Internal consumption is an excellent way to use your essential oils.
Not to beat a dead horse here, but please know that for the purposes of this post, when I refer to using essential oils internally, I am only referring to doTERRA essential oils. This is the company that I personally use, that I have done hours and hours of research on, and trust with every cell in my body. Please, do NOT consume any essential oil internally that you have purchased from Target®, Walmart®, Whole Foods®, Natural Grocers®, etc. If you remember from my post on aromatic uses of essential oils, I mention that the FDA makes it perfectly acceptable for essential oil companies to put only 3-10% of actual essential oil in their product, and then fill the rest of the bottle up with alcohol, witch hazel, water, or other filler. We do NOT know what is in the rest of that bottle without a test. We also do not know if that essential oil they put in there is organic and sourced sustainably. You can be like me and actually call these companies and ask them to please produce their quality reports, and then hang up disappointed but not at all surprised that they a) would not provide the report and b) gave you the run around in the process.
How’s this for crazy? You go to Target®, you pick up a bottle of lemon essential oil because you heard it was great for internal cleansing, great for purifying the air, and that it was super easy to clean with. You were also pretty excited to put a drop or 2 in your lemon garlic crockpot chicken recipe for an extra punch of lemony goodness! But then you notice on the bottle it says “NOT FOR INTERNAL CONSUMPTION.” “DO NOT INGEST. PLEASE CALL POISON CONTROL IF INGESTED”. If it’s true, that what is in the bottle is indeed 100% pure lemon essential oil, then WHY THE HELL CAN’T YOU CONSUME IT?! In real life, are you able to eat a lemon? Or consume the juice of a lemon? Or use the zest of the lemon in a recipe? Of COURSE you can do all those things with a lemon! It’s a freaking lemon, for crying out loud! So why on God’s green earth wouldn’t you be able to ingest an essential oil that claims to be 100% pure? Because it’s NOT 100% pure. It’s just not. DO.YOUR.RESEARCH. I cannot stress this enough.
Okay onto internal consumption!
Internal consumption. It’s a great way to utilize your essential oils and really maximize their benefits. Here’s how you know if you can internally consume your doTERRA essential oil: Look at the bottle. Is there a little spot on the side that says “Supplement Facts” ? Then you can use it internally! It literally looks like a food label you would find in the supermarket. If it does not have a “Supplement Facts” spot on the side of the bottle, then you do not want to consume that oil internally.
There are several routes that you can go about taking your doTERRA essential oils internally: sublingually, orally (like in a veggie capsule), in your water/beverage, in your meals when you cook, vaginally and rectally.
Sublingual consumption means taking a drop right under the tongue. There are tons of capillaries very close to the surface of the skin there under the tongue, so those oils are quickly absorbed into the blood stream and boom then they get to travel to all the areas in the body that need the help of that oil. Yay! This route makes for a very quick absorption, and it also bypasses the liver and digestion, so that means that a higher percentage of the chemical constituents of the oil are delivered to the body.
If you hate the way an oil tastes, then put it in a capsule! I personally despise how Frankincense tastes. But it is soooo good for you and such a powerful oil! But honestly it tastes like the rosin I would put on my violin bow in high school and I just really don’t love that taste. I throw a few drops of Frank in a capsule and swallow it like a pill. Yay! No tree resin taste and still getting the benefits baby!!
Putting a drop of essential oil in your beverage is a great way to consume them internally! VERY IMPORTANT NOTE HERE: Make sure that if you are putting oils in your water or other bev, you are using a glass, or a stainless steel water bottle or container. The oils are so powerful that they can actually leach the toxic petrochemicals from the plastics into your water, so now you have lemony gross plastic water that is poisonous and also tastes like Tupperware®… no thank you.
