Question: I am desperately trying to avoid giving my 9 year old Ritalin for ADHD. Her behavior, impulsiveness and distractibility have caused all facets of her life to suffer. Of course the “mental health” professionals have an easy answer, a little green pill twice a day. We have switched to a whole foods diet but […]
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Essential Oil Profile: Tea Tree
by Marie Temmen Common Name: Tea Tree (or Ti Tree) Latin Binomial: Melaleuca alternifolia Family: Myrtaceæ Part Used: Leaves Extraction Method: Steam Distillation Country of Origin: Australia Tea Tree essential oil is currently one of the most popular of the essential oils. Herb stores, aromatherapy catalogues, cosmetic counters and drug stores abound with […]
Essential Oil Profile: Litsea Cubeba
by Marie Temmen Common Name: May Chang Latin Binomial: Litsea cubeba Family: Lauraceae Other Common Names: Exotic verbena, tropical verbena (not related to lemon verbena). Part Used: Litsea cubeba is obtained from the small pepper shaped fruits which resemble peppers. Production Method: Oil is obtained by steam distillation. Countries of Origin: China is […]
Essential Oil Profile: Helichrysum
by Marie Temmen Common Name:Everlasting Latin Binomial:Helichrysum italicum, Helichrysum angustifolium Family: Asteraceae (Compositae) Other Common Names: Immortelle, St. John’s herb Part Used: Flowering tops Production Method:steam distillation (an absolute may be produced by solvent extraction.) Countries of Origin: Helichrysum is native to the Mediterranean. It is […]
Essential Oil Profile: Carrot Seed
by Jeffrey S. Hoard Common Name: Carrot Latin Binomial:Daucus carota Family: Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) Other Common Names: Queen Anne’s Lace, Wild Carrot, Bird’s Nest Part Used: Seed Production Method:The oil is steam distilled from the dried seed. Seeds may or may not be crushed before distillation. Countries of Origin: France, Egypt, Hungary, India, The Netherlands, […]
Essential Oil Profile: Aniseed
by Jeffrey S. Hoard Common Name: Anise, Anise Seed, Aniseed Latin Binomial: Pimpinella anisum Family: Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) Other Common Names: Anisum officinalis, Anisum vulgare Part Used: Seeds, dried and crushed. Production Method: Steam distillation. Countries of Origin: Native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. Poland and Russia are among the largest producers of Aniseed oil from locally […]
What Is Aromatherapy?
The area of Aromatherapy is concerned with the (human) inhalation and bodily application of essential oils. The tools of aromatherapy are essential oils and hydrosols, which are hopefully used to achieve the potential goals of good physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health and balance. Essential oils are obtained by a process called distillation, whereby selected […]
Turmeric: A superior herb hiding beneath media hype
by Laurel Redmon, M.S., L.Ac. Dipl. C.H. Turmeric rhizome, Curcuma longa, or jiang huang has been enjoying the limelight in recent months. It was the herb-du-jour, in the wake of the Vioxx scandal, along with a bit of research funding and an urban myth that Indian women never contract breast cancer. Media scrutiny […]
Traditional Chinese Medicine and Aromatherapy
by Laurel Redmon Aromatherapy is one of the most exciting and burgeoning modes of herbalism today. It strikes me as a truly global discipline, different parts of the world contributing varied uses and methods of application for essential oils. Arriving at the study of aromatherapy by way of herbalism, I have […]
Jeff’s thoughts on ginseng…
Years ago when I lived in Wisconsin, I frequented a well-known Madison co-op which was conveniently located on my walk home each day. It was a throwback, hippie sort of place complete with dusty old wood floors, a store cat and a collection of questionable vegetables, which were supposed to be organic and somehow better […]