Category: education

Many people have been led to presume that an essential oils’ quality dictates its safety. However, in addition to an essential oil’s quality there are specific guidelines and safety precautions that people should be aware of when working with essential oils. A classic designation of quality essential oils is that they be “therapeutic grade,” this is the quality of essential oils that every Aromatherapist and practitioner should be using regardless of the application. However, despite an essential oil being classified as “therapeutic grade,” an essential oil may still be determined unsafe for internal, and in some cases topical, use.

I have worked with and studied essential oils for more than 20 years and my entire reference library has always discouraged the ingestion of essential oils except in instances when a person is under the direct guidance of an experienced health care professional. You can imagine my surprise when I began working for a company that sells essential oils, where customers regularly call to ask if the oils are safe for ingestion. The majority of individuals who called admitted to ingesting essential oils purchased from an alternate company; In my professional opinion, I find this to be concerning.

The repeated inquiry and social media regarding ingesting essential oils stirred my interest in investigating why essential oils are traditionally discouraged from being ingested in classic aromatherapy.  What follows is a combination of my research and my reasoning on the subject.

The Food and Drug Administration, while it has not regulated the use of essential oils as therapeutic remedies, has designated some varieties of plant species that essential oils are distilled from as GRAS, or Generally Regarded As Safe. The FDA created this distinction in respect of various plant matter being used as additives for food and drink flavorings. Some essential oil companies have taken the liberty to refer to the GRAS list as a determinant for the safety of ingesting essential oils. This is not a logical deduction due to the following distinctions made by the FDA.

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) pre-market approval processes for food and color additives require an estimate of the probable consumer intake of the additive to determine whether its use or presence in a food at a given concentration is safe.”(1)

The amount of any plant material in extract form which is used to flavor food and beverages is very dilute, and is always prepared in its medium in a controlled environment. The GRAS list was produced in consideration of use being in much lower concentrations than what people are consuming in the practice of ingesting essential oils for therapeutic or supplemental value.

While researching the parameters which designate a substance as GRAS, I came across some frequently asked questions regarding the subject which should be highlighted here. One of these questions asked: “If a substance is designated as GRAS, is it safe for all uses?”

The response to this question was as follows:

“Not necessarily. Under section 201(s) of the Act, it is the use of a substance, rather than the substance itself, that is eligible for the GRAS exemption (62 Fed. Reg. 18939; April 17, 1997). A determination of the safety of the use of an ingredient includes information about the characteristics of the substance, the estimated dietary intake under the intended conditions of use, and the population that will consume the substance (proposed 21 CFR 170.36 (c)(1)(iii)).”(2)

This lead me to inquire how this designation was originally determined, and what an “estimated dietary intake under the intended conditions of use,” was intended to mean in regard to the amount ingested.

“The key determinant in the safety evaluation of a substance found in or added to the diet is the relation of its probable human intake to the level at which adverse effects are observed in toxicological studies. Simply, “the dose makes the poison.” The implications of this adage as it pertains to food can be illustrated with two examples.  While “pure” water can be viewed as the safest of foods, excessive intake can lead to a potentially fatal electrolyte imbalance.  Conversely, pure concentrated sulfuric acid can destroy human tissue, but FDA has affirmed it as GRAS for controlling pH during the processing of alcoholic beverages or cheeses.  Clearly, conditions of use and dose (i.e., intake) are considered jointly when discussing the safety of a component of food.”(1)

This clarification is important to consider when in question regarding the safety of oral doses of essential oils, as the GRAS list was not created nor intended to be used as a reference to ingesting concentrated essential oils, but rather, the plant extracts being used to flavor food and beverages. Based on the designations above, one can reasonably presume that the dosage amounts that individuals are ingesting of essential oils, negate the application of the GRAS designation as a determination of safety for internal use of essential oils. This is of key importance, as people are wrongly using the GRAS list as a measure for safe ingestion for therapeutic values, which the GRAS list was not intended for.

It was hard for me to imagine what these figures visually look like in volume so I broke down the weights even further.

There are a few reasons why it concerns me that people are ingesting essential oils, one of which is the means of which I am hearing of people ingesting them. What primarily concerns me is instances when I hear that people are ingesting several drops of essential oil in a glass of water.

You might ask…why does this concern me?

By their nature, essential oils float on water. By dropping them into water, without any dispersant, the essential oils ultimately coat a person’s throat and then the lining of their stomach, without any means to slow their absorption.

If you were to, for instance, eat the equivalent of the herb of oregano as it would take to make the amount of drops of oregano essential oil some people are ingesting under the suggestion of some MLM representatives (despite classic aromatherapy discouraging any use of this oil whatsoever in aromatherapy except under guided use), one could presume their body may give them feedback to stop eating the herb by some means or another ie. vomiting, excessive sweating, etc. However, when someone chooses to ingest an essential oil, the body cannot reject it because it is instantly bio-available. In the instance of using oregano, it would likely give a burning sensation as oregano is a mucus membrane irritant.

Ultimately, drinking tea regularly has been shown to be an effective remedy without the necessity of a huge amount of plant material needed to be distilled and without possible negative side effects of ingesting essential oils. When we compare a common over the counter medication to the concentrations of ingesting essential oils we can compare for instance, the practice of taking 2 Advil or Tylenol for a headache as compared to taking a handful of them, which could be deadly.

