Anshu Bahanda: This is Anshu Bahanda on Wellness Curated. Thanks for joining me on this podcast. My mission is to empower you with health and wellness so that you can then go and empower others. Hi, Robin.
Robin Covey: Hi, Anshu.
AB: What is wellness to you?
RC: What is wellness? That’s a great way to start out. I think that some people might think that wellness is simply an absence of disease, and I don’t think that’s actually the case. I think that while physical well-being is important, just as important, if not more important (are) our mental and our emotional states. Because if we are actually in a state of chronic stress, it’s impossible to be well. Which is why I love the work that you’re doing, because you’re bringing that mind-body connection together for people. And I think that’s what we need for wellness. In addition to physical well-being, we also need to have mental, and emotional well-being for the whole package.
AB: That’s lovely. Thank you. And what are essential oils? Why don’t you describe them to us before we venture into them?
RC: Makes a lot of sense. So people get what they are. Essential oils, really, in a simple form, are aromatic compounds from plants that have amazing health benefits. They come from the stems, the barks, the trees. If you’ve ever kind of had a peppermint leaf or a lavender flower and rubbed it between your fingers and you get that lovely smell, that’s the essential oil. When we drink peppermint tea, it’s a form of steam-distilling. So, [putting] the leaf under a microscope, what you would see is these tiny little sacs, and those sacs get released as you’re drinking your tea. Essential oils are highly concentrated forms of these plant benefits. And because of that, essential oils are 50 to 70 times more powerful than the corresponding herbs.
AB: Wow! Okay. I didn’t know that.
RC: We’re going to be mentioning a lot of information about essential oils. And so, really, if your followers can come away remembering just two key facts, I’ll have done my job. And the key fact is, because essential oils are so potent, I want you all to know that potency and purity matter. So, the essential oil industry is not regulated. And because of that, there’s a third-party testing organization called AromaticPlant.org, and they say right on their frontpage that over 80% of essential oils sold on the market today are adulterated in some way. And so, you want to make sure that you’re working with a very reputable brand. And because of the regulation issue, the company that I work with, which is called dōTERRA, and I work with them exclusively, but they have come up with their own quality mark, and they call it Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade (CPTG). And what certified pure means is it’s 100% pure. There’s nothing added. There’s nothing taken away. There’s no toxins, no dyes, no fillers, no perfumes. There’s nothing added.
AB: Okay.
RC: Therapeutic grade means that literally, dōTERRA goes around the world to source plants where the chemistry is best for that plant. For instance, I have a small garden here in London, I could probably put up a pineapple tree and maybe get some fruit. But the pineapples that I get from my garden would not be the same profile chemically, nutritionally, as where that pineapple is grown native. And so that’s what would be important to remember for your viewers… that potency and purity matter when you are working with essential oils.
AB: Okay, that’s lovely. And how does one use them? And how do they help with health and wellness?
RC: So basically, there are three ways that we use essential oils and this is a fact that I would love for your viewers to remember. The three ways [in which] essential oils are used are aromatically, topically and internally.
AB: Aromatically, topically, So you apply it internally. Okay.
RC: I’m going to go through each of these, right? Is that okay?
AB: Yes.
RC: So people know how to use them. So aromatic use of essential oil is basically taking advantage of its most notable character— its scent. And the way it works is when we smell an essential oil, it hits our olfactory nerve. And our olfactory nerve is directly connected to our limbic system in our brain. Our limbic system is our primal brain. That’s where our mood, our emotions, our memories are stored. And so when you smell an essential oil, it’s within your brain in two seconds. And so when you smell it, it gets into your brain, it actually has the ability to send a signal to every single cell in your body. And so, I like to recommend using essential oils aromatically, when you’re trying to [have an] affect between the ears. So, for emotions and for moods and a lot of different ways we can do that, we can just put it in our hands and smell. We can put it in an essential oil diffuser, we can put it on clothing, we can put it on our mask. You can make a spray, a shower spray or a pillow spray. That’s the first way…it is aromatic. The second way is topically. Exactly like you said, we can put it directly on our bodies. One of the considerations when you’re using an essential oil topically is to dilute an essential oil with a carrier oil. Something like a fractionated coconut oil or a sweet almond oil, or jojoba oil, any kind of carrier oil. We recommend that you dilute essential oils when using it on children for sure. Now, the great news about diluting essential oils is that it doesn’t make them less effective, it just actually slows down the absorption. So, you’re getting the benefits over a longer period of time.
