An ocean filled with venomous jellyfish is hardly something to celebrate. However, for an innovative Israeli company, it’s a crucial part of their solution to combat the overabundance of diapers winding up in landfills every year.

Why Jellyfish?

Thanks to the triple threat of climate change, increasing ocean acidity, and overfishing, jellyfish are steadily taking over the world’s oceans. The decline of global fisheries means that jellyfish encounter fewer predators and competitors for food in their ocean habitat, and jellyfish populations have grown so quickly in recent years that many researchers believe the ocean will soon be dominated by them.

Not only is the rise of jellyfish a depressing threat to diversity in the ocean, they also pose a real problem in the modern world. Besides giving beachgoers painful stings, jellyfish are also capable of harming underwater infrastructure. In 2013, a cluster of jellyfish caused a Swedish nuclear reactor to shut down when they were sucked into the cooling pipe, and their threat is only growing worse. According to the National Science Foundation, colonies of jellyfish in the Gulf of Mexico already can stretch over 100 miles long,

Equally troubling is the increasing amount of diapers, sanitary pads and tampons winding up in landfills every year. These absorbent products are made from synthetic polymers that take hundreds of years to break down, and over 27 billion diapers are tossed in the trash in the United States every year, resulting in over 3.4 million tons of waste.

The Magic of Jellyfish Diapers

Hard as it may seem to see the connection between diapers and jellyfish, one company thinks that their combination can help solve the problems produced by both.

Cine’al Ltd., an Israeli nanotechnology company, has found a way to make biodegradable diapers from jellyfish. Inspired by research from Tel Aviv University about the potential of jellyfish for use as a durable, biodegradable fabric, these diapers are twice as absorbent as regular ones and decompose in less than a month, meaning that fewer diapers are left to rot in waste centers.

The key to the absorbency of these special diapers comes from a patented material called “hydromash”. By breaking down jellyfish flesh and infusing it with antibiotic nanoparticles that remove the sting, hydromash creates a strong, flexible material that’s completely biodegradable in a matter of weeks.

Now, Cine’al Ltd. is using hydromash to develop infant and adult diapers as well as sanitary pads and tampons. Because the global diaper market was worth an estimated $52 billion in 2015, these jellyfish diapers have tremendous potential to make a positive difference for the planet.

Long-Term Benefits of Jellyfish Diapers

While the degradation hitting the world’s oceans today is devastating to diversity, there might be a small silver lining if the increasing numbers of jellyfish can be converted into sustainable alternatives to synthetic plastics. If Cine’al diapers and sanitary products are a success, they might start a trend for using jellyfish in other ways that limit the impact of plastic pollution on the planet’s surface.

Recommended Reading:

• Galactagogues Foods, Herbs, and other Ways to Increase Breast Milk Production
• Shaken Baby Syndrome – Child Abuse or Vaccine Injury?
• Considering Home Birth
• 10 Vaccination Myths and Lies Debunked
• Common Bad Parenting Advice You Should Ignore

Sources:

• Diapers Made From Jellyfish May Be The Next Big Thing In Green Parenting – Huffpost
• This Startup is Using Jellyfish to Make Eco-friendly Tampons, Diapers and Pads – The Guardian
• Eco-Friendly Diapers Made from Jellyfish – Discover
• Jellyfish, a Sustainable Source for Paper Towels and Diapers? – Triple Pundit
• Israeli Team Turns Jellyfish into Super-Absorbent Diapers – Healthline

Anyone who has ever benefited from an injection, a pacemaker, or a joint replacement, has the humble horseshoe crab to thank. In fact, all FDA approved vaccines, injectable drugs, and implanted medical devices owe their effectiveness to the blood of horseshoe crabs.

Why Horseshoe Crab Blood?

Horseshoe crabs are some of the oldest animals on the planet. At least 200 million years older than dinosaurs, these crustaceans have survived multiple mass extinctions that doomed millions of their companions. Yet, crabs today are experiencing an unprecedented threat to their existence- and your medical history is most likely contributing to the problem.

Four hundred and fifty million years of existence has led to a lot of evolutionary advantages for the horseshoe crab, specifically in their blood. This cerulean-hued substance is filled with antibacterial properties that make it incredibly valuable for medical procedures. The coloring comes from copper, which interacts with crab blood like iron does in ours. Rather than looking red, however, copper turns crab blood blue.

In many ways, the crab’s circulatory system has little in common with our own. When pathogens enter a crab’s body, their blue blood cells release a chemical called amoebocyte lysate (LAL) that thickens on contact with the invading substance and acts as a physical barrier against it, preventing it from spreading throughout the body.

While many animals have similar blood mechanisms for keeping out intruders, few do it as well as the horseshoe crab. Crab blood amebocytes can coagulate around as little as one part in a trillion of bacteria (the equivalent of a grain of sand in a pool), and the reaction takes less than an hour, in contrast to more than two days for mammal blood.

Must Read: How to Kill Fungal Infections

Crab Blood Use in Human Medicine

The unique properties of crab blood make it incredibly useful in medicine today. Pharmaceutical companies rely on LAL to test their equipment, medical implants, and more for any trace of invading toxins.

