Essential Oils As Medicine: Essential Oils Guide

Hey guys, Dr. Josh Axe here along with Jordan Rubin. Welcome to Ancient Nutrition Today. Today we're going to be talking about one of my favorite topics along with Jordan's, and it's essential oils and using them as medicine. Now, every week on this program we teach you how to use food as medicine, but we believe that essential oils are some of the most powerful forms of plant-based medicine that you can use to take your health and your loved ones' health to To the next level. And Jordan, we're going to talk today about a lot of conditions that people are struggling with, and we want to teach people how to use essential oils as ancient medicine. Hey, if you are passionate about this topic like we are, take a minute right now, punch that share button, click the love button, help us spread the word on how to use essential oils as therapy for the body. And Jordan, we've covered a lot of different— we've got a lot of topics we're going to cover here today. We're covering a lot of essential oils. Tell everybody a little bit about this sort of Eastern medicine versus Western medicine. There are a lot of people today that first turn to synthetic drugs and medications rather than trying a natural approach. Why is that? And what are you seeing right now in people moving back to ancient medicine?

Well, first of all, you should let us know if you also decided to wear some shade of purple or lavender because this was not rehearsed. But lavender is one of our favorite essential oils.

There you go.

So if you're wearing purple today or some variant of it, go ahead and tell us. You know, today I'm seeing more than ever an interest in essential oils. It is sweeping the world. Yesterday I did our very first interview or pre-interview for our brand new book, Essential Oils: Ancient Medicine. This over 500-page manual, 512 pages, is going to be coming soon to a mailbox or FedEx near you, but we want you to get excited about this book. This is something that I'm already excited about using myself, and I was a co-author. We are really absolutely enthusiastic about people today using essential oils as a first line of defense. Here's the thing, today you're going to see certain essential oil recommendations for diabetes.

Yeah.

You're going to see it for infections, bronchitis. You're going to see essential oil recommendations for cancer, but let me be very clear. We are not suggesting using essential oils instead of medicine. This is not simply an alternative, but let's face it, when you have an infection, before you go to the doctor, wouldn't it be great to do something?

Yeah, absolutely.

If you've got a fever, before you take your child to the doctor, wouldn't it be great to do something, having some power within ourselves to take control? So this is not about use this instead of that solely. In many cases, you can do that. But we're trying to meet you where you are, and if you're under medical treatment, for example diabetes, what we're going to share with you can augment that because these are natural, these are historical, and they're powerful.

Jordan, let's jump in and talk about inflammation. Think about all the diseases today, maybe just name a few that are caused by inflammation.

Well, let's think about this, anything that has the suffix -itis. is an inflammatory disease. So some of them right on here, but obviously arthritis, bursitis, gingivitis, colitis. You start thinking about it, there are thousands, thousands of conditions that are inflammatory in nature and many that have an underlying inflammatory component.

Yeah.

There's not an accident why inflammation is first, because every condition here has an inflammatory component. If there were 2 things I could say about oils, So many oils are highly anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial.

Yeah.

But 2 rise above the pack. So when it comes to inflammation, we're talking about the chronic inflammation that is underlying autoimmune disease, etc., pain, stiffness, and aches. Turmeric and frankincense externally and internally are the one-two punch to fight inflammation that everybody needs. And you and I have been— consuming these products and sort of hoarding them, but I can tell you folks, consuming and applying and inhaling frankincense and turmeric is amazing. And we even saw some amazing benefits on turmeric and inflammation of the brain.

Yeah.

So, we don't have Parkinson's and Alzheimer's down here, but a lot of people believe that they are inflammatory in nature, and this is a powerful one-two punch for anyone who Who wants to feel better now and prevent any of the -itises from coming about.

Absolutely. As Jordan's saying, so many conditions today are caused by chronic inflammation, arthritis and joint pain, inflammatory bowel disease, and a whole lot more. And just a few notes here, Jordan and I were reading an article, we've read several articles this week both, and looked at a lot of clinical research on turmeric essential oil. And it's amazing, it contains large amounts of a compound called turmerone. Which has been shown to actually help your body support in producing its own stem cells, support healthy nerve tissue. It is incredible. And Jordan, I think turmeric oil is going to be one of those essential oils growing in the future, get up there maybe in popularity with lavender potentially here.