AB: And why should one dilute them with children? What is the reason?
RC: Just because, just for more sensitivity— some oils, we call them hot oils, they might be warming. Something like ginger or cassia or cinnamon are quite warming. Something like a peppermint oil has that beautiful icy cool sensation. So just for sensitivity and for people. And for adults who are sensitive, we always do recommend diluting the essential oils. And it doesn’t make them less effective, it just slows down the absorption. It’s a powerful way to do it. And you would want to use that when your body’s speaking to you. So, if you are experiencing a feeling of pain or an ache or a burn, that’s when you might want to use an essential oil topically. So that’s the second way we use essential oils— aromatic, topical and internal. And where that first key fact is super, super important about making sure that you are working with a safe and reputable brand and something like dōTERRA with the Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade guarantee, not only can it be taken internally, it’s actually recommended.
AB: All your oils can be taken internally? All dōTERRA oils?
RC: So, not all dōTERRA oils. But the rule of thumb is if you can eat it, you can take it internally because there’s nothing. So if you have an orange, a lemon, lavender, we eat fruit, we eat flowers, we don’t eat trees. So in general, the oils are not recommended to be taken internally. But if you are working with an adulterated oil, not only will it be ineffective, it can actually be harmful. So, for internal use, which you could take it under your tongue, you could be using it in a capsule, you could be using it in cooking. You want to make sure this is where that first key fact [comes in]— that you’re working with a potent and a pure essential oil; it’s super important.
AB: Okay.
RC: Those are the three ways we use essential oils— aromatic, topical, and internal.
AB: And internally, normally again, you just put a few drops in water. Is that how?
RC: Absolutely, a drop of lemon oil in your water in the morning is delicious. And you want to eat with essential oils because they’re so potent. One to two drops is plenty. It’s not the case where if one drop is good, five is better.
AB: Okay, fantastic. And tell me, what areas have you found them to be most helpful? Are there some areas more than others where you say, look, if you try this, you’ll see the benefit tomorrow?
RC: Well, really, the sky’s the limit with essential oils. One of my mantras is…
AB: You know I love this about you, that you’re so passionate about essential oils. That’s what really made me connect to what you were doing. Anyway…Sorry, go ahead.
RC: I think that given our current state of affairs, I think two of the ways that I’m really seeing essential oils having the most impact is, certainly for immune support and for support of mental health. Because I would argue, we’re also in a mental health pandemic right now.
AB: Absolutely, I totally agree.
RC: So, they’re super powerful and effective to help with feelings of low mood and anxious feelings. But there also is great support for hormones and for feelings of pain or digestive discomfort or metabolic support, sleep support with kids. So any or all of these, I have an oil for that.
AB: Fantastic. Now tell me, what do you recommend now that you’ve been talking? You mentioned to us immunity and anxiety. And that’s what I keep bringing up in all my Instagram lives because like you said, we are going through a mental health pandemic and immunity is a big issue. But what those have caused is things like sleeplessness and obviously there’s a lot of fear. So, could you just recommend something quickly for those; some oils that people can go away with?