This means that crab blood is used in labs, as individual cells are burst to gain access to the coagulogen inside. Contamination can then be detected in any substance that comes into contact with this blood, and any dangerous bacteria that’s present will quickly become encapsulated in a highly obvious gel. If no gel is formed, then the likelihood of bacterial contamination is so low that the substance is considered safe for human use.

LAL tests are a quick, simple, and highly accurate way to seek out contamination in human medical supplies. Every drug certified by the FDA requires LAL testing, meaning that the demand for crab blood is sky-high. In short, everyone in the United States that has had a medical injection in some form has directly benefited from crab blood, and without crab blood, more people would die from preventable infections.

Rising Demand

As demand for crab blood continues to grow, so do the number of crabs caught every year. Roughly 200,000 crabs were harvested for their blood in the 1990s, and that number had risen to over 600,000 by 2012. At present, over three-quarters of a million crabs are harvested every year for medical use. These crabs are caught directly from the ocean, strapped into trays in mobile laboratories and bled for up to three days. Quart bottles are quickly filled with their highly-valued blood, which can sell for $60,000 a gallon. Each crab caught is expected to “donate” a full third of his blood for an industry that rakes in over $50 million a year.

Must Read: Heal Gum Disease and Cavities Naturally – Step by Step

The Costs for Crabs

The climbing demand for crab blood has a tremendous cost for horseshoe crab populations. After the bloodletting, crabs are returned to the ocean far away from where they were harvested in order to prevent them from getting picked up again. According to the industry, less than a quarter of bled crabs die from the procedure, but recent evidence is beginning to challenge those claims.

Studies have shown that removing a third of a crab’s blood leaves them disorientated and disabled once they get back into the ocean, which significantly impacts a female’s ability to breed. Making matters worse, most crabs are harvested in shallow water, which is the preferred place for females to lay their eggs. The impacts of bloodletting on nesting crabs is unknown, but it’s unlikely that females produce many viable offspring after the process.

No Quotas for the Medical Community

Strange as it may sound, regulations surrounding the harvesting of horseshoe crabs are surprisingly scant. While the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has harvest quotas in place for fishermen that catch horseshoe crabs to use as bait, laboratory companies are exempt from these quotas. Arguing that the value of their product should exempt them from regulation, the medical industry is instead required to follow voluntary, open-ended “best management” practices for crab harvesting.

A Critical Dip in Crab Populations

Today, scientists are starting to notice the impacts of the crab blood industry. Fewer crabs are spotted along the Atlantic coast each year, and concern is growing that the biomedical industry is critically endangering one of the oldest surviving species on earth. Smaller numbers of females are spawning each year, and the evidence is increasingly clear that blood harvesting is having a bigger impact on the overall population than previously believed. Post bleeding, crabs are lethargic, slow and less likely to look for food or a mate, which threatens their populations even when the procedure doesn’t immediately kill them.

There’s much that’s still unknown about the lives of horseshoe crabs, but the evidence is clear that the biomedical industry is taking a tremendous toll on their populations. Dwindling of this ancient species isn’t just a concern for conservationists, it’s an issue for everyone who relies on modern medical services.

Every one of us is connected to the horseshoe crab, but we are quickly losing the power to save it.

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Sources:

• How Horseshoe Crab Blood Saves Millions of Lives – IFL Science
• The Horseshoe Crab – The Ecological Research and Development Group
• Biomedical Bleeding Affects Horseshoe Crab Behavior – Science Daily
• The Blood of the Crab – Popular Mechanics
• The Chilling Image Behind Every Vaccine You’ve Ever Had – The Dodo
• The medical industry is plundering a 450-million-year old species for its rare blue blood – The Quartz
• We Suck Horseshoe Crabs’ Blood, Chuck Them in Sea – Newser

When it comes to long-term thinking for the health of the planet, humans often fall short of common sense. Plastic, one of the most durable products in the world, is consistently used for products no one actually wants to last forever, like single-use grocery bags and cheap children’s toys. The ever-increasing amounts of plastics glutting the planet today are leading to dire consequences for many natural spaces, especially the ocean. Worst of all, the overabundance of plastic particles is starting to make it into our diet in the unlikeliest of ways- sea salt.

Related: How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors

The Rise of Plastic in the Ocean

Every year, roughly 13 million metric tons of plastic finds its way into the ocean. A study from 2014 found that there are more than 5 trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean, and over 90 percent of them are less than a quarter inch long. Called microplastics, these tiny pieces tend to pose the biggest threat because they are often eaten by plankton and other small creatures and quickly make their way through the food chain to larger fish, birds, and other species.

Previous research on the levels of microplastics in the ocean has revealed that the quantities are unexpectedly high in seafood like fish and clams. However, recent research has discovered that microplastics are also detectable in sea salt.

Contamination in Sea Salt

A survey of 16 brands of sea salt from eight countries revealed to researchers that microplastics were present in all but one brand. Published in Scientific Reports, this research team found trace amounts of the plastic polymers polypropylene and polyethylene. In all, the research revealed that the tested salt contained about 1,200 plastic particles per pound. Most of these particles were found to be fragments of old plastic products, fibers, and paints that were broken down to their small size in the ocean, which ruled out the possibility that the sea salt packaging itself was to blame.

