Natural & Holistic

Nature is a whole

Why Natural – why Holistic

Holistic means approaching the whole rather than its parts separately. Holistic medicine is concerned with treating the whole of the human being as body, spirit and mind. Holistic ecology views humans and the physical environment as a single system.

Life is a whole, the sum of relationships and processes among chemical elements and the maintenance of their balance. It is the creation of matter and form that vibrates with vital energy. In other words, it is the characteristic of physical bodies (a sum of matter with defined boundary in 3-D space) that possess biologic processes such as cell communication and self-preservation.

Approaching the whole, as much in the human being (mind, body & spirit), as in the universe, means respect and understanding of what we call Nature.

Natural means living in accordance with nature. It refers to respecting our status as natural beings, to being conscious consumers avoiding products and processes that harm us and the environment, and living as close and respectfully to nature as possible. Not living as part of a natural ecosystem means not living in balance with our true nature. Not living in balance with our true nature means disease.

Preservation of natural balance is an indispensable precondition for normality in life, namely health. Within a holistic framework of treating health problems we focus on the cause rather than the symptom and we try to restore natural balance and reestablish the natural power of self–preservation and healing, for which both yogic approaches and plants are very powerful.

Short history of medicine – Conventional vs Holistic

The controversy between the two is, in fact, absurd, since medical science is or should, by default, be holistic.

The history of medicine goes back well into prehistory. The ancient civilizations of China, India, Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece developed their own understandings of disease and treatment and despite their differences they share many interesting common understandings about health. Modern medicine is based on the ancient Greek tradition set by Hippocrates (460-377BC), a renowned Greek physician (Asclepiad), who combined the Pythagorean philosophy with careful observations and rational interpretations relating to diagnosis and treatment. Medicine escaped the spheres of religion, magic or metaphysics and entered the sphere of scientific thought and practice. Hippocrates conceived body and mind as a unity and according to him the doctor owes to restore the balance of the individual’s four humors or qualities (black bile, yellow bile, blood & phlegm), which relate to Nature’s 4 elements (earth, fire, air, and water respectively), enabling natural healing. The system of 4 personality types is still used in psychology today, but the important thing is Hippocrates’s holistic approach through systematic observations on human physiology and temperament in relation to Nature. The clinical and ethical framework of medicinal practice, many medical terms as well as the famous medical vow have their origins then. An innovative figure of the 1^st century BC is the Greek Asclepiad of Bithynia, who tried to build a new theory of medicine based on the atomic theory (formed and followed by the ancient Greek philosophers Leucippus, Democritus and Epicurus in the 5^th 4^th & 3^rd centuries BC), randomness and evolution, and which resembles an early version of molecular medicine. Later on, in the 1^st century A.D. the Greek doctor, pharmacologist and botanist Dioscourides writes his 5 volume Materia Medica, where he describes the medicinal properties of plants, and which influenced pharmacology for 15 centuries. In the 2^nd century A.D., Galen, the famous Greek doctor of Roman times, became a cornerstone of medical science and his work has had a great impact on its evolution. He was a doctor, surgeon and philosopher who wrote extensively on medical matters and influenced several scientific disciplines including physiology, anatomy, neurology, pathology, pharmacology as well as philosophy. There have been, of course, many important figures, before and after, completing the picture of the evolution of medical science. The big breakthrough was from Renaissance onwards, with the discovery of the microscope and thus, microorganisms, and later on the developments in surgery (after ending the taboo of dissecting human bodies), the discovery of anesthesia and of course, modern technology (discovery of X-rays and invention of medical scanners).

In reality, up to the 2^nd world war, medicine was based almost exclusively on plants; in fact, it still is for the great majority of the world population (60-80%) and inherited medical knowledge plays an important in the West too. Medical science has, of course, seen magnificent developments, which can by no means be undermined. However, chemical and technological advances as well as the limitations of a reductionist approach in modern science, have led to overspecialization and the ultimate disconnection of the different parts from the whole system. Furthermore, the alienation of man from nature, the continuing loss of inherited knowledge regarding health and well-being, as well as modern greed and corruption, has led to the problem of unnecessary surgeries and far too many medicines being used, most often causing more problems than the ones aiming to solve.