RC: Yeah, sure. Most oils have antiviral, antibacterial, antimicrobial benefits. But really, dōTERRA wise, the jewel in dōTERRA’s crown is an oil called On Guard. So, this is our immune support essential oil. And in here are lovely oils like orange and clove and cinnamon and eucalyptus and rosemary. And in fact, this particular oil comes in many forms. So, we also have, for instance, little lozenges with the On Guard blend that can help for immune support. We have a hand sanitizer. And so On Guard is definitely one of the oils that I would recommend for immune support. dōTERRA also has kind of a famous DIY blend that we refer to as flume or flute. And that is a series of oils, and that includes frankincense— which is the king of oils; lemon, which is a cleanser, both inside and outside. That’s why all your cleaning products smell like lemon. On Guard, oregano— which has amazing antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal properties. And then the last one is Melaleuca or tea tree. Tea tree oil is the more common name for Melaluca. And so any combination of all of those is amazing for immune support. And the reason I love that particular blend, and I’ve personally been using it this entire year, once or twice a day, is when you’re using just one or two drops of each oil…. There are 250 drops in each bottle of essential oil. So, when you’re using one or two at a time, these cost just pennies per use. And so they can be more cost effective than modern medication in that way. But also with modern medication, there’s often side effects that can mess with your gut, your hormones, your immune system. But with essential oils, they’re 100% pure and natural. There’s no side effects. As a matter of fact, there’s only side benefits. And so we’re only talking about essential oils today, but of course I would say when you’re talking about the immune system, you do need to worry about your gut, and making other lifestyle and dietary changes would be important. dōTERRA does have a full range of supplements that have the same Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade guarantee. You do want to make sure that you are taking care of your whole self when you’re talking about immunity.
AB: Okay, so that was immunity.
RC: Right. Next you talked about anxiety. So, anxiety is a huge issue right now. People have feelings of anxiousness and essential oils are a great support to that. I love citrus oils. Citrus oils are natural cleansers and help support [your] mood and they are very cost effective as well. So, wild orange is a particular favorite of mine. I just refer to that as liquid sunshine. So I, you know, I feel like it’s hard to be upset in the presence of a wild orange. And a citrus oil that I love— to support with feelings of low mood would be a Bergamot. And the reason I love this particular citrus product is because it’s a citrus which has natural mood lifting properties, but it also contains a chemical component called linalool. And linalool is that chemical component in lavender which is very widely known.
AB: Right. Yes.
RC: And so Bergamot is a great oil to have to kind of help soothe feelings of anxiousness. Lastly, dōTERRA has somewhat of a new oil called Adaptiv and this one…one cannot get enough of, and I can’t speak more highly about. This is dōTERRA’s calming blend. And so, it has all of those oils like lavender and Bergamot, that we’ve already talked about. It also has other essential oils that are known for their calming properties like Magnolia and neroli and it has Rosemary in there. Rosemary actually supports focus and concentration and memory. And lastly, what’s in there is Spearmint. Your mints are your natural energizer. The calming blend— it’s not one that’s going to put you to sleep, it’s actually calming for both the mind and body.
AB: So if you are worried about something, but you still have a full work day ahead. You don’t want to just… that’s a good one. That’s an unusual one, Robin. I haven’t come across something like that before.
RC: Right. So an Adaptiv is great for exactly when you’re ready to start a task, when you’re ready to start an exam, or ready to go and start your workday. Adaptiv is amazing in that way. It can be calming for the mind and the body, but it’s not one that’s going to make you feel tired. So, I do love that one. For sleep, again, this is another area where I work a lot with people and lavender is probably one of the best known essential oils to help with feelings of calmness. We also have a blend called Serenity and of course lavender is in the Serenity blend. But this also contains amazing oils like cedar wood, which is also very calming. And vetiver. Vetiver is a root and so it’s extremely grounding and can be very relaxing. And so I love Serenity oil on the bottoms of my feet or as a pillow spray to help with sleeplessness. But I also love the combination of lavender and frankincense or lavender and wild-orange. These all can be very calming at night. In addition, of course, to having a night time routine which would involve limiting your caffeine and turning off electronics at a certain point. So, essential oils are the most powerful when you’re combining it with other lifestyle changes. So, if you’re going to be drinking caffeine at nine o’ clock, lavender oil will help relax you.
AB: Because you’re all charged up.
