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Essential Oils Are For Smelling, Not Drinking

Writer's picture: Karen DeVaultKaren DeVault

Updated: Jan 20

Essential oils are the very potent and powerful aromatic components of plants.  They can have a profound effect on our total health, affecting and bringing to balance our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.


They can effectively provide relief to physical ailments such as sore muscles and various skin conditions.  They can enhance your meditation practice, making them great for spiritual use.  They can balance and bring peace to the mind by alleviating anxiety and stress and promoting restful sleep.


There are many ways to use essential oils safely, responsibly and effectively. Dropping essential oils into your water or directly into your mouth, does NOT fall under this category.  Personally, I don’t ingest essential oils and don’t recommend it, however if you do, this is still NEVER the way to do it.  Why? You may ask.  Well, there are plenty of reasons starting with it’s simply not safe.  It is well known that oils and water do not mix; therefore using them in this manner basically equates to drinking undiluted, very potent and very powerful chemical constituents.  Essential oils should be kept away from the sensitive mucous membrane linings.  It can and does cause irritation and burns to the sensitive linings in your mouth, throat, esophagus and intestines and can overtax the kidneys and liver.  Furthermore, essential oils have no nutritional value.   I can’t think of any reason to add them to  your drinking water.


The National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy does not promote the uneducated internal use of essential oils.  The Alliance of International Aromatherapists doesn’t either.  In fact this is what they say “AIA does not endorse internal therapeutic use of essential oils unless recommended by a health care practitioner trained at an appropriate clinical level.”  They go on to define an appropriate level of training as a training which must include “chemistry, anatomy, diagnostics, physiology, formulation guidelines and safety issues regarding each specific internal route.”


So to recap, professional, educated Aromatherapists do not promote casual, daily internal use.  Neither does the NAHA or the AIA.  If you have received advice to add the ever popular Thieves blend to your tea or add a “few drops” of lemon essential oil to your water, you can be assured that the advice was given to you by somebody NOT trained at an appropriate clinical level.


This type of casual, daily ingestion of essential oils is simply irresponsible. In no way does it serve your health and it is detrimental to the plant species that produces these precious oils.  I urge you to consider what effect you are trying to achieve by adding essential oils to your water in the first place.  If it’s your mood that needs a lift, perhaps you can try diffusing one of the citrus oils.  If you need to calm your mind, simply smelling lavender may be all you need.  If it’s the flavoring you are after, a much better choice would be to infuse your water with fresh fruit or herbs.  If you are trying to detoxify your body, it’s important to understand that essential oils have no ability to do this.  It’s becoming more important than ever to make sure you are receiving information about essential oils from a professional aromatherapist who understands the chemistry of oils, their effects on the body and safe and effective ways to use them.

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