The basic controversy between Evidence Base Medicine (conventional medicine) and Phytotherapy is the misconception that only the first is based on evidence provided by clinical research. Phytotherapy is also based on evidence provided by clinical effectiveness and at the same time does not disregard empirical data because of inability to explain it and fit it in a narrow scheme of presupposed function of single substances. More research is needed by both and neither has the right answer to every question, so rather that polarizing an artificial dichotomy between conventional and alternative medicine we should concentrate on the advantages and disadvantages they exhibit and assess both their approach and effectiveness with no prejudice. Many doctors have turned to Phytotherapy (as well as homeopathy); their concerns about conventional medicine include the increasing lack of freedom in practicing their profession, the dependence on often untrusted clinical evidence promoted by pharmaceutical companies, the antithesis between supposedly clinical results and what their patients experience and the conflicting information within the literature or the results of clinical research.

Health is valuable. There is no doubt that too many chemical substances and an unnatural way of living play a key role in the production of imbalance and therefore, disease. Complexity is inherent to life, therefore treating a symptom without understanding and minimizing the causes cannot lead to stable cure. It is quite odd that even though we accept that each person is different and unique and there are innumerable examples where the same problem cannot be treated in the same way, we insist on viewing people as measurable objects, just like everything else, ignoring individualism and complexity. General patterns are, of course, valuable, but I believe that we need to come closer to an understanding of life, stay close to ourselves and nature, and together with promoting research and clinical evidence, we need to use wisely all accumulated knowledge in the long history of humanity. That is, of course, if our aim is to genuinely improve health and well-being. Thankfully, there’s an increasing interest to exploring nature’s capacity to restoring health, from both the scientific community and the people. Living is not about pressing buttons and swallowing pills (even though this may also be necessary); Living is about feeling alive!

Plants & Phytotherapy (Herbal Medicine)

Plants are Humanity’s foundations.

Short History and basic facts

Since the most ancient times and till about 60-70 years ago, humanity has relied almost exclusively on plants as much for breathing, housing, traveling, tools, clothing and food, as for disease treatment. In fact, humans and plants both derive from the same ancestry line of organic compounds; however, plants are multi-cellular and autotrophic organisms that have hundreds of millions of years more experience in the evolution of life compared to humans (first plants on earth around 400.000 million years BCE; first homo species – homo habilis – around 2.8 million years old). Plants’ techniques of survival are the apogee of evolutionary knowledge, and it is this knowledge we use to succeed in restoring health. As such they have been attributed a sacred character in all cultures throughout time, a declaration of their importance for humanity.

The word phytotherapy comes from the Greek words ‘phyto’ (= plant; the verb ‘phyo or in passive phyomai’ means ‘to appear, exist or be’ just like ‘phyta’ or plants, which are life’s expression) and ‘therapeia’ which is ‘therapy’. Phytotherapy or Herbal Medicine is the holistic science that studies plants and their medicinal properties as well as the different ways of using them in order to treat various health conditions. The roots of herbal medicine are, naturally, lost in the distant past; The Indian Vedic literature of Ayurveda (meaning ‘knowledge of life’) mentions over 700 plant substances and Chinese medicine is based on the over 2000 years old Huangdi Neijing (the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon), which lists over 8000 formulae, most of them based on plants. Egypt and the Middle East have also a very long tradition in herbalism, whereas the Greeks developed medicine and herbalism as a unified science transferred through Roman and Medieval times across Europe. Native people throughout the world (Africa, America, Asia and Australia), depend their survival on their herbal traditions, whereas the Amazon as well as the Asian jungle, hold the secrets of thousands of still unknown plants.