Oh, yeah.

So we'll see. So here's a great one-two punch. And next thing here is ADD and ADHD. You know, there are so many kids today, Jordan, getting put on medications like Ritalin and Adderall and other similar medications, and these drugs really affect the brain and can affect the body's production of certain hormones in really dangerous ways. And the great news is essential oils have some good research on the benefits to support focus. If you or someone you love is struggling with ADD and ADHD, the top 2 we'd recommend would be vetiver and cedarwood. Vetiver, there was a study done Where they actually found that it had the highest effective rating of all essential oils at treating ADHD. Second was cedarwood, third was lavender. Now, there were many essential oils they didn't use in the study, but Jordan, if I myself am having trouble focusing or had a child do that, again, vetiver and cedarwood would be 1 and 2. If they are hyperactive, doing chamomile and lavender can be great things to add. And if they're having trouble with memory, then rosemary oil is absolutely one of the best. So when it comes to ADD and ADHD, vetiver, cedarwood, as we're talking about, are the top 2 you want to be using on a regular basis.

That's amazing. And we know that cedarwood has a history that dates back to the Bible. And what I love about essential oils, they are so safe for children because you can diffuse them. So you can diffuse essential oils while the children are asleep. My children just love to hold a bottle and breathe in, so they're getting some of that through their olfactory nervous system. They can be used topically, of course, and they often, when labeled as dietary supplements, can be taken internally. What a blessing that ADD and ADHD can be conquered with the help of essential oils. And keep this in mind, if your child is on medication for ADD, ADHD, these can be used alongside that. They are complementary, and that's what I love about essential oils.

Yeah, great couple of questions here. Alan asks, do ADD and ADD oils, do those also work, the ones you recommended here, for autism? You know, I would say that autism, if we're really looking at the root of what's causing it, a lot of times that starts in the gut. But I would say from a behavioral standpoint, yes, these essential oils could absolutely show a lot of benefits. And I would really highlight especially vetiver, cedarwood, again rosemary as I talked about, lavender and chamomile, all beneficial. And sometimes also doing things, remember, to support the gut health, probiotic foods, bone broth, these things are also really going to help in supporting the body there as well. All right, Jordan, let's talk about blood pressure here.

Blood pressure or high blood pressure, as it were, is super common today. The medications do work effectively, but they come with some side effects. And blood pressure is not really something that is always elevated. or is always low.

Yeah.

Bottom line, you can be hypertensive, hypotensive, and sort of go back and forth. And so, what I love about lavender and rosemary, not only does it have multifunctional, multisystemic benefits, but lavender is great to de-stress you.

Yes.

So, let your pulse rate go down, help you relax, sort of just take a deep breath. And rosemary invigorates the mind and also is a powerful antioxidant. So, this is a great one-two punch. I like mixing them together. You can certainly apply them topically. I've said many times I use lavender and rosemary. I pour it on my head every day. What I've been doing recently is in my shower, I have shampoos and all different samples I've been getting over the years, and I'll add extra essential oils to it. So now I'm doing lavender and rosemary in shampoo and conditioner, and just making sure each time when I open to inhale, and I'm pouring drops in the shower so that they can vaporize. So these are really awesome.

Yeah, Jordan. I mean, rosemary is one of those essential oils that I feel like is an unsung hero. A lot of times when people hear rosemary, they think, oh, thickening my hair. We know it's used prevalently for naturally thickening your hair, so it's a great use for it. But also, as Jordan mentioned, it's a powerful antioxidant and surprisingly a powerful anti-inflammatory. It's great for your joints, great for reducing inflammation.

Absolutely.

So again, rosemary, it's one of those everyday oils.

Absolutely.

So, these are some things that everybody should have on hand here when it comes to helping balance out blood pressure levels. Jordan, let's talk infections. You know, there are so many people getting chronic infections on a regular basis. I mean, we could go from things like urinary tract infections, we could talk about bronchial infections, we could talk about wounds that people have that get infected. But in general, there are certain essential oils that rise above the rest when it comes to treating infections. And those would be oregano and thyme, 2 of the most powerful. We know oregano contains a compound called carvacrol, which has been shown to be— actually, I was reading a study where they found— they were comparing different herbs and oils, and they found oregano to be the strongest in terms of some of its antifungal properties.