The Impacts for Human Health

In general, sea salt is considered a healthier alternative to regular table salt. Found to strengthen the immune system, improve heart health, and decrease the symptoms of asthma, many people believe that using sea salt is better for their bodies than other, refined varieties of salt. However, the prevalence of plastic in many sea salt brands might be a reason to be concerned.

Microplastics are a threat to organisms because their small size makes it easy for them to absorb organic pollutants and store them in the bodies of those that eat them. Yet there’s little reason for you to worry about the negative health effects of plastic- tainted sea salt, as the amounts of microplastics found in salt are so low that they are not considered a health risk. Researchers estimate that most people swallow fewer than 40 particles of plastic in sea salt every year, compared to the estimated 11,000 particles that shellfish lovers likely consume each year. Somewhat reassuringly, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies polypropylene and polyethylene- based plastic polymers as safe for human consumption at these levels.

The Overall Damage for the Environment

In many ways, the danger of microplastics in sea salt doesn’t come from the risk for your body, but from what they mean for the rest of the planet. Plastic has become so prevalent in the world today that it’s hard to find places without it. From the ocean floor to the ice in Antarctica, microplastics are increasingly polluting natural spaces, and their long-term impacts on the world are still far from understood. If plastic particles can wind up in your salt shaker, there’s no telling where else it will soon be found.

Related Reading:

• Microbeads – They’re In Face Wash, Body Scrubs, Toothpaste, and Our Food
• The Toxic Toothpaste Ingredients That You Need To Avoid For Good Oral Health
• Still Have Candida? How Mercury Fillings Cause Candida Overgrowth
• Diatomaceous Earth – Mother Nature’s Secret Weapon: What Is It, How to Use It, Where to Find It

Sources:

• Sullied Seasoning: Sea Salts Come With a Dash of Microplastics – Arstechnica
• Most Sea Salt Contains Microplastics, Study Finds – Treehugger
• Are Microplastics in Your Sea Salt? – The Alternative Daily
• The Presence of Microplastics in Commercial Salts from Different Countries – Nature.com
• Even Your Sea Salt Contains Microplastics – Ecowatch
• Even Your Sea Salt is Almost Certainly Contaminated with Plastic – Quartz

Do you really know what’s in your organic milk? According to recent reports, the big organic dairies in the United States may be lying to you. An investigation by the Washington Post into High Plains Dairy in Colorado, owned by Aurora Organic Dairy, found that the farm isn’t complying with organic regulations.

Located in Greeley, Colorado, High Plains Dairy is home to over 15,000 cows, which dwarfs most organic dairy operations by a hundredfold. This dairy behemoth is a major organic milk supplier to national brands like Costco and Walmart, and millions of customers pay twice the price of conventional milk for their dairy products.

A closer look at the dairy farm’s practices has revealed that farm is not organic.

The Issue of Grazing

When it comes to organic milk certification, a key detail is pasture-based grazing. Rather than subsisting on feedlot corn like their conventional cousins, organic dairy cows are required to graze on pasture throughout the growing season. Not only is this more natural for the ruminant stomachs in cows, it changes the chemical composition of their milk to increase the Omega-3 fat content in ways that are more nutritious for humans.

The actual amount of grazing required, however, seems to be subjective. Last year, reporters from the Washington Post visited the High Plains dairy complex eight times and found little evidence of pasture-based grazing. Though the dairy claimed that their cows were constantly on pasture, reporters never saw more than a few hundred cows (less than 10 percent of the total herd) on pasture at any given time. In contrast, the majority of animals appeared to be in feedlots. In response to these observations, the dairy staff reported that their cows were likely elsewhere at the time of the visits, possibly being milked.

As further evidence against their grazing practices, testing done on milk samples by Virginia Tech found that the fat content in Aurora milk was a better match for conventionally-raised animals than organic ones.

Related: Stay Away From This Brand of Organic Dairy

The Costs for Consumers

When it comes to mislabeled milk, consumers are the ones that wind up paying the price. Organic milk usually costs at least double what conventional varieties go for, and skyrocketing sales have turned organics into a $40 billion industry in the United States. However, customers only pay this price because they believe they are getting a superior product in return, so unscrupulous labeling practices only work to discredit the entire organic industry.

The Problem with Big Organic

This kind of controversy for Aurora Organic Dairy is hardly new. The Cornucopia Institute, a strong campaigner for better organic practices, has created lawsuits against the company for close to a decade. In 2011, Aurora committed to improving its organic practices, though the evidence is scarce that many changes were made.

Recommended: Galactagogues Foods, Herbs, and other Ways to Increase Breastmilk Production

Aurora Organic Farms is already the leading organic dairy in America, and it’s only continuing to expand. The refusal of mega farms to fully comply with organic standards also has damaging effects on small organic farms that follow the rules. Because organically grazing dairy cattle costs more, small farms get pinched out of their market share when their competition doesn’t follow the rules. This means that the growth of mega-dairies that cut corners to produce cheaper “organic” milk is crushing smaller dairies and forcing them out of business.

The Takeaway for Consumers: Keeping Farms Accountable

If drinking organic milk is a priority for you, do the industry a favor and seek out the farms that truly follow the rules. As half of the organic milk sold in the United States comes from large factory farms, it’s more important than ever to seek out statistics about each farm to ensure they are living up to organic principles.

