These oils are very helpful in cold weather and during the cold and flu season, as well as for all the other challenges many of us are facing during the holiday time of the year.

Doug Corrigan, Julie Chertow and Peter Minke offer great tips on:

• What you can do to fight germs, viruses, fungus, mold, bacteria
• What to do about sore throats, bronchitis, chest and head colds
• How to protect yourself when people are coughing on you
• Boost and fortify your immune system
• Mellow your mood and fill up with holiday spirit without drugs or stimlants
• …and much more!

Listen to this great audio on what Thieves, Citrus Fresh, Christmas Spirit can do for you during the holidays and beyond – just click on the link below:

Thieves, Citrus Fresh, Christmas Spirit for the Holidays and the Whole Year

This audio has some of the best tips for using Thieves, Citrus Fresh, and Christmas Spirit that I've ever heard!

"THE GREATER GOOD" from BNP Pictures

This Award winning documentary offers a fresh look at what’s behind the sharply polarized vaccine debate in the U.S., and offers the opportunity for a new, more rational discussion about how to create safer and more effective public health policies to help our children stay healthy.

The Greater Good "weaves together the stories of families whose lives have been forever changed by vaccination," and shows how modern medicine, especially when driven by politics and big business, can rob you of some of your most basic rights. The results of such politically- and financially- driven policies can be devastating and one movie reviewer, who saw the groundbreaking documentary, commented:

"What's being said is staggering, especially if you don't know too much about the science of, and politics behind, vaccines."
- LA Weekly

Again, I have no idea how long this preview will be online, so watch it right away.

The site is now moved to new hosting, and I'm finding loose ends that have to be fixed. But it's otherwise all here and working OK.

If you find something that is not working, please write me through my contact page and let me know asap. Now is the time to fix everything that is not working.

I'll be back to regular blogging soon.

Rufina

Food manufactures are jumping on the blueberry popularity bandwagon in an increasing amount of products, coming out with all kinds of new blueberry products like blueberry muffins, bagels, and cereals. Pictures of plump, juicy blueberries cover the front labels.

But wait, what's really in the package? Blueberries? Or just something that LOOKS like blueberries?

The nonprofit organization, Consumer Wellness Center, recently released a video report exposing that many BLUEBERRY breakfast cereals, breads, and pastries are COMPLETLY MISSING the blueberries. Watch the fake blueberry video

It turns out that many popular products, which show pictures of fresh blueberries on the package, contain NOT A SINGLE MOLECULE of the actual fruit.

So what are they made up of?

Kellogg's Blueberry Muffin Frosted Mini-Wheats contain "Blueberry Flavored Crunchlets" made of "sugar, corn cereal, soybean oil, modified corn starch, water, natural and artificial flavor, glycerin, corn syrup, red #40 lake, and blue #2 lake."

Kellogg's® Special K® Bar Blueberry contain what they call "BLUEBERRY FLAVORED FRUIT PIECES" – but they aren't blueberry pieces at all, they are actually colored cranberries with a little blueberry juice on them. The official list of ingredients reads: sugar, cranberries, blueberry juice from concentrate, grape juice concentrate for color, sunflower oil.

Other fake bluberry products contain variations of the above.

A few products do contain blueberry fruit puree, but that is not as wholesome as it sounds. The puree is usually only a minor ingredient in a sauce made up of high fructose corn syrup or dextrose, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, "petrochemical colors," and other flavorings, colorings and extenders. Nobody is saying how much natural blueberry content is in the mix, but its certainly not listed at the top of the ingredients list.

At least Jiffy Blueberry Muffins prints the disclaimer "artificially flavored with imitation berries" across the front of the box.

The question is, is it right to show pictures of a specific fruit on a product package that bears that fruit's name, but contains none of the actual fruit?

I think we all know the answer to that. Except perhaps the FTC, who would rather prosecute natural products for truthful health claims than outright lies by conventional food manufacturers.