Absolutely.

So, so powerful at treating infections. And then thyme oil contains a compound— there's actually 2 types of thyme, but The most prevalent one, it contains thymol and carvacrol, which is found in oregano, and it is a really powerful oil for antimicrobial properties, also for supporting the immune system. So again, for fighting infections, oregano and thyme are 2 great oils. And how you might use this, if you're going to use it topically, make sure you mix those with a carrier oil. Mix it with a lot of coconut oil, rub it on your chest as almost like sort of a rub, Or if you have an infected site on your body, you might add the drops directly to that area, more neat in that area. Or if you are going to take them internally, I want to just give this warning. These are really powerful in terms of their antimicrobial properties. You don't want to go overboard. Typically, a maximum of 10 to 14 days or so in smaller doses taken with food, a lot of times under the care of a practitioner. But in general, again, if you're looking to fight infection, these These are 2 of the best.

Absolutely.

Jordan, talk to us about diabetes.

Diabetes is so common that the numbers literally grow every single year. But now we've got other conditions such as prediabetes or metabolic syndrome. Fluctuating blood sugar causes so many issues, certainly kidney issues, advanced aging, immune system problems. But diabetes, whether you're on medication or not, can be corrected through diet and essential oils. And cinnamon is just the superstar when it comes to diabetes. Certain compounds in cinnamon actually mimic insulin. And when you look at the original work that I did with the Maker's Diet, I would say that all health conditions have 3 underlying I's: inflammation, infection, and insulin.

Wow.

Now, this recommendation is good for everybody out there. If you're overweight, if you've got mood swings, if you have imbalanced blood sugar at all, cinnamon, which has so many great benefits, It tastes wonderful. Use it externally, great in blends for inhaling, and wonderful to consume as a supplement. I recommend if you want to balance your blood sugar, consuming 2 drops of cinnamon essential oil either in food, it's great in applesauce obviously, good in juices, good in yogurt, etc., smoothies, it's amazing. 2 drops, 3 times a day. I like doing it before meals.

Yeah.

It's really, really wonderful and it has this amazing sweet taste. makes recipes so good.

Oh, yeah.

Holy basil is great for so many functions. It has an adaptogenic quality to help reduce stress and boost the body. These 2 together are amazing. Holy basil is more of a floral flavor, floral note. Inhale it, put it on your body, and consume it. You can also use holy basil in the amounts of 2 to 4 drops, 1 to 3 times a day. So these are both extremely safe. Look for organic oils that are labeled as dietary supplements, amazing for diabetes.

Jordan, you know, one of the things that shocks me is the amount of people that have trouble sleeping at night. I mean, if you were to look at the stats on how many people either wake up tired or it takes a long time for them to fall asleep or they're getting low-quality sleep at night, it's huge. But also, more advanced forms of that we're going to call insomnia, if you really have trouble sleeping. You can't fall asleep at night, you can't stay asleep at night, we can label that insomnia. And there are 2 specific essential oils that are very effective at this. Number one is chamomile. Chamomile oil, also known as Roman chamomile or German chamomile, has a very calming effect on the body. In fact, another area it's calming for, not only the brain, is the digestive system. Many people, actually many blends that are for gas and bloating and soothing the digestive system include chamomile. So again, chamomile is great, also lavender oil. And what I love to do is do a couple drops or about 5 drops of each in a diffuser by our bed at night and actually diffuse it while Chelsea and I are trying to go to sleep. You could even do a few drops if you're doing laundry with your bedsheets, you can do a few drops of lavender and chamomile actually in your laundry detergent there, it actually helps get Give it that fresh, amazing scent there as well, or do a couple drops, just rub it on your temples and your neck before bed. But chamomile and lavender, 2 powerful essential oils that help promote a healthy night's sleep here. Jordan, let's talk about adrenal fatigue.