It’s time to demand greater regulation and better accountability from our farmers so that we can truly trust what we see on our food labels.

Recommended Reading:

• Homemade, Vegan Nut Milk Recipes and More
• Why You Should Avoid Pasteurized Cow’s Milk
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• Candida, Gut Flora, Allergies, and Disease

Sources:

• The Largest Organic Dairy in America Might Not Be Organic – Grist
• Why your ‘organic’ milk may not be organic – The Washington Post
• Aurora Organic Dairy
• Your Organic Milk Might Not be as Pure as You Think – The Consumerist

On March 31, 2017, Del Bigtree was briefly interviewed at the Revolution for Truth Rally in Washington D.C by British Channel 4 News correspondent Cathy Newman.

Throughout the course of the short clip, Del is questioned about his stance on the measles vaccine, and he quickly inundates his correspondent with facts from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to Bigtree, modern medicine has it completely backward in regards to the measles vaccine. Before the invention of the measles vaccine in 1964, Bigtree states,

According to Bigtree, modern medicine has it completely backward in regards to the measles vaccine. Before the invention of the measles vaccine in 1964, Bigtree states,

…the death rate from measles was .036 per 100,000 people that got measles. No one has died from the measles, and nearly a hundred children have died from the vaccine. The measles vaccine does kill. And measles was not killing anybody based on scientific evidence before the vaccine ever arrived.”

We looked it up, and according to this page on the CDC, it’s even lower, at 0.016% using the highest possible estimate with the numbers given (500 deaths out of three million). She does not understand his data at first, then decides his science is junk, and then as he states again where he’s getting his numbers, she seems to think that he is not understanding his own statistics. He has to state repeatedly that he is quoting the CDC.

In other words, the death rate from measles was less than one person in 300,000 infected, which is a number so small that it’s statistically insignificant. On the other hand, in the past ten years, close to one hundred children have died from complications from the measles vaccine. Del is stating that  this proves the measles vaccine is more deadly than measles ever was.

Related: The MMR Vaccine: A Comprehensive Overview of the Potential Dangers and Effectiveness

About Del Bigtree

For those that know Del’s previous work, this stance is hardly surprising. As an Emmy award-winning medical journalist, Del has years of experience in producing medical TV shows, often around controversial issues. After numerous viewers contacted him to request he cover the potential dangers of vaccines and their connection to autism, Bigtree decided to dive into the topic and he hasn’t stopped since.

In 2014, the release of audio recordings of conversations between vaccine researchers Dr. Brian Hooker and Dr. William Thompson revealed potential fraud in the CDC’s research about the correlation between vaccines and autism in children. While the revelations from these audio clips were largely ignored by mainstream media, Del used them as the backbone of his recently released documentary on the risks of vaccines, titled Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe.

About Vaxxed

Working with Dr. Andrew Wakefield, Del was haunted by the evidence he found connecting autistic children and vaccinations. Rather than making a stand against vaccines in general, Vaxxed explores the problems with the MMR vaccine that is formulated to vaccinate children against measles, mumps and rubella all in one. By vaccinating children with the MMR vaccine instead of three individual vaccines, the documentary claims, parents inadvertently increase their children’s risk of developing autism.

Related: Vaccines, Retroviruses, DNA, and the Discovery That Destroyed Judy Mikovits’ Career

History has long prosecuted the people who first make controversial discoveries, and in Bigtree’s view, the widespread disregard for anyone who challenges the safety of vaccines is a modern example. Looking at the epidemic of autism that is sweeping through the country and affecting 1 in 45 children, Bigtree believes that the diagnostic rate will only increase unless something is done to reduce children’s exposure to unsafe vaccinations.

By continuing to question widely-accepted evidence about vaccine safety and dig deeply into the troubling medical questions about vaccines today, there’s little doubt that Del Bigtree will continue to make a stand against the MMR vaccine and seek out ways to educate people about its dangers, no matter what mainstream media chooses to report.

Must Read:

• How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children
• Doctors Against Vaccines – Hear From Those Who Have Done the Research
• Nurses Against Vaccines
• Celebrities Who Have Spoken Out Against Vaccines
• Statesmen Against Mandatory Vaccines
• Scientists Against Vaccines – Hear From Those Who Have Done the Research
• Influenza Vaccine – A Comprehensive Overview of the Potential Dangers and Effectiveness of the Flu Shot

Sources:

• Filmmaker Biographies – Vaxxed: From Coverup to Catastrophe
• Producer’s Statements – Vaxxed: From Coverup to Catastrophe
• Vaxxed – Wikipedia
• Vaxxed: The powerful new documentary the CDC wishes would just go away – The Autism File
• The MMR Vaccine: A Comprehensive Overview of the Potential Dangers and Effectiveness

Have you relied on a plant for healing today? You probably did without even realizing it. It’s easy to take these anchored down organisms for granted, but the truth is that many plants are filled with an arsenal of chemicals that can help or hurt us, depending on how we decide to put them to work. Humans have been using plants for their medicinal properties for thousands of years, but no part of a plant has ever been more valued than its essential oil.

Used medicinally, recreationally, and even religiously, essential oils have been an important part of cultural rituals since the beginning of human history. You too can benefit from the potent powers of healing plants, so long as you take the time to learn the facts about essential oils. From this guide, you’ll learn what essential oils can do (and what they can’t) for your health, how to use them and the kinds you should buy. No matter what your long term goals are for using essential oils, this guide will get you started.