It's the same with essential oils. You'll see brand after brand of essential oils labeled "Pure" and "Natural" – but those terms are meaningless. There are no standards that regulate what constitutes "Pure" and "Natural." So ANYONE can put those labels on ANY product for any reason. And since there is no concrete, legal definition of the terms, they are used liberally to mislead the public.

Its true for supplements as well. A little while ago, I came across a new supplement that sounded interesting. Their tagline was, "Purest on the Planet." I called them and asked what that meant to them and what standards they were basing the term "pure" on. The person I spoke to stated that was just their marketing slogan and he didn't really know. He said he would look into it and ask the president of the company to call me back and let me know. That was a couple of months ago and no one has called.

I'm not surprized.

How can you be sure you are buying something really "Pure?" In the case of essential oils, you know you are getting the absolute purest and best quality if you buy 100% Young Living Therapeutic Grade™ (as found on this website). This designation means that every essential oil Young Living distills or sources has the optimal naturally-occurring blend of constituents to maximize the desired effect. Young Living is able to make this statement because of their strict cultivation process that guarantees the optimal potency of every Young Living essential oil. More info: The Therapeutic Grade Essential Oil Difference

In the case of food and supplements, going organic is always best. Staying away from all pre-packaged and prepared food is another wise policy. The only way to control what you eat and ingest is to make it yourself and/or buy the ingredients from highly reputable sources.

And never forget the importance of reading labels. Never take anything for granted no matter how pretty the picture or how plump and blue the berry.

Buried deep within the Stimulus Package (way before the Health Care bill was passed)… far into the fine print in a 600 page document (so few will ever see in time), lies the legislation that will turn your doctor into a puppet of the government's political agenda and turn you into… well, you decide for yourself…

Dr. David Janda, Health Care Analyst, explains why, under Obama Care, your doctor will be permitted to dispense ONLY government-dictated care and why health rationing is INEVITABLE.

Dr. Janda explains why your doctor will be fined $100,000 if he fails to adhere to the exact dictates of government-prescribed care, even if he knows that the treatment will harm his patient. If your doctor repeats the offense, he will be imprisoned.

This is a MUST-WATCH. Do not miss this. Watch it immediately, BEFORE the elections this Tuesday. Pass this on to your friends and even enemies. The people of this country need to be awakened before it's too late!

This seems unbelievable, but remember, a few years ago I myself received a letter from the FTC demanding I remove all mention of medical conditions, all testimonials and any implication that a natural substance can help a medical condition from my website under threat of $11,000 fine and jail time PER INFRACTION!

Mandated health care is not really about health care. It's far deeper and much more sinister. It's about controlling the public – you and me, and your family. It's about creating a world totally for THEIR benefit, at our expense.

It's already happening in other parts of the world. My chiropractor just returned from a chiropractic seminar where he found out that already in Australia and now beginning in Ontario, Canada, if a patient asks his doctor about vaccination, the doctor is only permitted to say, "You need to talk to your general practitioner about that" – AND THE CHIROPRACTOR MUST LOG THE INCIDENT!

The chiropractor is not allowed to say anything more – he is not allowed to mention his opinions, provide facts, or give his recommendation according to the health and condition of the patient he's been working with. He can say nothing more than the above statement and log the incident. Doesn't it make you wonder why he has to log the incident?

Follow this link for more information about Bill C-36 in Canada

This is what is ahead for us unless we stop it through the elections on Tuesday. If we don't stop it, even mentioning herbs or any alternative treatment will be illegal for EVERYONE.

Is that a world you want to live in?

"Health Care" has been passed, but we can get it repealed if we can vote out legislators who support it and vote in those who respect the constitution and the rights it gives us.

Encourage your friends, family, neighbors, relatives and everyone you know to see Dr. Janda's video and to vote. And pass this information on…

Every year, Young Living Essential Oils reveals never-seen-before essential oil blends and new products at their annual convention. This year brings three exciting new oil blends and two diffusers.

