Plastics and berries and EOs... oh my!
This is a topic near and dear to my heart that comes up a lot, and I think it’s time we (attempt) to sort it out. I’m not even sure how to title it, but my best explanation is the habit of EO users (both novice and at times professional aromatherapists) to use false equivalencies to support a position they hold regarding the usage of EOs.
I know, what the heck am I talking about? Here are some examples on either end of the spectrum of usage.
“Look at this EO dissolve Styrofoam! They are so amazing at eating toxins and should be a part of everyone’s supplement routine!”
“I spilled some EO on my painted dresser and it ate away at the paint! You should NEVER drink EOs – imagine what they do to your insides!”
“See what happens when I drip EOs onto this strawberry? Nothing. Because our bodies aren’t toxic like the Styrofoam. They are natural like a strawberry, so EOs are harmless to us!”
I see variations of these statements every day, and in my opinion? They’re all inaccurate and do not foster EO education and awareness to make informed choices.
Let’s break down the examples above to see where they fall flat.
“Look at this EO dissolve Styrofoam! They are so amazing at eating toxins and should be a part of everyone’s supplement routine.”
There is a massive document on plastics my FB group (search keyword "plastic" and look for the same in the files) to explain why and how EOs can break down some of those products, so we won’t rehash all of that, but suffice it to say the hydrocarbons in EOs are good organic solvents. They can break down some other products made of hydrocarbons like plastics, and some plastics such as Styrofoam are particularly susceptible to this due to their molecular structure. This has *nothing* to do with “toxins” – it is just chemistry.
And what exactly are we calling a toxin in this example? Styrofoam? Toxins are labeled as such dependent on dosage and delivery. Water can be toxic if ingested in overly high amounts, but would we label it a toxin? Holding Styrofoam, even drinking cold or room temp beverages out of it is unlikely to be an issue. It is true when heated it may release some undesirables, and certainly from an ecological perspective it’s not the most biodegradable or recyclable product, but to circle back to the main point - Styrofoam is not inherently toxic just by its mere existence, and an EO being able to break it down also has nothing to do with toxins.
“I spilled some EO on my painted dresser and it ate away at the paint! You should NEVER drink EOs – imagine what they do to your insides!”
This one kind of infuriates me, because I’m really passionate about EO safety and there are a lot of legitimate reasons to pause before drinking EOs, but saying inflammatory stuff like this does nothing to further the cause of EO education. As we just noted above, EOs are good organic solvents. They can break down other hydrocarbons like you may find in some paints and wood finishes. This is great if you’re trying to remove something like that and a bummer if you spill some accidentally and ruin a piece of furniture, but it has no bearing on how they behave in the body.
Yes, undiluted EOs can cause chemical burns. Some constituents tend to do this more readily than others. This can happen on the skin on the back of your hand, or in the lining of your esophagus (as ingesting them in water is the same as ingesting them undiluted – where oil and water do not mix. And as we’ve experimented time and time again in this group, adding common household substances to your water such as salt, sugar, stevia, vodka, and honey do not solubize and dilute the EOs).
And yes, there are legitimate concerns regarding the possibility of medication interactions that occur through internal use that are not present or less of a concern through topical and inhalation usage.
We can also consider comorbidities that may be influenced by the internal use of EOs, such as ingesting peppermint EO may worsen GERD as it relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter and can allow more stomach acid up into your esophagus.
And we can mention that without appropriate formulation, ingesting EOs for a specific therapeutic purpose may be a wasted effort with far more risk than reward (you may need enteric capsules to delay release to the intestine versus the stomach, as an example, for some GI conditions).
Lastly, we can consider that although many EOs are used in the flavor industry and have GRAS status (Generally Recognized As Safe) this has almost no bearing on how the home user creates their own flavorings. There is another massive file on this in the group that goes into the sordid history of the FDA and how GRAS status came about, and how much EO is used in conjunction with that status on a commercial level (hint: it’s way less than the home user would tend to use, and often utilizes a folded EO that has had some constituents removed to heighten the flavor/aroma and minimize possibility of irritation).