What Makes an Oil Essential?

Put simply, an essential oil is the part of a plant that smells strongly. The aroma comes from the chemical content of volatile oils, which means that they are made from terpenes, or hundreds of carbon and hydrogen-based compounds intermixed. Unlike “true” oils (like olive oil), essential oils are far lighter and tend to vaporize when exposed to air.

A good way to understand essential oils is to think of them as the blood of plants. Like blood, essential oils seal cuts and trigger hormonal responses in plants when they are threatened. These oils are so essential for plant vitality that without them, plants would die.

Unlike human blood, essential oils only come from specific parts of plants. Some, like cardamon, can be found in seed pods, while others, like ginger, come from the root. Tree resin (myrrh), fruit peels (citrus oils), petals (rose), tree bark (cinnamon), and leaves (eucalyptus) also contains essential oils for some species.

On average, every essential oil contains over 100 components, many of which can change between plants themselves. Once distilled, essential oils become highly concentrated, meaning you need an incredible amount of plant material to make them. For example, one ounce of rose essential oil requires over 60,000 roses, and an ounce of peppermint oil requires more than 16 pounds of fresh leaves.

Looking Closer at the Essential Oil Extraction Process

It’s no simple task to pull essential oils out of plants, but there are several methods that tend to work best. The most popular method is steam distillation, which involves suspending fresh plants over boiling water so that steam can pull out their essential oils. These oils are captured in a vessel that pushes it through a tube, where it cools down and condenses back into a water-oil mixture. Because water and oil don’t mix, the oil can be carefully harvested, leaving 100% pure essential oil.

Another extraction method is expression, which is how citrus essential oils are made. Just like the process of cold pressing olive oils, citrus peels are mechanically squeezed until every last drop of essential oil comes out.

The Benefits of Aromatherapy for Your Body

Plants use their essential oils to keep themselves safe, but humans have long put them towards a different use: aromatherapy. In 1928, the French chemist Rene-Maurice Gattefosse found that his burnt hand felt better when he put some lavender oil on it. He decided to test these benefits out farther and soon stumbled upon the science of aromatherapy, which is the use of essential oils to promote healing and wellness.

Aromatherapy didn’t take off in the United States until the 1980s, but these valuable plant extracts were soon added to lotions, candles, and makeup for their aromatic benefits. Today, there are trained professionals (aromatherapists, physical therapists, and natural medicine doctors) who use aromatherapy to promote healing for a range of ailments.

More than 100,000 aromas exist in nature, but the human nose only recognizes a few hundred. Even so, certain smells can dramatically influence your emotions, feelings, and overall well-being. Many are capable of stimulating immune responses to help you fight off a cold and can dry out mucous to clear your air passageways. Others have nervine properties that calm anxiety, promote relaxation, and soothe tension headaches before they get out of control. Some have stimulating effects that work to wake you up, sharpen your focus, and eliminate mental fatigue.

The Three “Notes” of Essential Oils

Most essential oils are categorized as being a top, middle, or base note. The best blends of essential oils involve mixtures of all three notes to get a well-balanced scent.

Top Notes: Because they are made from young leaves, fresh herbs, and delicate flowers, top notes are the most volatile and fragile. These oils evaporate quickly, but they can quickly stimulate your senses in order to wake you up or snap you out of a bad mood. Some examples include peppermint, cinnamon, and sweet orange.

Middle Note: These well-balanced oils are good for the entire body. They are normally made through distilling the entire plant and tend to create a strong connection between the mind and the body, making them ideal for treating physical problems like stiffness and arthritis. Common examples are nutmeg, juniper, and lavender.

Base Notes: Robust and earthy, base notes are the richest form of essential oil and often come from tree resin. Their heavy, distinctive scents are great for calming anxiety and nerves. Some well-known varieties are vanilla, myrrh, and patchouli.

Benefits of Different Essential Oils

Because there are hundreds of essential oils, this article can’t delve into the benefits of each one. However, below are some of the most common essential oils and their benefits.

• Rose: As one of the most valuable essential oils in the world, rose oil is great for reducing skin inflammation and as a facial moisturizer.
• Cypress: Reduces the visibility of varicose veins, helps heal broken bones, and improves blood circulation.
• Grapefruit: Helps to reduce cellulite when blended with coconut oil, and can work to rev up your metabolism.
• Frankincense: Works to build up the immune system and reduce inflammation while supporting the brain and possibly helping you fight off cancer.
• Clove: Protects your body against bacteria and parasites and provides you with antioxidants.
• Lemon: A powerful ingredient to add to homemade cleaning products, lemon oil can also cleanse your body.
• Tea Tree: Works to stimulate the immune system and can eliminate bad smells. Also renowned as an anti-bacteria, anti-fungal oil.
• Myrrh: Can help prevent infections and promotes beautiful skin while minimizing stretch marks. Myrrh is also a natural antiseptic.
• Ginger: Relieves nausea (especially from traveling) and improves digestion while supporting the health of your joints.
• Eucalyptus: Improves respiratory issues, especially sinus infections and colds. Also used as a natural way to wake up your mind when you’re tired.
• Oregano: Helps you recover faster from a cold and is an anti fungal and antimicrobial as well.
• Sandalwood: Known for boosting energy and renowned as a natural aphrodisiac to increase libido.
• Lavender: Great for healing wounds, calming nerves, and improving moods. A natural choice for adding to personal care products.
• Peppermint: An instant way to boost your energy, peppermint also reduces fevers and headaches, supports digestion, and helps you focus on tasks in front of you.
• Rosemary: Improves brain function and memory and helps thicken hair when added to natural shampoos.

