 I remember so well the day my mom confided in me how much it embarrassed her that she was forgetting words when out walking with her friends. My mother was a sweet, light-hearted, silly, affectionate woman and all of a sudden, in the space of less than a year, her health started to rapidly deteriorate. She went from being a healthy, active middle-aged woman to a (still) silly and affectionate woman , but who could no longer open doors with knobs that needed to be twisted instead of pulled straight. And she was losing her ability to articulate her thoughts, which was even sadder to watch and I'm sure much more difficult to experience, especially for someone who loved people as much as she did. Alzheimer's is a treacherous thief and I knew I couldn't "save" the belongings in her mind, but I wanted to help her to continue to enjoy socializing for as long as possible.
As a consulting herbalist and nutritionist I knew that Frankincense resin was highly acknowledged for memory and brain function. I had also seen it successful at mobilizing speech for two of my young autistic clients. So, I looked at Frankincense to help my mom to reclaim her brain functions, especially to find the words to express herself again. I'm so glad that I did!
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 By Stephanie McBride
The quick answer, though, is that yes , it is very likely that many Essential Oils do cross the placenta, as well as cell membranes, the blood-brain barrier, and into breast milk. Because of this, it is especially important to be mindful of Essential Oil purity and dosages when using Essential Oils to help mitigate the many discomforts that arise during pregnancy. (Tillett & Ames, 2010) Despite an ever-growing body of research on Essential Oils, there is only a small amount of study conducted on Essential Oil use during pregnancy- this, in part, owing to the question of whether or not it is ethical to conduct research on pregnant women. |
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AuthorStephanie McBride is a published writer and certified clinical herbalist who has worked with herbal medicine for over 20 years. She has been in practice as a functional nutritionist and essential oil educator for Daily Nectar since 2009. Archives
December 2019
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