So there’s a lot to unpack there with the legitimate concerns, and it’s certainly worthwhile to consider all these factors when deciding if you plan to ingest EOs – HOWEVER - EOs ability to break down plastics/paints/wood finish has nothing to do with it. I see EO users counter this argument all the time with “but we’re not made of plastic,” and although they are often using this to justify the practice of drinking of EOs (as noted above this doesn’t excuse all the other concerns associated with this practice), they’re right! We are NOT made of plastic, and EOs will not dissolve our innards the same way they can a Styrofoam cup.
I understand where people are coming from with this stuff, I really do, and I’m sympathetic to the big picture. There is a lot of uninformed, uneducated, and frankly reckless EO use out there. People who have no unbiased knowledge outside of what they read on Pinterest or from a specific company suddenly fancy themselves experts and start preaching to any audience who will listen, the ignorance spreads, and people/kids/pets can get hurt. I get it. That sucks.
But using inflammatory pictures of a dissolved cup or a ruined dresser to try and make your point that EOs should be treated with respect and users should educate themselves is utterly counterproductive - fighting ignorance with ignorance is a terrible plan. And declaring absolutes that EOs should NEVER be used internally is also not productive, nor accurate. They CAN be used internally, and very effectively, if you have the advanced training and knowledge to do so (think an aromatic medicine course that will allow you to appropriately formulate dosage, frequency, duration, medium of application of the EO, and effectively manage carcinogenic and hepatotoxic constituents to maximize benefit and minimize risk).
And you know what? Even if you don’t have that training and you wish to just follow what the Pinterest experts or natural bloggers tell you, knowing full well the risks involved? Your body, your choice. I really make an effort to not use words like “never” when I educate, because personal choice is a real thing. I don’t have to agree, and ultimately you do you.
“See what happens when I drip EOs onto this strawberry? Nothing. Because our bodies aren’t toxic like the Styrofoam. They are natural like a strawberry, so EOs are harmless to us.”
Now, you may think I support this after the rant I just went on saying our bodies are not plastic. Well, unfortunately, they are also not made of strawberries, and again this has nothing to do with whether something is natural or “toxic.” I could dip a strawberry in the worst, untreated, toxic sewer sludge in the world and then drip EO on it and nothing would happen. Toxins are not a factor. I can also drip purified water onto a piece of untreated wood and over time the wood would rot. Being natural is also not a factor. Is water dangerous to us in this manner? No, as we are not made of wood!
I’ve even seen someone take raw chicken livers and use citrus EOs on them and it appeared to sort of “cook” them for lack of a better description, kind of like a ceviche which utilizes the acid of citrus juice to “cook” raw food, typically fish. (EOs are not acidic so I’m not sure of the mechanism by which this impacted the livers). But in any event, this post was meant to spread the word about the dangers of ingesting EOs because look what they do to livers! What could they be doing to YOUR livers?! After all we’ve talked about, does anyone think there is any equivalency to dripping undiluted EOs on a dead piece of raw liver, and how ingested EOs impact live livers (after having gone through the GI tract, and the blood stream)? If you think there is any reasonable comparison there, please re-read this post. There is NOT.
There are very few things in our world and specifically the world of aromatherapy that deal in absolutes. ALWAYS do this, NEVER do that. It’s just not realistic, and trying to boil everything down to such black and white issues doesn’t foster accurate EO education and the ability to make informed choices as an EO user. And using asinine examples to attempt to make your point with plastics and strawberries also does not help the cause, if the cause is awareness of the real science that makes up the risks and benefits.
There are real risks to casual ingestion of EOs. Educate yourself about them and decide how you feel about it. Learn from unbiased sources and look with a skeptical eye at anyone who is using terms like NEVER (NEVER ingest EOs, NEVER use eucalyptus under the age of 10, NEVER use EOs on or around kids under 2, etc). The inaccuracies can exist on either end of the usage spectrum (liberal and conservative). Feel free to check out my FB group for more information, links, and education here. And by all means, ignore any efforts to sway your opinions on how EOs interact with the body with pictures of fruit, plastics, cups, or anything else that is not, in fact, A BODY. A living one, to clarify. Dead bits of liver in a bowl also do not count, but bonus points for grossness!