Buying Essential Oils: What You Need to Know

Because essential oils are natural products, their overall quality will change depending on where and how the plant was grown, the age of the plant when it was extracted, and the extraction method used. This means that not every oil is created equal. The best way to ensure you are avoiding inferior, low-grade products is to search for pure, uncut oils that were grown as close to nature intended as possible. Because essential oils are the most concentrated part of a plant, it can be disastrous to invest in some that were exposed to pesticides and other chemicals when alive. For this reason, it’s always smart to buy organic essential oils whenever possible.

Make sure to pay attention to the purity grade of the oil you intend to buy, choosing pure essential oils over synthetic whenever you get the chance. Sometimes cheap oils are diluted with true oils like olive oil, which you can test by dabbing a little on a tissue. If the oil doesn’t evaporate, it’s not truly essential. Price point often isn’t a good indicator of quality because low-grade oils can be sold for more than their value. Another red flag is when every oil from a company costs the same because true essential oils considerably vary  in cost. The best thing to do is to read reviews from previous buyers and learn where a company sources its oils in order to ensure quality.

Oils should be stored in tight closing, dark glass containers (some oils can dissolve plastic) and kept in a cool place. It’s also a smart idea to write the date on the bottles after opening them so that you can gauge their potency over time. When you use them, be sure to use a separate glass dropper for each bottle to prevent contamination, and tightly seal every bottle immediately after use. When stored correctly, most essential oils will last between one and three years.

Tips for Getting Started with Essential Oils

Knowing where to get started in the world of essential oils can be tricky. The best advice is to start small; invest in ten or fewer oils and see how you can incorporate them into your daily life. As you learn about the benefits they provide, you can slowly start expanding your collection to fit your needs.

Because essential oils evaporate so quickly, they usually need to be mixed with a carrier oil before use and many practitioners recommend mixing essential oils with carrier oils to dilute them. Carrier oils are true oils that come from the fatty parts of plants, meaning that they last longer on your skin and prolong the benefits of aromatherapy. Some common carrier oils include olive oil, coconut oil, and jojoba oil.

The most common methods for using essential oils are described below.

Inhalation

The simplest way to experience the benefits of many essential oils is to simply breathe them in. It’s possible to open a bottle and breathe deeply, but you can also use an electronic diffuser to spread the scent around a room. Another option is to create a potent steam by pouring 2-3 cups of boiling water into a bowl and adding several drops of oil. Keep your nose within a foot of the water and cover your head with a towel, breathing deeply to fully inhale the steam.

Topical Application

Many (but not all!) essential oils are also useful and safe to apply directly to the skin. The ears, temples, feet, and upper back are all popular places to try. Just put a few drops in your calm and carefully massage them into your preferred spot with gentle, circular motions. It’s usually best to dilute the oil with a carrier oil, so make sure to do your research first.

Internal Consumption

Some essential oils actually have nutritional benefits that make them safe to use as a food flavoring or dietary supplement. However, this is not an area where you should be experimenting. Before tasting an essential oil, be sure to read the instructions carefully and seek the advice of a medical professional. When in doubt, find another way to enjoy the benefits of your oil.

Therapeutic Bath

If you want to ease the stress of your day away, a bath infused with essential oils can’t be beat. Simply blend several drops of essential oil into a few scoops of Epsom salts (to help the oil spread through the water) and dissolve the mixture into your bathwater for a relaxing experience.

Aromatherapy Massage

Ease tension from your body and clear out your mind by experiencing an essential oil based massage. Just make sure to mix the oil with a carrier oil so that you can actually feel the benefits. Stronger blends are best, so plan on using up to 20 drops of oil per ounce of carrier oil.

Remember: More is Not Always Better

It’s easy to overdo it when it comes to essential oils, so keep in mind that these compounds are extremely concentrated plant chemicals. A little goes a long way because there’s a lot contained within each drop of oil. In fact, just one drop of peppermint oil has the same strength has 28 cups of peppermint tea. So use your drops sparingly and you’ll have plenty of oil left to enjoy for months to come.

In Summary

Essential oils are a world of aromatic goodness. Once you start experimenting with blends and scents, you’ll realize how addicting they can be and keep expanding your collection. No matter if you’re trying to ease some health problems or you’re simply trying to relax, there’s bound to be an essential oil out there that can help you out.