Adrenal fatigue is probably affecting somewhere in the neighborhood of 25% of adults and maybe up to as many as half of of the women who are in their 30s. When you look at our lifestyle today, everything is fast, super stimulating. And what that does, it increases cortisol which decreases DHEA, which is the hallmark of adrenal fatigue.

Yeah.

You're tired, you're grouchy, you're a little bit pudgy in the middle, your skin doesn't look as soft and healthy as it used to, and the list goes on and on. You get angry, etc. When it comes to adrenal fatigue, Holy basil is a powerful adaptogenic oil, and rosemary, due to its antioxidants, its protective effects, and its mildly energizing benefits, are a great combo. These would go wonderful together.

Yeah.

They would taste great if you consume them internally. You know what would be awesome here is to make a tea or an infusion. So put hot water with 1 to 2 drops of holy basil. Holy basil or rosemary, and even do the combination. Smelling it while you're drinking it is going to do half the work. Then you drink it, add a little honey, it would be really great. Wow, great idea. It would be floral, kind of yummy tasting. But when it comes to adrenal fatigue, the essential oils, rosemary and holy basil, can help along with a diet that is rich in nutrients, bone broth, fermented foods, Lower sugars and starches, and consuming adaptogenic botanicals, which we do every single day. So that's really powerful and that can affect almost everyone out there.

All right, guys, we're going to jump right in and talk about essential oils for chronic pain. And Jordan, I know when I spent a lot of time taking care of patients in my clinic, it was the number one thing I saw people for, chronic pain, neck pain, low back pain, sciatica, Headaches, joint pain, and arthritis. We live in a world today where people are suffering from chronic pain and inflammation. The good news is essential oils can help. Jordan, you know, this top oil here, wintergreen, it falls in the family— there's actually a similar compound found in birch oil. And birch oil is high in something called salicylic acid, which is actually the main ingredient in aspirin by the Bayer Company. And so, A lot of people will actually— it's crazy. When we look at medications today, so many of these medications originally were used as herbs.

Absolutely.

And then companies started creating and trying to cut costs and do things synthetically. So again, essential oils really are ancient medicine. These big pharmaceutical companies have come in today and actually started trying to cut corners, do things synthetically, and they're not as effective. One of the things, Jordan, I've loved about the way you've formulated your supplements for years is you've been all about whole foods using the entire part of the plant because these things work synergistically and oftentimes balance each other out reducing side effects. Well, unfortunately pharmaceutical companies don't do that. It's time to start harnessing and start making your own home— at-home apothecary here as well. So wintergreen oil, birch oil, they contain those compounds. That actually are natural pain relieving. Now, I don't recommend taking wintergreen internally or birch, but again, using it topically for pain in an area is great. And then black pepper oil. Think about making your own at-home Icy Hot. We've got a very cooling oil in wintergreen, we've got a hot and spicy oil in black pepper. And if you don't have wintergreen at home, you can actually use peppermint oil instead, menthol. Menthol has a very similar cooling reaction and analgesic action in the body. So wintergreen, black pepper, if you don't have black pepper, ginger and cinnamon and clove are very warming as well. So think about the cooling and heating oil, blending those with some coconut oil, rub it on your skin. It's a great natural topical pain reliever.

Absolutely. Depression affects a huge amount of people and it's really a silent killer. I mean, all of us, And you probably, you as well, know individuals who have chronic depression, if not people who have taken their lives.

Yeah.

And we don't talk about this a lot because it's a very challenging subject, but I've had family members, more than one, I think 3, that have had chronic depression which culminated in death. Now, let's not talk about that being super widespread, but there's a lot of people on medication, they're on anti-anxiety, anti-depression medications. Medications, and they're challenging for the entire body. Whether you're on those medications or not, or whether you're someone who just has what you would call episodic depression, which means people say, how's it going today? I'm depressed. Now, you may not be clinically depressed, but you're feeling the blues. There are 2 great essential oils to help you. I'm going to start with orange. I live in Florida, or at least have for years, and just being in an orange grove, smelling orange blossoms, smelling citrus is truly amazing. You are uplifted. Yeah. Orange oil is very underrated for how amazing it is. Now, it's not produced the same way through steam distillation, it's the pressed rind of orange and it has a powerful effect on the mood. Ylang-ylang is an amazing oil that is probably the number one oil indicated for depression. Now, we could certainly talk about lavender and chamomile because when you sleep better, you're in a better mood, holy basil is great, but when it comes to depression, Ylang-ylang and orange are great in combination or individually. And what's amazing about orange is it can be used not only topically, not only through inhalation, but it can be used in foods and in beverages. Citrus oils are amazing. If you want a refreshing drink, warm or hot, you can make even a slushie. We talked about this before. Take water, some honey, Ice and drops of orange oil and you've got a delicious slushie. You can make popsicles out of it and you're getting powerful effects. So depression can be improved through the use and application of essential oils.

