What Makes Young Living Oils Different from Other Oils?
Many of you have been asking so many questions about Young Living Oils that I thought I would just write a post. You can also check out 10 benefits to using essential oils.
There really IS a difference between Young Living and ‘others'!
“Young Living owns the 4 largest distillers, partners with the next 2 largest, distills on 5 continents, farms much of their own production, is the first company to use oils Intra-muscularly, the first company to use oils intra-venously, the first company to use oils as dietary supplements, is the only company that is AFNOR, EC and ISO certified Therapeutic Grade, their oils never expire, are used topically neat even on day old infants etc…
The other important thing to understand is that any synthetic or improperly distilled component of the oil is very toxic! Because true essential oil constituents are so amazing at delivering nutrients to the cells (even pharma is using them for 100-4000X + increased absorption) that any synthetic, additive or improperly distilled oil components will get driven deep into the brain and cells by the real oil components making them very toxic.
No other company does any testing and couldn't produce any GC/MS analysis for any of their oils. YL spends a million dollars annually just on testing. Young Living tests every batch. They have 20+ employees on quality control. They spent 750,000 this year alone on state of the art in house testing equipment.
Almost every oil globally today is done through purely 3rd party brokers, that means the retailer of an oil knows nothing about the seed, the harvesting, the quality etc etc…THAN on top of that the plants they bought from a 3rd party broker are then sent to another 3rd party distiller for batch processing than it is sold to other 3rd party retailers. These 3rd party harvesters usually come from paying poor people in poor countries by the kilo, if they are paid by the kilo there is very little quality distinctions taking place.
Young Living monitors almost every oil seed to seal and overseas all other processes, distills all of their own and tests every batch and still discards large percentages of their oil because it is not therapeutic grade and that is sold to brokers and then sold to other retailers and perfume industry. How would any other company not following the YL process even know what they have???? Especially when the best in the world screw it up regularly with the strictest of monitoring.
There is a reason why cheap oils have expiration dates.
There is a reason why they are warning against internal consumption when YL is even FDA and Health Canada approved for internal consumption and they are added to supplements.
And there is a reason why YL uses them safely in IV treatments.
There is a reason why the other oils IF applied topically (most are not) must be diluted.
Other oils are not even safe for inhalation when you truly understand what is going on and the risks of petro-chemicals.” Terry Tillaar
Young Living essential oils are:
• 100% pure • Sourced only from known botanical species • Sustainably grown and harvested • Grown on chemical-free lands in carefully nourished soil (organic) • Unmatched throughout the essential oils industry • So pure and natural, they’re used and recommended by integrative health professionals around the world
The fact that Young Living’s oils are organic is more important than food being organic. Since essential oils are the concentrated essence of the plant, any contaminants in the soil or on the plant will become present in the oil.
When we compare Young Living ’s ‘therapeutic-grade’ essential oils with the type of “pure essential oils” available at wholefood shops, we find significant differences in quality and purity.
When trying to decide which quality of oils to buy, these are some of the questions that need to be asked (taken from The Essential Oil Desk Reference):
Are the fragrances delicate, rich, and organic? Do they “feel” natural? Do the aromas vary from batch to batch as an indication that they are painstakingly distilled in small batches rather than industrially processed on a large scale?
Does your supplier subject each batch of essential oils through multiple chemical analyses to test for purity and therapeutic quality? Are these tests performed by independent labs?
Does your supplier grow and distill its own organically grown herbs?
Are the distillation facilities part of the farm where the herbs are grown (so oils are freshly distilled), or do herbs wait days to be processed and lose potency?
Does your supplier use low pressure and low temperature to distill essential oil so as to preserve all of their fragile chemical constituents?
Are the distillation cookers fabricated from costly food-grade stainless steel alloys to reduce the likelihood of the oils chemically reacting with metal?
Does your supplier personally inspect the fields and distilleries where the herbs are grown and distilled? Do they verify that no synthetic or harmful solvents or chemicals are being used?
Do your essential oils meet AFNOR or ISO standards?
How many years has your supplier been doing all of this?
Do your essential oils have a shelf life of just a few years? [If so, this means they are probably mixed with a carrier oil (like almond oil) that will go rancid.] This means the oil is certainly not pure.