Related Reading:

• Heal Gum Disease and Cavities Naturally – Step by Step
• How I Replaced Medications With Essential Oils
• How To  Correctly Use Essential Oils To Prevent the Flu and Other Illnesses
• How To Relieve Allergy Symptoms With Essential Oils
• Five Essential Oils That Help Fight Infections
• Eleven Essential Oils That Help Fight Lyme Disease

Related Products:

• Essential Oils

Sources:

• Steam Distillation – Wikipedia
• How Are Essential Oils Extracted? – National Association For Holistic Aromatherapy
• What Are The Best Essential Oils For Inflammation? – The Fusion Model
• The 9 Very Best Essential Oils For Treating Colds and Flu – Off Grid News
• 19 Essential Oils For Beginners – Mother Earth News

“Love the skin you’re in.” Though it may be cliche, take a moment to think about why you wouldn’t want to take care of your body’s biggest organ. After all, your skin is one of the first things others notice about you, so it pays to keep it in the best shape possible.

There’s just one problem. Most of us do a pretty terrible job of tending to our skin. Sure, we slather on some sunscreen on a hot summer day or casually rub in lotion during winter dry spells, but few people take the time to think about what’s really going on their skin. That’s a mistake. Your skin does more than look pretty, it’s actually a natural barrier, the first line of defense that keeps toxins from the outside world from getting inside you. However, your skin is far more permeable than most people notice.

Think of a nicotine patch. It works by allowing trace amounts of addictive chemicals to be absorbed directly through the skin and into the bloodstream. Just as skin is no barrier against a flood of nicotine, it also doesn’t prevent any other chemical from going through. This means that any chemical product you put on your body (bug spray, lotions, makeup) have every possibility of flowing through your bloodstream.

If that doesn’t scare you, it should.

Using Conventional Lotions? Think Again.

In today’s world, smelling amazing is no guarantee that something’s actually good for you. Your lavender scented lotion might be a pretty purple color and even come with flowers on the label, but chances are that most of the contents of that bottle never came close to a plant.

Below are some of the common chemicals used in conventional lotions and their effects on your body and the planet.

Paraffin: Made from petroleum, this chemical is known for coating your skin in a thin plastic covering, clogging pores and building up toxins along the way.

Parabens: A common cosmetic preservative in over 10,000 beauty products, parabens have been shown in studies to have connections with cancer, and they disrupt your body’s endocrine system by mimicking the hormone estrogen.

Propylene Glycol: Used as a moisturizer in many lotions, propylene glycol has been shown to inhibit skin cell growth and cause irritation, and some evidence points to it causing kidney and liver abnormalities.

Sodium laurel sulfate: Over 90% of personal care products have some form of sodium laurel, a chemical known for breaking down your skin’s moisture barrier so that it (and other chemicals) can easily get into your bloodstream. Studies have shown that SLS can lead to hair loss.

Ready to exchange these icky products for something a little less toxic? Keep reading to learn about the importance of taking care of your skin the natural way.

Natural Body Butters: The Quality Comes from the Ingredients

When it comes to taking care of your skin, nothing can compare to a natural body butter. Actually, “body butter” is a general term used to describe dozens of different body creams that are dense and full of nutrients that add extra hydration to your skin. Most body butters are filled with essential oils, vitamins, and nutrients that make them invaluable in a skin care routine. There is a huge range of ingredients that can be used to make body butters, all of which have distinct benefits that make them useful in a variety of ways.

In most cases, body butters are made from cold pressed oils that are extracted from nuts, seeds and fruits, and then combined with fatty acids and other forms of oil to thicken the consistency. Most body butters are solids at room temperature that melt from your skin’s heat when you slather them on, creating a deeply moisturizing treatment that lasts for hours.

Some of the best benefits of natural body butters are described below.

• Plenty of Moisture: Skin sucks in everything you put on it, but thankfully natural body butters will provide nothing but hydration. Nut-based butters are filled with emollients that provide skin soothing moisture long after conventional lotions have quit.

• Protection: The thick ingredients in body butters form a protective barrier over your skin to keep moisture in check. This prevents you from drying out in heat, hot sun or cold winter air that otherwise sucks away moisture. Instead of relying on parabens like other products, natural butters take advantage of the natural emollients found in nuts and seeds to trap moisture deep into the fatty layers of your skin for optimal moisture protection.

• Skin Nourishing Vitamins: No matter the type, body butters are rich in omega 3 fats that benefit you both inside and out. These highly moisturizing fatty acids help keep inflammation in check and make vitamins far more accessible for your skin to absorb.

• Reduce Wrinkles: Allowing your skin to dry out is a quick way to start looking old and faded. A better option is to protect yourself with moisturizing body butters that help your skin retain its elasticity so you keep a healthy glow, no matter your age.

• Softer Skin: Chronic, chapped skin is no problem when combated with the moisturizing power of homemade body butter. Regular treatments of this rich cream can eliminate dry, cracked skin and even clear up chronic conditions like eczema. Just slather on some body butter immediately after showering and your skin will stay noticeably softer throughout the day.

• Affordable: Are you currently paying a small fortune for your skin care products? Switching over to homemade body butters will save you money, and you’ll get to control exactly what goes in them.

• Cuticle Saver: If your cuticles look ragged much of the time, a gentle coating of body butter will help them stay hydrated and healthy, getting your nails back to top shape in no time.

• Stretch Mark Solution: Having children can be brutal for your body, but a little body butter can make those scars a little less visible. Regular treatments of body butter help the skin to heal and regenerate, which means you can hide the appearance of stretch marks before they get out of control.