RC: You’re already charged up. Fear is an interesting one, because fear and anxiety I might put together. Maybe I would say go to tree oils for this. So, trees are very grounding and balancing. And actually dōTERRA does have an oil called Balance. The tree pose in yoga is the balancing pose.
AB: Yes.
RC: So I love something like a Balance or an Air, which is dōTERRA’s respiratory support blend, to kind of open up those airways so you can breathe properly. You know when we are in a panic mode…
AB: We stop breathing, yes, absolutely.
RC: So, by being able to breathe out, that’s our digest mode. So, by using an essential oil, like I said, like an Air or a peppermint even, can kind of bring about those breathing changes. And dōTERRA has a kids range. So there’s oils like Calmer, Brave and Steady that are supposed to also help support feelings of fear.
AB: And if someone just wants to buy the odd oil from you, they can do that, right? They don’t have to buy kits. They can just say, I want one for fear or give me the blend for anxiety, right?
RC: So, with dōTERRA, we support all levels of play and any essential oils, really, I mean. An advice that I might give to some of your viewers, absolutely, I want to say the answer to that is yes, you can buy a single oil. But for me, essential oils really are about a lifestyle and making consistent changes and using them consistently and daily. And so my preference, of course, would be, not just to have a single oil for a single purpose. So, not just having some tea tree for acne or something to relax, but actually having a kit. So, an arsenal, a tool kit. Ideally for me, I would love for people, whenever they’re having any kind of experience, to say they have an oil for that, and then there are oils for that. So certainly, yes, anyone can buy just a single oil. But I think that with kits and with a system, they’re more impactful when you’re using them consistently.
AB: Okay, and tell me of all these oils that you’ve come across over the years, what is your absolute favorite and why?
RC: Oh, that’s not fair. That’s like picking a favorite child. I love all my oils equally, but if I really had to pick one or two, I don’t think I’m going to be able to pick one. And also, because we’re all individuals, we all have bio-individuality. So what works for me might not work for you, but one of my favorite oils and my first loves, I have to say, is peppermint. And peppermint I just love because it is a true adaptogen. This can help support the body in so many different ways. It’s great to help with energy and with focus, concentration, and for feelings of open airways, for support with aches and pains, fevers, hot flashes, if you’re experiencing this. I love to bring a spray bottle with peppermint and lavender to the beach and use it as a spray. I feel like it’s cooling. It can help support cravings. It’s good for digestive support. My son uses it for when we’re in the car and some kind of public transportation, and his belly might start to feel a little off, so as a breath freshener. And so I think just by virtue of how many different uses you can use for peppermint, I would put this as one of my favorites. I think frankincense, you have to mention frankincense. Frankincense is the king of oils. It was found in King Tutankhamun’s tomb. I fact checked that it was found in King Tutankhamun’s tomb.
AB: Okay.
RC: It’s one of the gifts of the three kings. Frankincense is definitely the ruler of essential oils. When in doubt, when you don’t know which essential oil to use, you use frankincense.
AB: Oh, wow. Okay.
RC: So, frankincense is just one of those. That’s the general rule. I think citrus oils also have to be considered because they’re very cost effective and they have so many beneficial properties to support so many systems, that I think every house should have at least one citrus oil. And just let me follow up with one more. I love this oil called InTune. I actually wear this as perfume. InTune is dōTERRA’s focus and concentration blend. As women, a lot of times we put perfume right where our endocrine system is and so essential oils can actually be used as nontoxic perfume. Pure, innocent, nontoxic perfume.
AB: Yeah, I use my rose essential oil everyday, for years and years.
RC: Beautiful. Rose is great for skin as well. Around your eyes, on your face, over your heart for emotions. And I love to combine rose with neroli and jasmine as a perfume. So, that’s a beautiful scent as well. Sorry I didn’t do one. But those would be my favorite recipes.
AB: That’s lovely. Thank you. Now, do you know how a lot of us, and I’m sure a lot of the viewers have grown up with at least one or two essential oils, and there is a lot of research and development going on in this space from what I understand and what I read. So tell me, are there any new discoveries in the world of essential oils?