Read below to learn more about each one and discover them for yourself…

Sacred Frankincense – strengthen your spiritual connection with this rare aromatic

• Sacred Frankincense essential oil is distilled from Boswellia sacra frankincense trees at the Young Living distillery in Oman.
• Omani frankincense is considered the rarest, most sought-after aromatic in existence.
• Use Sacred Frankincense while practicing yoga, meditation, or prayer to achieve a deeper spiritual connection.
• Young Living’s Sacred Frankincense marks the first time any Westerners have experienced its unique properties.

Common Sense™ Essential Oil Blend – calming, energy-balancing clarity

• Common-Sense-5ml-150 Common Sense essential oil is a proprietary blend of Young Living essential oils specially formulated by Gary Young.
• It features a combination of frankincense, ylang ylang, ocotea, RutaVaLa™, Dorado Azul, and lime essential oils.
• Helps users make healthier, more balanced decisions.
• The oils contained in this blend have calming, stress-relieving, and energy-balancing properties to relax the body and more clearly focus the mind.

Progessence™ Plus Serum - the first-ever progesterone serum

• Progessence Plus serum is an innovative progesterone serum specially formulated by D. Gary Young and Dr. Dan Purser.
• The first-ever progesterone serum on the market, Progessence Plus blends all-natural, USP-grade super-micronized progesterone from wild yam with vitamin E and essential oils.
• Studies indicate that penetration of progesterone is facilitated by limonene from frankincense and bergamot and menthol from peppermint oil.
• Progessence Plus is portable, has a pleasant smell, and doesn’t require the cycling of application sites like other progesterone supplements.

Aria™ Ultrasonic Diffuser – enjoy latest technology elegance with music and color

• The Aria Ultrasonic Diffuser combines the latest in diffuser technology with a modern, spa-like design.
• Natural materials like a durable American maple base and glass dome direct the essential oil vapor.
• The matching wood remote control allows you to turn on the Aria diffuser from any spot in the room.
• Choose from 12 minutes of relaxing music played through internal speakers or plug in a personal music player with the provided AV cord and listen to the music of your choice.

TheraPro™ Premium Diffuser - advanced, state-of-the-art, oil-atomizing technology

• Enjoy the ultimate therapeutic experience with the most advanced diffuser Young Living has to offer.
• The TheraPro diffuser is an atomizing diffuser that features durable, high-quality components built to withstand repeated use in any environment.
• The ideal way to experience the healing benefits of essential oils, the TheraPro diffuser features state-of-the-art oil-atomizing technology, the ability to attach Young Living essential oil bottles directly to the diffuser, a built-in timer, and settings for both duration and volume of oil output during use.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease.

In Aromatherapy, herbal distillates or hydrosols are technically the aqueous by-products of the distillation process (e.g. rosewater). They are not the actual essential oil, but the fragrant water that is created in the process of distilling the oil. (Photo by Claudia Meyer, Paris.)

How Are They Created?

When an essential oil is being distilled, the essential oil floats to the top where it is poured off, filtered and bottled, leaving behind the watery distillate. This is the hydrosol, or floral water.

You can think of hydrosols as the "lite" versions of essential oils. They are light extractions of aromatic components from herbs or flowers, and are very fragrant and quite watery.

Hydrosols are also sometimes called essential waters or herbal waters. They used to be considered a byproduct of distillation, but now are considered an important co-product. Common herbal distillates (hydrosols) are rosewater, lemon balm and chamomile. Lavender also makes a lovely hydrosol.

Are They As Powerful As Essential Oil?

Herbal waters contain the beneficial products of essential oils in a less concentrated form. Besides aromatic chemicals, these distillates also contain many of the plant acids, making them skin friendly. With a pH between 5-6 they are great to use as facial toners. Cosmetics and toiletries makers are finding many uses for herbal distillates.

What Are They Used For?

They can be used alone as facial toners or room sprays to add fragrance to a room. Distillates are also used as flavorings and curables.

They are also ideal to use on pets and animals because they contain the beneficial properties of the herb or essential oil in a less concentrated form and are less likely to overwhelm your pet's system.

How Should They Be Stored?