Great advice, Jordan. Couldn't agree more. We got a question here from Billy Weatherall, or actually, well, actually a comment, great advice for somebody. I think somebody was wondering about female hormones or having menstrual cramps. What are the best essential oils for that? You know, Jordan and I both are big fans of sage or clary sage when it comes to balancing out hormones. So I would say if you're looking to balance hormones, you're a female, menstrual cramps, clary sage at the very top of the list, along with lavender is another fantastic one to use there as well. Great advice, guys. We're going to jump in here to the next one here. I'm going to talk about leaky gut. So as we know, So many conditions are not rooted in where they might seem. Our symptoms don't necessarily tell us where something's caused from. When we're looking at conditions today, even things such as autoimmune disease, many of these things begin in the gut. But in general, I want to talk about the best essential oils that help leaky gut, and these same essential oils are great for gas, bloating, for indigestion, any of those types of issues. And one of my favorites, Jordan, here is ginger. We know ginger was used extensively and is still today in Eastern and Chinese medicine. And ginger has warming properties. In fact, they believe it's very good for the spleen, very good for what's called your middle burner in Chinese medicine and your pancreas. And so if you really want to support digestion of your foods, ginger is absolutely one of the best. It's also highly anti-inflammatory containing gingerols and zingerbene and other beneficial compounds. And then peppermint oil. Peppermint has a cooling effect and actually really supports the motility of your gastric system there. So again, ginger, peppermint, 2 of my favorites. There are some other great ones. I think chamomile is great for calming the stomach. Cardamom and cumin both have tremendous benefits as well. I was going to mention fennel too, actually has been shown to reduce gas specifically. So again, there's a lot of benefits for digestion, but ginger and peppermint oil together Jordan, I just like doing a single drop of each in water, drinking it as a warm tea with a little bit of lemon juice as well. It's a great thing to do.

You know what else you can do is take a spoonful of honey, manuka honey or raw honey, and put a drop of each and just— it's almost like a lozenge.

Natural cough, yeah.

And that's great also for a sore throat, but it does make its way down to the gut, very soothing and truly amazing. Acne, this is a problem that people have, and I know for me when I was a teenager, I struggled with a little bit of acne and even that affected my life. And we see one of the top-selling infomercials of all time is an acne-based infomercial, celebrities dealt with it. It is pretty devastating to folks and a lot of adults still deal with blemishes and acne. Yeah, so true. When it comes to acne, you want to get at one of the root causes which is infection and there are no 2 better oils than tea tree and manuka for acne. Tea tree and manuka are both very strong, as is oregano, so they need to be mixed. And I recommend mixing them with aloe vera. You can do that sort of as a step 2 of a treatment. You can use a cleanser and put a couple of drops of tea tree and manuka in the cleanser. Make sure to close your eyes when you wash your face. Probably one of my favorite ways to use tea tree and manuka, I'm going to give you 2, is mixing it in a clay poultice.

Oh, yeah.

So, your 3rd step. step at night to reduce the oily discharge, the sebum of the skin, particularly acne-prone skin which is usually oily, take some clay. You can get a bentonite-type clay that's in a powder, mix that in water, and put a little bit of tea tree and manuka and apply it to your problem areas. That's an amazing mask.

Oh, yeah.

That will help dry out and destroy germs that cause Acne, or at least are implicated in acne. I would not recommend either tea tree or manuka taken internally, even though it has been done in severe cases of infection. Another way to use tea tree and manuka is to mix it in honey. So manuka oil can be mixed in manuka honey.

