find out what options are available to you.

https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/lymph-node-removal-necessary/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SocialWarfare

Dr Josh Axe

Salt Water Flush Recipe

Are you like 20 percent of the public that suffers from constipation? It’s nothing to be ashamed about, so even if high-fiber foods don’t always do the trick, consider a salt water flush. Sometimes called a “salt water cleanse” or a “master cleanse,” it’s designed to help you cleanse your colon and digestive system by bringing on a forced bowel movement.

The key part of a salt water flush recipe is salt itself, as it’s needed for many biochemical processes. The official salt water flush has become more popular over the past decade as a “hack” to facilitate digestion and cleansing as part of a kick-start when doing a “master cleanse” program. Drinking a salt mixture ignites the body’s own mechanism of natural detoxification and waste elimination, helping to get your digestive system back on track and in the process making you feel lighter, less sluggish and less weighed-down.

Feeling bloated or backed up? Try this natural salt water flush recipe!

The salt water flush is most effective if you perform it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. If you do it later in the day, just make sure you haven’t eaten anything in the past one to two hours.

To perform a simple sea salt flush at home, start with 2 teaspoons of sea salt, which can be colored salt, such as pink Himalayan salt or “gray salt.” (Make sure it’s pure salt, for you don’t want to use iodinated salt — so always make sure there is no iodine added at all.)

Heat up 1 liter of filtered water. You want the water to be warmer than room temperature, but not boiling or very hot. It should be cooler than the temp you would use to brew tea or coffee.

Grab a glass jar with a lid and add the salt, hot water, and some fresh lemon juice or lemon water (which helps cut the taste of the salt). Shake it vigorously to fully dissolve the salt. Make sure no granules are visible, which will settle at the bottom of your jar/lid if they’re still undissolved.

Drink the mixture quickly, within a few minutes if possible (under 5 minutes is the goal). Since it doesn’t taste great (it’s very salty!), you will probably want to drink it down as fast as you can.

Lay down on your side and massage your belly on one side, then repeat on the other side. If you can manage to hold in the solution for about 30 minutes, this will help your body fully absorb the salt.

Within a short time after finishing the mixture, you should start to feel the urge to go to the bathroom. Once you feel you can no longer hold out, go to the bathroom. You might have to go more than one time, sometimes needing to use the bathroom for several hours before you’re fully “cleansed” and your colon is emptied.

After doing a cleanse of any kind, it’s a good idea to take a probiotic supplement and load up on healthy foods, which helps establish healthy bacteria in your internal gut flora (microbiome) and provide you essential nutrients/electrolytes.

https://draxe.com/salt-water-flush-recipe/