Because hydrosols are produced at high temperatures and are somewhat acidic, they tend to inhibit bacterial growth. They are not sterile, however. They are a fresh product, like milk, and should be kept refrigerated.

Even lighter, home-made versions of hydrosols can also be created with everyday household supplies, without attempting to distill an essential oil, which is a very involved process. In the next post, I'll give you instructions on making your own herbal hydrosol at home.

Rest assured that there are many wonderful natural products that can maintain and support your pet's health, with only beneficial "side effects." Veterinarians and pet owners are just starting to discover the amazing benefits of essential oils for pets.

Essential oils can cleanse minor wounds, abrasions, and lacerations naturally, they can help control fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes without toxic effects, they can provide respiratory and urinary tract support, soothe joint pain, and calm stress, fear, anxiety… all without toxic chemicals and harsh ingredients.

Trouble can strike instantly and unexpectedly. It's important to have the right essential oils on hand when you need them. That's why veterinarian Dr. Mary Hess of Madison, Wisconsin, recommends that every pet owner carry an essential oil emergency kit for pets.

Based on her experience as a veterinarian, Dr. Hess suggests these ten Young Living essential oil blends to keep pets feeling their best:

• Purification®: This blend is useful for external parasites such as fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes.
• Thieves®: Perfect for attending to minor wounds, abrasions, and lacerations, Thieves is also utilized for addressing dental concerns. This blend is safe for kittens and puppies.

And here's a great way to keep your cat's litter box clean with Thieves® Spray from Dr. Vera Franco Dahm:

“For years, I have used Thieves® Spray to clean and prep my pet's litter box. I dilute it and spray the box before laying down more litter. No odor at all and it cuts down on germs and mold growth, keeping it clean and fresh for my pet and for me.”

Thieves® essential oil is a blend of powerful, therapeutic-grade, antimicrobial essential oils. Lab test show that the Thieves proprietary blend was found to be 99.96 percent effective against airborne bacteria. (Thieves® Spray is an aqueous solution of Thieves essential oil in a handy spray bottle you can carry with you anywhere.)

• Melrose™: When used in conjunction with R.C. and Raven, Melrose provides respiratory support. It can also be used on minor wounds, abrasions, and lacerations if Thieves cannot be tolerated.
• R.C.™: Ideal for respiratory and urinary tract support, R.C is practical for cats that require bladder fortification, which does not respond to conventional therapy. (It can be paired with Raven for added support.)
• Raven™: Also utilized for respiratory and urinary tract support, Raven is more powerful than R.C. and features essentials oils not found in the latter. Combined, the two oils are highly effective.


• Di-Gize™: The gastrointestinal system responds well to this blend. Nutmeg and ginger can be added for additional support.
• M-Grain™: Provides relief from head discomfort resulting from sinus pressure.
• PanAway®: With osteoarthritis common in older pets, PanAway is valuable for relieving discomfort and relaxing the muscles, ligaments, and tendons. This oil blend can be used alone or in addition to other essential oils that aid in general discomfort. Using a moist towel over the area increases the effectiveness of the oils.
• Relieve It™: Especially beneficial for relieving discomfort, Relieve It can be alternated with PanAway for a wider spectrum of relief.
• Peace & Calming®: If stress, fear, anxiety, or other similar conditions are present, Peace & Calming can be used to calm a pet. If the pet is injured, Peace & Calming can relax the animal enough to administer other treatments. This blend can also been used on cats who are resistant to other forms of treatment for urinary problems or excessive grooming resulting from stress.

Do be aware that oils high in phenols are not appropriate for cats.

Why does Dr. Mary Hess recommend only Young Living Essential Oils?

Because she knows that not all essential oils are equal. Only therapeutic-grade essential oils are truly pure and un-adulterated. If your pet is sensitive and reacts to medications and chemical ingredients, you can be sure that inexpensive and inferior essential will not do! When you purchase 100% Young Living Therapeutic Grade™ essential oils, you know you are getting the very best for your pet's health.

They often look the same and smell the same. So aren't they the same?

