Empowered Pathways Newsletter

April 28, 2003

Gen Abrams, Publisher
Gen@empoweredpathways.com

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In this Issue:

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Health, Nutrition and Supplements
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Follow a new path
to health and wellness...

and rediscover an Ancient Art of Healing!

Essential Oils - The Essence of Nature

History reveals that ancient civilizations, including Egypt,
Greece, Rome, and Asia, recognized the importance of essential
oils - their fragrant aromas and the complex molecules within
the oils - and used them for a wide variety of wellness and
beauty purposes.

Aromatherapy had been around for 6000 years or more. The Greeks,
Romans, and ancient Egyptians all used aromatherapy oils. The
Egyptian physician Imhotep recommended fragrant oils for
bathing, massage, and for embalming their dead nearly 6000
years ago. Imhotep is the Egyptian god of medicine and healing.
Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, used aromatherapy
baths and scented massage. He used aromatic fumigations to rid
Athens of the plague.

The modern era of aromatherapy is dawned in 1930 when the
French chemist Rene Maurice Gattefosse coined the term aroma-
therapy for the therapeutic use of essential oils. He was
fascinated by the benefits of lavender oil in healing his
burned hand without leaving any scars. He started investi-
gating the effect of other essential oils for healing and for
their psychotherapeutic benefits.

During world war II, the French army surgeon Dr. Jean Valnet
used essential oils as antiseptics. Later, Madame Marguerite
Maury elevated aromatherapy as a holistic therapy. She started
prescribing essential oils as remedy for her patients. She is
also credited with the modern use of essential oils in massage.

According to ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and Chinese
manuscripts, priests and physicians were using essential
oils thousands of years before Christ to heal the sick. They
are the oldest form of remedies and cosmetics known to man
and were considered more valuable than gold. There are 188
references to oils in the Bible. Science is only now beginning
to investigate the incredible healing properties of essential
oils.

What is Aromatherapy?
Aromatherapy is the modern name for a centuries-old practice
that blends the science of scent and the essence of plant
life - essential oils - to promote health, beauty and well-
being.

Aromatherapy means "treatment using scents". It is a holistic
treatment of caring for the body with pleasant smelling botan-
ical oils such as rose, lemon, lavender and peppermint. The
essential oils are aromatic essences extracted from plants,
flowers, trees, fruits, bark, grasses and seeds with distinc-
tive therapeutic, psychological, and physiological properties,
which improve and prevent illness. The essential oils are
added to the bath or massaged into the skin, inhaled directly
or diffused to scent an entire room.

Aromatherapy is used for the relief of pain, care for the
skin, alleviate tension and fatigue and invigorate the entire
body. Essential oils can affect the mood, alleviate fatigue,
reduce anxiety and promote relaxation. When inhaled, they
work on the brain and nervous system through stimulation of
the olfactory nerves.

Aromatherapy is already slowly getting into the mainstream.
In Japan, engineers are incorporating aroma systems into new
buildings. In one such application, the scent of lavender and
rosemary is pumped into the customer area to calm down the
waiting customers, while the perfumes from lemon and eucalyp-
tus are used in the bank teller counters to keep the staff
alert.

Aromatherapy is one of the fastest growing fields in alter-
native medicine. It is widely used at home, clinics and
hospitals for a variety of applications such as pain relief
for women in labor pain, relieving pain caused by the side
effects of the chemotherapy undergone by cancer patients,
and rehabilitation of cardiac patients.

What Are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are the subtle, aromatic and volatile liquids
extracted from the flowers, seeds, leaves, stems, bark and
roots of herbs, bushes, shrubs, and trees, through distil-
lation. There are about 150 essential oils. Most of these
oils have antiseptic properties; some are antiviral, anti-in-
flammatory, pain-relieving, antidepressant and expectorant.
Other properties of the essential oils which are taken advan-
tage of in aromatherapy are their stimulation, relaxation,
digestion improvement, and diuretic properties. Each of the
essential oils used in Aromatherapy can be used either alone
or in combinations to create a desired effect.

To get the maximum benefit from essential oils, it should be
made from natural, pure raw materials. Synthetically made
oils do not work. The methods used to extract the essential
oil are time consuming and expensive and require a high
degree of expertise. Given that it takes in excess of 220
pounds of rose petals to produce only 4 or 5 teaspoonfuls
of oil, it is a process probably best left to professionals!

Due to the large quantity of plant material required, pure
essential oils are expensive, but they are also highly effec-
tive - only a few drops at a time are required to achieve
the desired effect.

Why Are Essential Oils Essential?
Many Essential Oils repel virus, bacteria, and other microbes.