Another great way to use your oils internally is by cooking with them! Take note here—essential oils are way more powerful than dried herbs. Say your recipe calls for ½ teaspoon of dried oregano. You might be thinking, “oh okay, I’ll just substitute the ½ teaspoon of dried oregano for ½ teaspoon of oregano essential oil” ….. And then you do and realize you’ve totally ruined your dish because the thing is so oregano-ey that it is completely unpalatable and you have to throw it away. Or you could be like me, and completely ruin this beautiful sweet potato rosemary soup that I was making my bae a few years ago… I was so excited about it, I was going to have dinner all ready for him when he got home and it was a beautiful recipe with shallots and mascarpone cheese and I had been dying to try it out, and I was sooo excited to finally use essential oils in my cooking! I added 2 drops (literally 2 you guys…), and it was done. Unpalatable, smelled amazing but a little bit like a spa (I think rosemary and eucalyptus smell very similar, and when is the last time you went to a spa that didn’t have eucalyptus floating through the air?), and it tasted like a spa too (read: not.good.at.all). It was such a disappointment. That was when I quickly learned that essential oils are way more potent than dried herbs. Literally a drop’ll do ya! Or, if you want to be on the safe side and if you are someone who prefers your flavors a bit more on the mild side, take a toothpick, stick it in your bottle of essential oil, and then stick the toothpick into your soup or dip or dish or whatever, and add your essential oil that way, little by little. I’m telling you guys, these oils are so powerful that you do not need very much. Don’t be like me and learn the hard way and have to throw out your sexy sweet potato rosemary soup!
As for the other ways you can use your oils internally, I have to be honest here and say I have never used them rectally or vaginally. There are safe ways to do that, and if you are curious, let me know and I’ll do some research for you.
And there ya have it! Taking essential oils internally is a great way to receive the potent health benefits of these oils because of how concentrated they are. Our bodies are mystical and magical, and lots of the processes of how things work are not fully understood. And because each oil is unique and has a special composition of chemical constituents, they interact with cells and organs in ways that aren’t fully understood, but their positive results are well documented.
Some Of My Favorite Oils To Use Internally
I take a drop of this one under my tongue when I’m feeling under the weather or just need a little immune support. Tastes like Christmas!
Lemon is a great way to jazz up my boring old water. Plus it has cleansing properties, so it makes me feel like it is cleansing my body when I drink it
A spicy treat in my tea! And great for digestion!
I’ll take this under my tongue when I’m feeling belly achy. It tastes like licorice because of the anise in there, but it zaps nausea or stomach discomfort like that. I get motion sickness when we drive on windy roads, and the first time I ever used this one internally, literally moments after I took a drop, my car sickness went away
This one I prefer to take in capsules because it does taste a little like a tree. But it provides a great grounding effect if you’re into that (like my girl Mags who gave me this tip! Love ya sis!)
Omg you guys … peppermint is a ride or die. Actually, they all are. But really, peppermint. Did you just put on your lipstick and feel like your mouth needs a little refresher? Take a drop of peppermint. Do you want to feel like a glacier exploded in your mouth? Add a drop of peppermint to your toothbrush when you brush at night. Do you want your water to taste refreshing and jazzed up? Add a drop of peppermint to your glass or stainless steel water bottle. I.love.peppermint!!!
Frank is powerful for immune system and cellular support, but tastes like tree resin. I put 2 drops in a veggie capsule and swallow like a pill
This is one of the most powerful essential oils in your arsenal for when you need a little immune support. It tastes like pizza on steroids (and not in a good way …) but it is so powerful. I put 2 drops in a veggie capsule.
Bonus tip! The Immunity Bomb: I can’t take credit for this recipe (I got it from my amazing doTERRA team), but it is a winner winner baby and always helps support my immune system when I am under the weather or I feel a cold coming on: 2 drops each in a veggie capsule: on-guard®, lemon, frankincense, melaleuca, oregano. Take this every 4 hours when you are feeling under the weather.
What are some of your favorite ways to use essential oils internally? Leave a comment below!
Do you need help getting your own set of doTERRA essential oils? Click here to start shopping today!
**Also side note — most of the oils I mentioned up there are available in doTERRA’s two most popular and affordable enrollment kits, so you get them all in one fell swoop. It’s a great way to get started with the most popular oils for an amazing price!!
Love and Oils!
xoxo
Emily : )
