Internal Use of Essential Oils

[Pyra Gorgon]

I see so many Internet sites and “experts” who always caution against ingesting essential oils.

Perhaps that is their legal disclaimers…

Pthbbt! I’m no lawyer and have no plans to pretend to be one. I use oils in place of modern pseudo-scientific Big Pharma toxic drugs. So, I take them internally!

Now, a word of caution: Some essential oils can be used “at will”, some need some serious dilution, and some need to be treated as “toxic/poison”. Even toxic poisons have medicinal usage in minute quantities.

I am assuming that you, the reader, know a thing or three about three different things:
1. You know your body and your own tolerances/allergies/strengths;
2. You know your oils and quality of them, and;
3. You have common sense.

My method is easy since I have a very strong constitution and recovery: I go by “Rule of halves for drops”. Something that others on the Internet consider “toxic”, I will take one drop to 20 of a carrier. (oil, alcohol, syrup, etc.) I will experiment with this in the middle of the day. If nothing happens within 4 hours, I will then add another drop, thus making it 1:10 strength. No problems in 4 hours? Then I will half that. At some point, I am going to feel something, such as a bit of nausea, cramps, light-headedness, whatever. At that point, I now know my “limit”. (do this during middle of the day since that is when your metabolism and energy are at their strongest, and if something goes really wrong, it is easier to get help since everyone else is awake and moving about on their daily activities)

Many oils are very similar, so if you encounter your limit on an oil, consider that limit to be very close to others of similar category.

I use oregano oil internally quite a bit. It kills everything. I’ve cured flu bugs that have already made me feel quite unwell within 12 hours with oregano oil. But, oregano oil, I’ve found, is a VERY STRONG anti-viral oil. And it makes me nauseous if I take more than 5 drops. At 9 drops, my heart is racing and I dare not take one more!!! So, I’ve found my limit, that is how it is done. Therapeutically, I’ve found for myself that even the most brutal flu bug cannot suffer more than 5 drops. Why take more? This also will destroy your gut flora, so be prepared for some acidophilus to re-balance. But, the flu is gone.

Red Thyme is another. This is brutal on flu viruses too. For some reason, this one my limit is lower on, 3 drops is tops!

Clove oil, which many say is toxic if taken internally, even at one drop, leaves a horrid taste to the mouth and causes serious gastro-intestinal and lightheadedness. I have taken 2 drops of this before (clove bud oil) and unless you are very resistant to other things, I would not recommend. However, just know that it is not going to kill you, those two drops will just make you wish you did not take them.

Tea tree oil. UGH. Nasty. There is a reason they say not to take internally. Hard to explain how it makes you feel, but it is not a happy feeling.

Hyssop oil: I do not know why people always go on about how bad and caution against this one. I’ve gone to around 12 drops and found no ill effects. (this is not taken “neat”, rather, it is mixed in a single-serving cough syrup or whatever). It really does help with chest congestion issues and recommend you use at least 3 drops per ounce of your cough syrup.

Frankincense Oil: I’ve gone upward of 10 drops in a single-serving and had no ill effects. Past 5 drops per ounce, I do not see any added benefit, so no point in wasting it. (it is expensive stuff)

Pennyroyal oil: They say it is toxic and bad and whatever. Maybe so. I gagged on one drop since it gives you this cloying “floral” breath that is just too much for me. YUCK. Pennyroyal is awesome for bug repellent sprayed on the skin, not so much for internal use.

Peppermint oil: They say a few drops cause spinal nerve paralysis. Well, I have no idea what sort of peppermint oil THEY are using, but I did not find that to be true. I made my peppermint oil straight from menthol crystals, with all that waxy stuff in it. Brutal hot and strong. However, it does act better than aspirin for pain relief/ analgesics. I could not suffer more than 5 drops in an ounce of anything. (DO NOT USE WITH WATER!!! peppermint gets insanely hot if you try and quench the burn with water. Drink a beer or have a shot of vodka, water makes the peppermint go all ‘vapory’ and hits the sinuses worse than wasabi)

Thuja Oil: My limit is about 7 drops in an ounce. The side effect is a high like feeling, a dissociation. Therapeutic benefit of this for me is around 4-5 drops without those weird effects. (but if you want to get all wacky, this will do it)

Litsea Cubeba, ylang ylang, Elemi, jasmine sambac: YUCK. Seriously. yuck. I see no internal benefit to ingesting these. (I believe there is something about floral essential oils not being good to ingest because they are cloying nasty…)

Lemon, orange, grapefruit oils: I do not consider these toxic within reasonable limits. I consider “reasonable” as anything you can safely take up to 40% strength and no ill effects happens. I feel a completely safe limit to these ought to cap off around 25% strength. These are hot and bitter, so its best to put them in capsule form. I’ve gone to 12 drops in a dose and did not have any issues.

I could go on. Point is: find your max limit, then deduce your therapeutic limit. From that, you know your totally safe limit for ingestion. For instance: hyssop oil max limit= 10 drops per single serving. hyssop therapeutic limit of 50% max limit =5 drops, “safe” limit is 75% of max= 2.5 drops. (round down for more safety to drops per single serving)

[Jeff Callahan]

This is so amazing Pyra, thanks!

[Pyra Gorgon]

Glad I can help, Mr. Callahan. Since this posting, I have learned a lot more about essential oils and now I use them exclusively in place of allopathic pharmaceutical drugs. (except antibiotics, like amoxicillin and azithromycin)

I would like to share more, but I am uncertain how many actually read these forums and would not want to overburden the forums with lots of posts.

Take care and Merry Christmas when it comes to your family!!!

~Pyra

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