Oh, yeah.

And when you do that, it's a little bit sticky, but it's absolutely great for your skin. It's been used for thousands of years as a treatment. So topical treatments for acne, tea tree and manuka. Issues when it comes to acne, the anti-inflammatory oils, turmeric and frankincense are amazing. You can consume oregano and thyme for the anti-infection. And now we're on bronchitis.

Here we go, bronchitis. So remember this, if you have bronchitis, croup, anytime you have some of that phlegm that's resting within your lung space, we want to do several things. One, we typically want to warm the area. 2, we want to reduce stagnation and start moving things in that area as well as it naturally decongests. And number 3, we want to eliminate any type of infection that's in the area as well. So in order to do that, here are some of the best oils. Eucalyptus is a powerhouse when it comes to helping open up your airways. You know, this is a popular one out of Australia specifically, and this has been shown to be one of the best essential oils specifically for decongestion. If you really want to start moving that phlegm and these things and sort of break up some of the things that are in your throat and your chest. Eucalyptus is powerful. And then thyme is great as well. Thyme essential oil is one of my favorites. Thyme contains thymol and it's one of the most antimicrobials out there today that still is— I would say that it's more gentle than oregano but also has very widespread antimicrobial properties being antifungal. So again, thyme and eucalyptus are great. Also, actually, lemon oil is another good decongestant. You want to start getting some lymph and things moving in your body. I would add lemon oil to this list. And then even things like ginger and cinnamon, they're more warming, are good. So a lot of times in treating some of these different conditions, it's good to do a blend of essential oils harnessing the power. And a lot of times they can work synergistically together.

Absolutely. Candida overgrowth or yeast infections. Systemic yeast. This is one of the conditions that essential oils are best at conquering. When it comes to Candida, there are a handful of great oils to lower the amount, but none are better than clove and oregano. Clove is highly anti-infection. It is amazing against fungi. You can inhale it. You can also consume it, which is really, really powerful. It just works extremely well, and oregano It's just the best when it comes to fighting Candida. Remember what we talked about earlier, oregano should be used in shorter duration. So, 10 to 14 days, then take some time off. I would recommend 1 drop of each.

Yep.

3 times a day. You can do it with food, you can do it on an empty stomach if you've got serious systemic Candida. Take a great quality probiotic and consume fermented foods during the same day, not at the same time, but during the same day. But if you've got Candida, you absolutely need to be Inhaling and consuming clove and oregano, these are also highly anti-inflammatory and some of the highest antioxidant substances on the planet, which help your body in so many ways. Antifungals out there are very single-minded. They're very focused on destroying fungi and leaving whatever collateral damage. Clove and oregano will give you multiple synergistic side benefits, which I love.

Yeah, and one of the things that Jordan said that I just want to resonate and speak again If you're on a protocol using these oils, make sure you're doing lots of probiotics and following a diet that's easy to digest, getting lots of bone broth. And I'd recommend advanced dosage of probiotics, probably upwards of 100 billion every day, maybe even 100 billion twice to 3 times a day, but getting a lot of those probiotics is key. And the last one here we're going to talk about is cancer. And we want to be clear about this. I'm going to touch on 2, I'm going to have Jordan talk about 2, but as we're talking about And again, this isn't— we're not talking about treatment necessarily of cancer directly or doing this instead of what your physician suggests.

Absolutely.