Don't be fooled. There is a vast difference between essential oils that are labeled "pure" and "natural" and those that are labeled "therapeutic-grade." Therapeutic-grade essential oils, when given that designation by AFNOR, are the highest level of quality.

The labels, "natural" or "pure" are virtually meaningless. Even a certified organic oil is not necessarily a therapeutic-grade oil because therapeutic-grade requires another level of growing, producing and testing.

In the U.S., while there are standards for organic growing, there are no real standards essential oil manufacturers must adhere to when making claims of purity or naturalness. This means anyone can label an essential oil whatever they like, without having to back it up.

AFNOR and ISO Standards

A set of standards has been established in Europe that outlines the chemical profile and principal constituents a quality essential oil should have to distinguish true Therapeutic Grade essential oils from inferior oils used for fragrance. These guidelines are known as AFNOR (Association French Normalization Organization Regulation) and ISO (International Standards Organization) standards.

Even though most essential oils sold in the United States are marked "natural" and "pure," only 2 percent of them are truly Therapeutic Grade. In aromatherapy, the quality of your oils makes a huge difference. A full 98% of essential oils produced in the world today are not intended for serious aromatherapy or therapeutic purposes. They are produced for the perfume, cosmetic or food industries and are of a far lesser quality than therapeutic.

Why Most Essential Oils Do Not Meet AFNOR and ISO Standards

Producing therapeutic grade oils requires preserving as many of the plant's delicate compounds as possible. This can only be done with the proper steam distillation method. The oils must be distilled in stainless steel distillers at the lowest pressure and lowest temperature for the longest amount of time to produce the oil. The plants must be harvested as close to the distillation time as possible to avoid evaporation of the plant's volatile oils.

Extremely high temperatures and high pressure must be avoided at all cost, as well as contact with chemically reactive metals such as copper or aluminum, which can destroy delicate compounds instantly. In addition, therapeutic grade oils are always derived from the first distillation, not the second or third.

The perfume industry is only interested in the oil's aromatic qualities, not it's therapeutic qualities. In the perfume industry, certain practices are common and acceptable, such as using high pressure with high temperatures in high-volume "pressure cookers" and adding chemical solvents in the distillation process to produce greater quantities of oil at a faster rate.

To the untrained nose, it's hard to tell the difference in the fragrance of an essential oil produced this way. But these oils lack therapeutic properties. Many of the important chemical constituents necessary to produce therapeutic results were either flashed off with the high heat or did not have enough time to be released from the plant material. Artificial fragrances are added to boost what was lost in the harsh distillation process… or didn't have time to develop in the first place.

These oils can irritate the skin, upset the body's frequencies, exacerbate problems and should NEVER be taken internally.

Why Young Living Essential Oils Are Such High Quality

Young Living Therapeutic Grade™ (YLTG) essential oils are the highest quality and most therapeutic. Achieving this high standard requires years of experience from experts like Gary Young (founder of Young Living Essential Oils), and results in part by farming and distilling many of their own essential oils.

Demand for therapeutic oils is rising every year. Even Young Living's four farms aren’t big enough to produce all the oils demanded by their customers. In addition, some oil-producing plants only grow in unique, remote climate regions (i.e. frankincense only grows within specific areas of the Middle East).

To maintain YLTG standards — no matter where an essential oil is grown or distilled — the experts at Young Living apply the lessons learned on Young Living farms to make personal, on-site visits across the globe, ensuring that partner growers and distillers meet their world-class standards.

Once the oils are sent to Young Living's research center in Spanish Fork, Utah, the oils are tested to see if they qualify for the YLTG requirements through a multi-step process that consistently delivers superior products. Part of this process involves scientific purity tests. The research center experts run every batch of essential oils through seven technical tests that determine if an oil qualifies to be a YLTG product.

Gas Chromatography Testing

The first test is called Gas Chromatography (often referred to as GC). The GC test measures the individual chemical components of an essential oil by sending samples through a metal tube. As the oil spirals around the tube, it begins to “flash off” or evaporate. The evaporation points of each chemical are measured and compared to the YLTG specification standard for that oil. If components of that oil don’t measure up, the entire batch is rejected.