Do your essential oils come from an edible plant, yet have a warning on them not to take them internally? [This is a huge red flag!]
Please take the time to read this. I know it may be a bit long, but it is full of information that you need to know about essential oils and I'm here to help you in your homework/research. What you need to know is that not all essential oils are the same. Most people who start using essential oils do not know there is a ‘difference.' They go to a health food store and buy their oils and the bottle is labeled, “pure”, or better yet, “100% pure essential oil” and believe just that. Rightly so!… NOT! What people do not know is the FDA only requires 2-3% of the essential oil to be ‘pure' to be labeled pure or 100%. The rest of the bottle is filled with synthetics, chemicals, fillers. Pretty scary, huh?! Is there really a difference between essential oils and therapeutic-grade essential oils? The truth is, there is a huge difference between essential oils that simply smell good and those that are therapeutic-grade. Therapeutic-grade essential oils are judged by the highest standards of quality and that includes the oil's hidden natural constituents, not just fragrance.
In Europe, a set of standards has been established that outlines the chemical profile and principal constituents that a quality essential oil should have. These guidelines are known as AFNOR and ISO standards. They help buyers differentiate between a therapeutic-grade essential oil and a lower grade oil with a similar chemical makeup and fragrance.
Why Most Essential Oils Do NOT Meet AFNOR and ISO Standards
The vast majority of essential oils are produced for the perfume industry, which 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 distilling the oil using high pressure with high temperatures in high-volume “pressure cookers” and adding chemical solvents to produce greater quantities of oil at a faster rate.
While many people can't tell the difference in the scent of an essential oil produced this way, the truth is these oils lack true therapeutic properties. Many of the important chemical constituents necessary to produce therapeutic results are either flashed off with the high heat or do not have enough time to be released from the plant material. Artificial fragrances boost what was lost in the harsh distillation process or didn't have time to develop.
What Determines Essential Oil Purity?
One of the factors that determines the purity of an oil is its natural chemical constituents. As in fine wine or gourmet coffee, these constituents can be affected by a vast number of variables, including: – the part of the plant from which the oil was produced – soil conditions – fertilizer (organic or chemical – field of herbs geographical region – climate – altitude – harvest season and methods – distillation process
Take for example, common thyme (thymus vulgaris). Thyme produces several different chemotypes (biochemically unique variations within one species), depending on the conditions of its growth, climate, and altitude. One chemotype of thyme will yield an essential oil with high levels of thymol, depending on the time of year it is distilled. But the later it is distilled in the growing season (i.e., mid-summer or fall), the more thymol the oil will contain.
The Key To Producing Therapeutic-Grade Essential Oils
The key to producing a therapeutic-grade essential oil is to preserve as many of the delicate aromatic compounds within the essential oil as possible. These aromatic chemicals are fragile and easily destroyed by high temperatures and pressure, as well as contact with chemically-reactive metals, such as copper or aluminum.
The plant material should also be free of pesticides, herbicides and other agrochemicals, which can react with the essential oil during distillation to produce toxic compounds.
Can Essential Oils Be Synthesized?
Yes, chemists can actually recreate the main constituents and fragrances of some essential oils in the laboratory. This is how many lower priced essential oils are made. But these synthetic essential oils lack therapeutic benefits and may even carry risks.
Why Synthetic Essential Oils Carry Risks
The reason lower-priced, synthetic essential oils carry risks is because truly natural essential oils contain hundreds of different chemical compounds. Many of these compounds have never been identified and they lend important therapeutic properties to the oil. In addition, some essential oils contain molecules and isomers that are impossible to manufacture in the laboratory.
Synthesized oils lack these unidentified compounds. They also lack the molecules and isomers that are impossible to manufacture. In addition, artificial fragrances are typically added, creating inferior essential oils. Inferior quality and/or adulterated oils are unlikely to produce therapeutic results. Plus, they could very likely be toxic. The AFNOR and ISO standards were created to protect the public from mistaking potentially toxic essential oils for therapeutic-grade oils. Hope that helps! Young Living Essential Oils is my oil of choice because it meets the highest therapeutic standards. To your health!
Ready to sign up and get a kit?
Click Here to get your kit now and see how the oils can help you and your family.
This is an excellent article! Thanks for sharing your wealth of knowledge.