But just remember this, one of the things that I always ask people, or I remember I had a patient ask me this one time, they said, well, Dr. Axe, and they chose to do conventional practice, and they said, would it still benefit me to eat a better diet? The answer is, of course. If you're battling any health condition, Whether you're going the medical approach or not, you want to get your body as healthy as possible. So yes, eat more healthy foods, use healthy supplements, use essential oils in the right way. You're just overall, it's going to help get you healthier. And as we talk about cancer right now, Jordan, I know this is something we both feel so passionate about. There are millions of people diagnosed with cancer all across the globe today, and they need to know how to use essential oils as natural remedies in supporting the health of their body. So hey, do me a favor right now, help us spread the message on how to use essential oils for cancer. Take a second right now, punch your share button if you want to help us share and spread the message. And this is information, Jordan, I wish my mom and my family would have known before she was diagnosed a long time ago. So I'm going to touch on the bottom 2 and have you talk about the top 2. I'm going to talk myrrh and turmeric, you can talk frankincense and lavender. Myrrh oil, one of my favorite essential oils, many of these oils contain a compound called alpha-pinene which has been shown to cause apoptosis of cells. So it's actually programming cell death of cancer cells. Myrrh is one of those essential oils that has that. So myrrh, actually in certain cases, just as powerful as frankincense in fighting cancer. And then turmeric. Turmeric contains 2 powerful compounds, turmerone and curcumin, higher levels of turmerone. Both of these compounds Have anti-cancer benefits along with a whole lot more benefits. So again, I think that these are 2 of my favorite oils. Talk about the other 2 here, Jordan.

Absolutely. And one thing I want to mention on myrrh, if you've got any oral issues, there are people that, particularly men, that have had tobacco— I don't want to say addiction, but have consumed a lot of tobacco, chewed, etc. Myrrh is great as a mouthwash, any type of oral issues whether it's cancer or not. And myrrh can be consumed in small doses. Orally, turmeric is great orally. Topically, it might stain a little bit, but believe me, it's well worth it. And if you've got any skin issues, those are both great applied with a carrier oil. Well, lavender and frankincense are really important. Frankincense, if you do the research, you'll find that frankincense has been studied in animals and some small human studies to radically boost the immune system and works great along with conventional treatments.

Yes.

Always check with your oncologist or your primary care physician. Frankincense is amazing inhaled, consumed, or applied topically. And lavender, folks, let's face it, when you're diagnosed with a disease that evokes fear and terror, you need to de-stress. Lavender is great at de-stressing the body. It may not be directly anti-cancer, but I don't know a single person who's going through cancer or a loved one of that person that couldn't benefit from the stress-reducing, sleep-inducing benefits of lavender. And if you've got skin conditions or you're dealing with even wounds, scars, or any type of surgical removal of, call it a skin cancer, putting lavender on there is absolutely great. Lavender soothes, you can put it on directly, and it is— I always say for lavender, skin, Stress, sleep.

Oh, yeah.

The 3 S's. Folks, we take this very seriously. When you are dealing with cancer, every optimal and really every optional treatment that you believe in, do everything. Don't allow this disease to beat you spiritually and certainly not physically, but make essential oils a part, a complementary part of your cancer program, or if you're somebody who has a history of cancer, instead of getting prospective surgeries, why not implement powerful therapy such as essential oils? And folks, there's so much more to say, but we're about out of time. So if you're watching today and you're dealing with inflammation or depression or Candida, you want to lower your blood pressure, you want complementary strategies to work along with your treatment, you've come to the right place. I'm so excited you watched today. And remember, Dr. Josh Axe and myself are here every weekday, 10:30 a.m. Central Standard Time. We also have some cool pop-ins occasionally, and we want to transform your health. So make sure to share this life-saving information with those you love. There's so much interest in essential oils, but not enough information. So we're all in a debt of gratitude to you for creating so much information.

Thanks.

So Josh, what would you say to somebody who just So, for someone that's just tuned in, is looking at this long list of conditions, why do they need essential oils and what should they do about it?

Well, you know, as we've talked about, essential oils are ancient medicine. These are things that we know is referenced more than 300 times in the Bible. It's used in Greek medicine, Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, and we should all be harnessing these powers, Jordan. This is stuff I wish that I would have known when I was a kid. I wish my mom would have known growing up. And these are things that I use in my house every day now. The deodorant I wear is made of essential oils, the shampoo I use, the cleaning products we use in our house. Whenever we're looking to support our digestive system or whatever it is, when we get a burn or a cut, we use essential oils as our ancient medicine in the Dr. Axe household. And also, we're going to be doing pop-ins. Thanksgiving is coming up. Make sure you subscribe here and we'll be back tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. Central Time with some more advanced trainings On how to use food as medicine. This has been Jordan Rubin. Myself, Dr. Josh Axe. Have a great week. We'll see you tomorrow.