That’s good news for Young Living essential oil consumers, but bad news for unsuspecting buyers elsewhere. That’s because partner distillers who don’t meet the YLTG qualifications take their rejected oil and sell it to other essential oil companies with lower standards (many of which label them "pure" and "natural").

Here's a 2 minute video shows the process of making therapeutic-grade lavender essential oil — from planting the seed to sealing the bottle:

This video shows how plants destined to become Young Living Essential Oils are grown, harvested, distilled and bottled from "Seed to Seal."

Helichrysum is known for its restorative properties. It provides excellent support to the skin, liver, nervous systems and numerous other applications.* It is also extremely expensive to produce.

As with anything valuable and scarce, the opportunity to produce counterfeits and pass them off as the real thing (or at least to stretch supply) is a temptation too great to resist.

A few months ago, David Stewart, PhD, wrote an article called, "How Do You Know Your Helichrysum Is Good?" that has become quite popular. It's about what happens to helichrysum in today's marketplace. I'm going to do a synopsis of the article here.

There are many ways to cheat and produce an oil that looks and smells like the original. Here are the usual methods:

• Diluting – real oil is mixed with colorless, odorless substances to thin out and "stretch" the supply.
• Extracting oil from similar plant species – oils from inexpensive plants that are easy to grow and distill and extracted, then manipulating to imitate the fragrance or taste of the expensive oil by either deleting certain compounds or adding synthetic compounds.
• Cutting costs of distillation – distilling at high temperatures and high pressures is quick and cheap. It may save time, labor and fuel, but these practices produces inferior oils.
• Extracting the oil by using petrochemical solvents – these chemical solvents leave toxic traces in the finished oil.

The average nose can't tell the difference. These shortcuts and deceptions can even fool the AFNOR standards. However, the oil is left without the full range of compounds necessary to have healing properties. It is basically useless.

Imitation helichrysm can easily be synthesized to smell exactly like the real oil at a fraction of the cost of natural helichrysum – but without any of its therapeutic qualities.

Worse yet, is when synthetic helichrysm is passed off as the highest quality. Unfortunately, this happens more often than people realize. Years ago, Young Living received a huge shipment of helichrysum (a year's supply). When Gary Young, founder of Young Living smelled it, he immediately knew that the main ingredient of real helichrysm, neryl acetate, was missing.

Further gas chromatograph analysis by the Young Living Testing Laboratory head chemist, Dr. Sue Chow, proved he was correct.

The shipment was rejected and returned to the supplier. This meant that Young Living went without helichrysum for over a year. But they would rather go without than market a fake oil.

But the wholesaler didn't suffer. The sad news is that that returned shipment of helichrysum was resold to another company who put it on the market as therapeutic-grade helichrysum. That means this entire shipment of a year's supply of helichrysum was sold to unsuspecting consumers as therapeutic-grade!

Did this company know exactly what they were selling and simply not care? Did they lack the technical expertise to detect a manipulated, synthetic oil? Did they settle for the word of their unscrupulous wholesaler and not bother to check?

We'll never know the answers to these questions. But chances of your having a nose that is acutely trained to detect false oil are slim. Chances of your having advanced laboratory equipment to analyze it (and knowing how to use it) are also slim. And today, chances of buying true theraputic-grade off the selves is equally slim.

Young Living Essential Oils has the expertise and the integrity to provide you with pure therapeutic-grade oil every time. When you buy Young Living Therapeutic Grade helichrysum (or any of their other oils), you know they are pure and truly therapeutic-grade. Why take the chance with any other brand?

Ready to start shopping now?

How to Order:
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Toll-free order line: 800-371-2928 (7am-7pm Mountain Time, 6am-6pm Pacific, 9am-9pm Eastern Time). If you are a new customer, you'll need this referral number when placing your order: #87339

* This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Item No. 3563, 5 ml – Helichrysum Essential Oil