Essential Oils that Boost Your Immune System

Because essential oils are plants in their most potent form, they make wonderful tools for us to use in creating and maintaining wellness.
Some oils are well known for their powerful immune boosting properties, so let's go over a few that we recommend everyone have on hand.
Copaiba: This is one of the most powerful substances on the earth for reducing inflammation. The BCP in copaiba boosts immune and endocrine function. Mix a drop with honey or gargle a drop with warm water to sooth a sore throat.

Oregano: This is a total powerhouse for the immune system. Apply (always diluted) to the bottoms of the feet.
Frankincense: This is an amazing overall immune booster, as it not only decreases inflammation, but it also helps your body to produce more white blood cells.
Lemon: Rich in limonene - there are some amazing clinical studies about this - be sure to check them out. Lemon essential oil is wonderful for your lymphatic system, helping to flush out cellular waste.

And of course, one of Young Living's most well known blends - everyone's favorite - Thieves. Thieves essential oil is a blend of Clove, Lemon, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus, and Rosemary. Thieves oil has high anti-bacterial properties, fights harmful fungi, reduces inflammation, and helps to promote overall wellness. It also smells like the holiday season, with it warm, spicy scent, so that's also a huge bonus!
I make a roller that we use frequently to stay healthy using a few drops of Thieves mixed with a carrier oil.
If you happen to be feeling under the weather, try this Get Well Tea recipe (makes one pot of tea):

Essential oils are a powerful way to boost your immune system, but remember, the most important thing you can do to maintain a healthy immune system is to take care of your body. Get plenty of rest, drink lots of water, and eat nutritious foods.
If you'd like to learn more about essential oils and how they benefit your body, you're welcome to join our Facebook Group
and if you're ready to order some of these immune boosting essential oils, click here for the path to wellness.

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Naturally Scented Bodywash

One of the items in the hub’s Essentail Rewards order this month was Young Living’s unscented Bath Gel. It is SO hard to find unscented, green (as opposed to green washed) products at the store, so we were pretty stoked Young Living offered this.
We’re also stoked that just about everything YL sells is concentrated, so we knew we would get 3 bottles of body wash out of this one bottle, so we decided to make a his and hers, and then still have one bottle left over for whoever runs out first.

Here’s how we did it:
Divide the unscented bath and shower gel into thirds (we used foaming pump bottles, because natural soaps don’t have the chemical in them that gives them all the lather of standard soaps)
Then we chose our scents. I chose Peace and Calming, Patchouli, and Orange. Patchouli and Orange are already in  the Peace and Calming blend, but I just wanted to enhance those notes.
Jon chose Cypress, Cedarwood, and Northern Lights Black Spruce. Woodsy and manly, without smelling too much like a forest.

I used 2 drops of Peace and Calming, 1 drop Patchouli, and 1 drop Orange in mine.
Jon used 2 drops Cypress, 2 drops Cedarwood, and 1 drop Northern Lights Black Spruce in his.
Then we just filled the rest of the bottle up with water, shook it around to mix, and voila!!  Naturally scented, toxin free bodywash - at 3 for 1 pricing!!

Have you made your own naturally scented bodywash? What oils did you use?

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DIY Toxin-Free Perfume

Did you know that almost all modern perfumes use artificial fragrances? Not only that, but when "fragrance" is listed as the ingredient in a product, what it really means is "any combination of thousands of toxic chemicals?" People are even calling fragrance "the new second-hand smoke."There is a sign at my doctor's office asking patients to refrain from wearing perfumes or colognes to the office, as they can have harmful impact on others.
A 2001 study by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that synthetic fragrances were often shown to contain hormone disruptors linked to abnormal cell reproduction.
From NonToxicRevolution: EWG found that about 75 percent of products that list fragrance contain the hormone disrupting chemical, phthalates. Phthalates, used to make fragrances last longer, have been linked to many hazardous health conditions, such as reduced sperm count, liver and breast cancers, reproductive malformation and diabetes. This carcinogen has been banned in many countries (EU, Japan, South Korea, Canada, even China), but our government sets such an intense level of proven harm for these chemicals that some say it’s almost impossible to reach. 

The good news is, you don't have to wear chemical-laden perfumes. You can make your own and it's super easy - and much more affordable.
To show you how easy it can be, I thought I'd show you how I made my current perfume.  I like warm/woodsy scents, so if that's not your jam, I'll list some other oil combos you can sub out for the ones I used below.

Here's what you need:
A glass spray bottle
Witch Hazel
A pinch of salt
Water
Your favorite essential oils (I use Young Living because I trust their quality)

For this blend I used:
4 drops Patchouli
5 drops Cedarwood
1 drop Vetiver
3 drops Valor
3 drops Bergamot
 
Just drop your oils in, fill the bottle half way up with witch hazel, add in a dash of salt, then fill the rest with water, put the lid on, and shake it up.
That's it!! Told ya it was super easy.

Here are a few other combos to try if you're not a partial hippie like me and not into the earthy smells:
Daydream:
4 drops Lemon
6 drops Lavender
8 drops Valor

Take on the World
4 drops Joy
3 drops Orange
6 drops Valor

For the Fellas:
3 drops Pine
5 drops Northern Lights Black Spruce
6 drops Cedarwood

Give it a try - your body systems will than you!
If you try it, let me know what combo you used and how you like it. <3
Also, you should join our facebook group Well and Wild where you can connect with other natural living friends. We'd love to have you there! <3

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