I bring this up to clearly display that essential oils are highly concentrated volatile plant substances. The strain on one’s liver, the ultimate filter of the body, when one ingests essential oils is quite different when compared to regularly drinking a glass of tea.

In “The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils: The Complete Guide to the use of Oils in Aromatherapy and Herbalism,” by Julia Lawless, she states very specifically in the safety guidelines “DO NOT TAKE ESSENTIAL OILS INTERNALLY! This rule is in accordance with the guidelines of safety recommended by International Federation of Aromatherapy. Essential oils do not mix with water, and in an undiluted form they may damage the lining of the digestive tract. In additional some essential oils are toxic if taken internally.”

Several years ago I came across the directions for ingestion in a single source, which surprised me as all of the other reference books that I have studied throughout the years have held a similar standing, and discouraged the ingestion of essential oils unless under the guidance of a professional. All of the course books that I received in the certification program I took part in also forewarned against ingesting essential oils without guidance. This particular source appeared to be published as an offshoot of Young Living, a popular Multilevel Marketing company which had a tiered system of selling essential oils. The book detailed many of the blends that are sold through the company, and had referenced uses that were in much higher concentrations than any other reference book I have in my library. It was in this book that I first saw reference to the FDA’s GRAS list as being a designation for the safety of internal use of essential oils.

My growing concern and interest in the subject matter led me to look into the research of Robert Tisserand and his guidelines regarding essential oils.

In the book he coauthored, “Essential Oil Safety: A Guide for Health Care Professionals,” he differentiates and explains what can be described as acute and chronic toxicity established from improper use of essential oils. For instance there can be acute oral toxicity, as in the case of a lethal dose of ingestion, and there is also acute dermal toxicity, which speaks to signs of systemic toxicity when specific oils are applied to the skin, and then there is also chronic toxicity, which speaks to the adverse effects of using an essential oil through either dermal application or otherwise, from the repeated use of essential oils both internally and externally.  The material states: “Toxicity is a risk because of the possibility of cumulative effects where damage will increase after each small dose.” It goes on to say:

“Chronic toxicity is, like acute toxicity, dose-dependent but it will also depend on frequency and total length of time of application. There is a link with acute toxicity in the sense that small, frequently applied amounts of essential oils which are acutely toxic are very likely to be chronically toxic. This is another link in that there are frequently similar causes of death in both cases — most commonly damage to liver and  kidneys.”

In his book, Tisserand documented the toxicity levels as determined by a test, typically referred to as the LD50 test. This scientific method determines the toxicity of the material in question by the amount of gram of material ingested/kilogram of weight, would result in fifty percent of the test subjects’ fatality. In other areas of the book, there are instances of poisoning detailed, as well as other examples of poisoning. While poisoning is noted at relatively minimal doses, because the oil did not kill a subject, or show evidence of being fatal for 50 percent of the population tested under three designated proportions, it was determined “safe for use unless there are reasons not to.”

With that in mind I re-read the source I came across that suggested directions and cautionary measures when it comes to ingesting essential oils. “Essential Oils Desk Reference, ” compiled by Essential Science Publishing, stated that:

“All essential oils that are Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) or certified as Food Additives (FA) by the FDA may be safely taken internally as dietary supplements. But ingesting essential oils should only be done under the direction of a knowledgeable health professional.”

The following paragraph continues:

“In fact, many oils are actually more effective when taken orally in very small amounts. Essential oils should always be diluted in vegetable oil, blue agave nectar or rice milk prior to ingestion. . . Usually no more than 2-3 drops should be ingested at one time (during a 4-8 hour period). Because essential oils are so concentrated, 1-2 drops are often sufficient to achieve significant benefits.”

I have to admit that I am a bit alarmed when people reveal to me that they are ingesting 4 drops of essential oil or more in a sitting, often times just in water, others admit to filling gelatin capsules and ingesting them without any carrier at all.

There is great importance to pay attention to that fact that when it comes to using essential oils in this way, the nature of essential oils themselves is that they float on water. Research that has shown benefits of ingesting small amounts of lavender, for instance, is done in a controlled environment when capsules were prepared with a combination of lavender essential oil in a base of virgin coconut oil. Ingestion in this way is different than by means of dropping a few drops in  a water glass because essential oils inherently float on the surface of the water, which is likely why the EDR suggests using agave nectar as a dispersant.

While there is research being produced that shows evidence of ingesting essential oils being effective and suitable in acute situations, I strongly believe that daily ingestion for means of basic supplement is unnecessary and ultimately unsustainable.  I am also increasingly concerned about the use of this practice when it comes to the antibacterial nature of essential oils and their possible negative effects on the internal gut biome.

When one considers that having a daily practice of drinking tea regularly can have similar benefits as supplementing with essential oils, but without the risk of acute oral toxicity, or chronic toxicity, it seems wise to consider saving the method of ingesting essential oils for times when it is absolutely necessary, and again, under the guidance of an experienced health care professional.

* Some essential oils are less viscous and may be counted out drop by drop to have more drops per milliliter, which is why when blending it is always best to use a milliliter as a measurement for consistency of product rather than preparing things in ratio by drop.

1) Guidance for Industry: Estimating Dietary Intake of Substances in Food. Source: Food and Drug Administration. August 2006. Authors: Hyoung Lee and Alison Edwards.

http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/ucm074725.htm#subs