RC: Yeah, absolutely. And this one, I think…
AB: Is CBD one of those new discoveries?
RC: Exactly. And this is what I was going to say. I was holding the best for the last. CBD is kind of this new kid on the block in health circles. It stands for Cannabidiol. I think it’s sexy because it comes from the cannabis plant, where they hold most of the THC, which is that psychoactive component of marijuana. And the way CBD oil works is we have these endocannabinoid receptors in our body. We have two systems. The first one deals with the central nervous system, and the second one deals with the immune system, specifically in inflammation. And when we use a cannabinoid, like Cannabidiol, which is what CBD stands for, what it does is it binds to these receptors and can calm those systems.
AB: Robin, any advice to our followers?
RC: I mean, my best advice for people, again with go remember the key fact one— that when you’re working with essential oils, it’s really important to work with a trusted brand, like a certified pure therapeutic grade brand. You’re not going to find effective oils on Amazon. I think that also, consistent use is important. And finally, again, of course, we can do one oil at a time. But I would recommend for people who are ready to make lifestyle changes to start with a few oils, so that they have at their fingertips the ability to address 80% of house health care needs that come their way. And lastly, they make great holiday gifts.
AB: Great. Now, can you suggest some things for hair growth? And also on that note, how would you use it for hair growth? Essential oils are little and powerful, right?
RC: Right. And so, I think the first part that I want to talk about when we talk about essential oils, and what I want to make sure and to make very clear with is that, I’m not a doctor, so I can’t actually diagnose or treat or cure or prevent any diseases. And essential oils, they just don’t work that way. And anybody who tells you they do, you need to be a little bit worried. These support your own body systems and amplify changes that you’re making. And so, for hair support, I think that what I would recommend would be a rosemary, a tea tree, and a lavender. Those three are three that I might recommend to support with those processes. And it can be used in a number of ways. So, you can use it by putting it in your hands and rubbing it on your scalp. You can put a drop or…
AB: Just a few drops in your hands? Not diluted, just rubbing it on your scalp?
RC: You certainly can dilute it. Before going in the shower, use it with a carrier oil, apply to your head, then go in the shower.
AB: You could use it with olive oil or coconut oil, a few drops? It won’t clash with any of those?
RC: Nope, not at all. And you could put a drop in your shampoo as you’re using it or your conditioner. But believe it or not, these would be just as effective if you were to use them on the bottoms of your feet, even if you’re not anywhere near your head. Because we know that they do get into your system. They’re in your bloodstream in five minutes. They’re in every cell in your body in 20 minutes and they’re fully metabolized out by 90 minutes. You can really use these several times per day.
AB: That’s interesting. So, what science is there to prove that these get into your system? How was this tested?
RC: Yeah, absolutely. There are a number of sites out there. The truth is science is just coming up with respect to essential oils. A website that you can go to is called AromaticScience.com.
AB: Yes, I looked at it.
RC: At AromaticScience.com, you can actually look up, there’s peer reviewed studies on there and you can look up essential oils either by body system or by essential oil name or by ailment. And you will get a whole list of essential oils that have been used to address in any of those three ways. So that would be my best suggestion for that.
AB: Lovely. Robin the next question is, Does CBD reduce eye pressure?
RC: Again, I’m not going to make any claims that these are going to heal or prevent, but the way I believe that they work is they support your own body system’s ability to heal. We know the body heals, right? If you get a cut, you don’t have to do anything and your body is going to heal itself. So, essential oils, in my opinion, amplify your body’s ability to heal. They work with your side benefits, that I was talking about, so that they amplify the effects of your own body’s ability to heal. So, the question about eyes…
AB: About eye pressure. Does CBD reduce eye pressure?
RC: Does CBD reduce eye pressure? I feel like I don’t know about CBD oil, about Copaiba. One way that we can use this, you could put a drop or two in your facial moisturizer and it is very helpful for the skin. It is helpful for inflammation in that way. So, if there’s eye pressure, I don’t know if the eye pressure they’re talking about is, for instance, headache or eye pain. What I like to use for pain, if I’m having feelings of pain, would be a peppermint, lavender, frankincense concoction.