Essential oils have an immediate impact on our sense of smell,
also known as "olfaction". When essential oils are inhaled,
olfactory receptor cells are stimulated and the impulse is
transmitted to the emotional center of the brain, or "limbic
system".

The limbic system is connected to areas of the brain linked
to memory, breathing, and blood circulation, as well as the
endocrine glands which regulate hormone levels in the body.
The properties of the oil, the fragrance and its effects,
determine stimulation of these systems.

When used in massage, essential oils are not only inhaled,
but absorbed through the skin as well. They penetrate the
tissues and find their way into the bloodstream where they
are transported to the organs and systems of the body.
Essential oils have differing rates of absorption, generally
between 20 minutes and 2 hours, so it is probably best not
to bathe or shower directly following a massage to ensure
maximum effectiveness.

Aromatherapy is particularly effective for stress, anxiety,
and psychosomatic induced problems, muscular and rheumatic
pains, digestive disorders and women's problems, such as PMS,
menopausal complaints and postnatal depression. Here are some
of the results from clinical studies in several areas:

Behavior
Considerable evidence exists that fragrant compounds have a
profound effect on our mind and behavior. Animal studies have
found that hyperexcited mice (as a result of consuming a large
quantity of caffeine) was calmed by the aroma of lavender,
sandalwood, and other oils sprayed into their cages. The same
mice were found to become very irritable when exposed to the
aroma of orange terpines, thymol, and some other substances.
These oils were all detected in their bloodstream after
about an hour.

Sleep
In a study reported in the British Medical Journal Lancet,
elderly patients slept "like babies" when a lavender aroma
was wafted into their bedrooms at night. These patients had
complained of difficulty falling asleep and had to take
sleeping pills to get sleep prior to the aromatherapy.

People With Dementia
In an editorial in The British Medical Journal, a group of
psychiatrists said that three research trials done in the
past year have provided evidence that aromatherapy improves
the quality of life for individuals with dementia. Dementia,
affecting about 18 million people worldwide, refers to a
deterioration of mental faculties often associated with
Alzheimer's disease. The main aroma oils used in the trials
were lavender and lemon balm. These oils were delivered by
either inhalation or skin application. Explanations given
for the efficacy of the oils ranged from the scents triggering
a well being response in the brain to a direct biological
action.

Essential Oils Are Aromatic.
Essential Oils are highly aromatic and therefore, many of
the benefits can be obtained by simply inhaling them. This
can be done by breathing in the fragrance from the bottle,
or they can be diffused into the room.

When diffused, Essential Oils can be the best air filtration
system in the world. They will:

1. Purify, by removing metallic particles and toxins from
   the air.
2. Increase atmospheric oxygen.
3. Increase ozone and negative ions in the house, which
   inhibits bacteria growth.
4. Destroy odors from mold, cigarettes, and animals.
5. Fill the air with a fresh, herbal aromatic scent.

Easily incorporated into your busy lifestyle, essential oils
capture the powerful benefits of nature, adding yet another dimension
to the mind-body-spirit connection.

Are You Ready for the Next Step?

Premium-grade, 100% pure essential oils.

Email me for more information...
Gen@empoweredpathways.com

*These statements has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
This product is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure or prevent any disease.
This notice is required by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to friends
or family who may benefit from this information!

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Both a natural and frugal solution is Tea Tree oil.
It is a clear liquid with a pleasant scent,similar to that
of eucalyptus. It is steam-distilled from the leaves of a
common Australian tree, Melaleuca alternifolia. Tea tree
oil is a very effective germicide and has many uses,
including strong antifungal properties. It is the best
treatment I know for athlete's foot and toenail fungus.
Just paint it on the affected area two or three times
a day, and you will see results that are far better than
when using over the counter anti-fungal treatments -usually
within two weeks. Make sure the label says the product
contains 100% pure tea tree oil, and of course organic is
best. You can find it in most health food and herb stores.

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Bible Verse
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  For by him were all things created,
  that are in heaven, and that are in earth
  visible and invisible, whether they be thrones,
  or dominions, or principalities, or powers:
  all things were created by him, and for him:
  And he is before all things,
  and by him all things consist.

      Colossians 1:16-17

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Remarkable Quote
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Trust men and they will be true to you;
treat them greatly and they will show themselves great.
          - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Reader Feedback
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If you have comments or questions, any feedback is greatly
appreciated! Please let me know if it is okay to share your
comments with other subscribers!
You can email me anytime at: Gen@empoweredpathways.com

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Disclaimers:
*These statements have not been approved by the Food and
Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose,
treat or cure or prevent any disease. This notice is required
by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
The purpose of this newsletter is informational only, and
the publisher cannot be held responsible for actions taken
as a result of the information provided herein.
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