Top Ingredients for Making Homemade Body Butter

There are so many ways you can make your own body butter, you’re truly limited only by your creativity. Whether you choose to stick to staple ingredients like coconut and shea butter or opt for something a little more exotic like cupuacu or jojoba butter, the possibilities of what you can do is endless.

While it’s usually best to plan on using a ration of 75% solid to 25% liquid oil for your natural butter, the oils listed below are some of the best to invest in when first getting started.

Almond Butter: You want to lick yourself all day when you make a butter with sweet almond oil. This thick, rich butter is great for moisturizing and is a smart way to hydrate a dry scalp.

Cocoa Butter: Known for being a highly stable fat, cocoa butter can last on your shelve for years and is flush with natural antioxidants. A silky smooth texture and delicate fragrance makes it useful for a wide range of products, and pregnant women have been relying on cocoa butter to prevent stretch marks for centuries. Because of the high moisture content of cocoa butter, it’s not always a great choice for oily skinned people.

Shea Butter: Definitely one of the most popular butters available today, shea butter has a unique fatty acid composition that makes it versatile for many products, including dry skin, massage creams, and sun protection. A great all around oil, everyone can benefit from a little shea butter in their life.

Jojoba Butter: If you need an intensive moisturizing boost that only the best can get you, jojoba oil is worth checking out. Perfect for treating eczema and psoriasis, jojoba oil works well on all skin types.

Coconut Oil: With a melting point so low it’s practically a liquid at room temperature, coconut oil gives your body a delicious tropical smell and is great for treating troubling dry spots.

Cupuacu Butter: Made from the cupuacu fruit (commonly grown in Brazil) cupuacu butter is a perfect ingredient to add to your homemade hair conditioner, though it should be used sparingly on your skin if you tend to be oily.

Two Ways to Make Your Own Natural Body Products

Interested in making your own body butter? These recipes will get you started!

Extra Hydration Body Butter

You could truly spend weeks trying out recipes for different types of body butter, but for your first batch, you’ll want to go for something as nourishing as possible. This recipe combines four types of butters into one batch in order to get you maximum skin hydration. Great for babies or anyone with sensitive skin, this butter also makes a good gift.

Take half a cup each of shea butter, mango butter, coconut oil, and olive oil, and combine them all into a double boiler on medium heat. Stir the mixture constantly until it all melts and remove it from the heat. If you’re looking for a particular scent, you can add between 10 to 30 drops of essential oil. Put the entire mixture into the fridge and let it cool for an hour, or to the point where it starts to harden but is still pliable. Take a hand mixer and whip the batch for 10 minutes until fluffy, after which it should be put back in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. Once set and somewhat hardened, you can store your butter in a glass jar with a secure lid and use it like any regular lotion. So long as your home is less than 75 degrees F, the butter will stay whipped. Any hotter than that, and you should store it in the fridge between uses.

Homemade Hand Lotion:

While not truly a body butter recipe, this lotion uses all natural ingredients for a hydrating blend that is too good to miss out on. Body lotion and body butter are more similar than they are different, but the difference comes from the liquid content. Lotions sometimes contain up to 70% water, and the moisturizing effects don’t go as deeply or last as long as body butters. Even so, lotions are great when your skin needs a quick pick me up but doesn’t want all the excess hydration of a true body butter.

Instead of water, this recipe relies on oil for its texture, making it more hydrating than other versions. To make your own lotion, combine a half cup of liquid oil (almond works well), with a quarter cup each of coconut oil and beeswax. Melt them together in a double boiler, stirring constantly so nothing burns. Once everything melts, add a teaspoon of Vitamin E and a few drops of essential oil. Pour the mixture into a glass jar with a tight fitting lid, and dip in whenever you need an extra hydration boost. This product is best used within six months.

Simple Tips For Using Natural Body Products

Using body butters and lotions is a fairly straightforward process. In essence, you put a little butter on your hands and rub it in where you want it. Even so, the tips below can help answer some of your questions about use.

• Body butters are super concentrated, so a little goes a long way. Take a tiny amount and carefully warm it with your hands before putting it on your body so that it absorbs more easily into your skin.
• The kinds of butter you purchase for your body butter is crucial. Look carefully on labels for terms like “unrefined,” “crude,” and “cold pressed,” as these are signs that the oil was extracted through natural methods, not high heat that destroys the butter’s natural nutrients.
• So long as you store your butter in an airtight container, it should last for a year or more.

In Summary

Your skin does a lot for you, so it pays to take care of it. By relying on natural skin care remedies like body butters, you’ll be keeping your body’s biggest organ in top shape. Add some homemade body butter to your skin care routine, and your skin will stay hydrated, healthy and beautiful, at almost no cost to you.

Recommended Reading:

• 35 Things You Could Do With Coconut Oil – From Body Care to Health to Household
• Heal Cavities, Gum Disease, Naturally with Organic Oral Care – Toothpaste Recipes Included
• How to Optimize Curcumin Absorption – With Golden Milk Tea Recipe
• Five DIY Organic Shampoo Recipes for Beautiful Hair
• Natural, Safe Sunscreen Options with Homemade Sunscreen Recipe
• Homemade Vitamin C

Sources:

• Skin Barrier Function – Just About Skin
• Homemade Lotion Recipe – Wellness Mama
• What is Cold Pressed? – Livestrong
• Natural Butters- Garden of Wisdom