AB: [Asking the viewer on the Live] Will you explain some more? When you talk about eye pressure, you’re talking about glaucoma here? Or are you just talking about eyes feeling tired or are you talking about pain, like Robin said?
RC: So, I’m not talking about any specific disease or disorder. I want to stay very compliant with respect to essential oils. And oils are not meant to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any diseases. But they can support body systems and they can help, especially with feelings of mood or tension or fear. They would help support in that way. If you are diagnosed with glaucoma, I would recommend you want to work with your medical professional, but I would say that the essential oils can be used with any other prescription medications that you’re using. So, you can use these in conjunction. There’s no effect. There’s no side effects. And so, you can use these in addition to whatever you’re currently using as prescribed by your doctor. So, I would never say that an essential oil will replace something that is recommended by your doctor, unless your doctor has said that’s acceptable.
AB: No, that’s fair because like you said, you’re not a doctor. You don’t want to take on curing someone. But for a lot of people who believe in alternative therapies who might believe we can sort this out, they’ll make their own little protocol or whatever, talking to people like you.
RC: One great thing about essential oils also is that we provide a lot of support around this. I don’t claim to be an expert with glaucoma, for instance, but I have reference guides where if I look up glaucoma, what there’ll be, will be five suggestions in addition to protocols to use. And so it’s not that you need to use all of the five oils, because you probably have all the five, but these are just suggestions to try to help support your body with whatever those feelings are that you’re experiencing.
AB: What oil can support things like arthritis or osteoarthritis?
RC: So, we have a couple of oils that are great to help through the aching muscles and joints. The first one is the Deep Blue. It’s kind of your all natural Voltarol or tiger balm. It has that wonderful icy cool sensation. I would probably combine that with a Copaiba. Other great oils would be lemongrass. Lemongrass is amazing for inflammation, support of inflammation, as well as turmeric oil. Turmeric oil can also help, and frankincense. So you could make a blend with all of those oils in it— with your Deep Blue, with Copaiba, with a lemongrass and a frankincense, that would be amazing to kind of help support. And again, because that’s where your body is speaking to you, I would recommend just putting it directly where you are feeling the discomfort.
AB: One or two drops?
RC: One or two drops, yes.
AB: And not diluted? Just as it is?
RC: Yes, just as is. And you know for Alzheimer’s, again, Alzheimer’s is being called diabetes type three right now. So, there are links between sugar imbalances and diabetes and later developing Alzheimer’s. So again, this isn’t meant to treat or cure or prevent Alzheimer’s, but what essential oils that I can recommend that are maybe part of a protocol, the protocol that I will use to help people, is to diffuse these oils, to diffuse lemon and rosemary during the day. That rosemary, again, kind of helps with supporting the body for memory and concentration. Lemon is a cleanser. And then in the evening, because a lot of Alzheimer’s patients actually tend to exhibit restlessness and problems with sleep, I would be diffusing wild-orange and lavender and possibly adding frankincense to that as well.
AB: So, this is all the diffusion for Alzheimer’s? You would recommend diffusing it the whole day? Different oils?
RC: I would be, well, the truth is I recommend diffusing all day anyway. 24/7. But you can be using these. All aromatically, topically and internally. All of those that I’ve mentioned can be taken internally. The lemon, the rosemary you can cook. You can make rosemary mashed potatoes with that. Rosemary is also great. lavender, the wild orange, frankincense. These can be used all aromatically, topically and internally.
AB: Lovely. Robin, thank you so much. It was such an informative session.
RC: Thank you very much. I enjoyed being here.
AB: Thank you. And I hope it’s going to help lots and lots of people.
RC: Thank you, bye-bye.
AB: Bye bye. Thanks for joining us. Hope you enjoyed the Wellness Curated podcast. Please subscribe and tell your friends and family about it. And here’s to you leading your best life.