Herbal medicine deals with plants as natural, God-given living organisms, whose chemical composition, biological signatures and synergistic combinations constitute a powerful tool against disease. Even though plants can be chemically analysed and the identity of active constituents (as well as the quantity and their co-existence) stands at the core of medical herbalism as a science, it is not only their chemical composition that matters, but also their energy signature (as shown in evolutionary biology, homeopathy, aromatherapy, Dr Bach’s remedies and of course, phytotherapy). Plants are living beings with a very long evolutionary experience and they demonstrate an unparalleled complexity, which is impossible to imitate.  The reconstruction of the chemical composition of an apple cannot be compared with a real apple, and a fresh, organic apple cannot be compared with an out-of-date apple sprayed with chemicals. The first can save you, the second can kill you.

It is promising that there is an increasing trend in clinical research of plants’ medicinal properties; their value, questioned by a paradigm shift to extreme empiricism peaking throughout the last century, is now acknowledged by modern scientists in many fields (medicine, biochemistry, pharmacology etc). Hopefully, scientific research will continue, ethnopharmacology will preserve and promote much of the traditional knowledge in folk herbalism and more and people will increasingly turn to natural remedies and try to restore natural balance. For this reason, the whole society needs to work towards the restoration and preservation of natural ecosystems, and medicinal plants need to be protected and cultivated in natural conditions providing us with the necessary sources for our equilibrium and welfare.

How Phytotherapy works

Research has shown that our different body systems do not operate in isolation, but in incredibly complex interrelationships and interdependence. For example, our nervous system is complemented by the endocrine system and closely linked to the immune. Health means that all body systems work harmoniously in order to adjust and change to external pressures while internal processes remain constant, a process called homeostasis. Seemingly, a healthy organism has an infinite capacity to adjust and change. Herbs demonstrate a complex synergistic activity of multiple compounds affecting simultaneously multiple body systems, and helping the body to regain and preserve homeostasis. As there is no single action that can be identified as the sole responsible one for health, there is no single magical herb that treats everything and everybody. Herbs work well in combination, for example respiratory infections are treated most effectively when herbs with antiseptic, antibiotic, demulcent, soothing and spasmolytic action are combined. As herbs can simultaneously affect more than one system in our body, their benefits can be wider and more permanent.

Plants consist of two classes of active constituents: Primary metabolites (e.g. hydrocarbons, fats, proteins & vitamins) are responsible for primary biological processes of the plant such as respiration and photosynthesis. Secondary metabolites (e.g. alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, terpenes, saponins, etc) are responsible for the adaptability and defense mechanisms of the plant as well as communication and reproduction. As such, they trigger important processes in our organism for the preservation of health at all levels, and therefore safeguard our well-being.

Herbalism aims at restoring homeostasis and reinforcing the immune system in order to overcome disease. Except for the use of plant extracts in various forms, it incorporates general healthy-living guidelines, such as appropriate nutrition, clean air and sun, exercise, baths and detoxification. In general, it can co-operate well with homeopathy (a well-established and respected form of alternative medicine based primarily on plants), except for specific occasions when some homeopathic medicines may counteract with certain herbal extracts, therefore it is advisable to check with your therapists. An herbal treatment is usually followed for weeks or months as they operate at a less violent, but deeper level. Disease does not appear from one day to another, and cannot vanish as fast either. The aim is to restore the organism’s immunity and natural balance at a more permanent level. For this reason, appearance and treatment of the symptom does not suffice, we need to go beyond into understanding and treating the cause (Hippocratic School).

Single-substance drugs, plant compounds & whole plants

Chemistry focused on isolating plant constituents and producing chemical substitutes that as single substances could be observed and documented in the lab. Their action on our physiological system is surely important to understand, but a reductionist framework is far too limiting. Within this framework, a specific activity should be attributed to a single substance and unfortunately, if this cannot be demonstrated then the observed activity is not recognized (as is often the case with plants, whose activity is the result of the synergy of multiple compounds). Thus, even though lavender essential oil is well-documented to relax the nervous system and help with insomnia, the fact that modern science has not been able to isolate a single substance to which its effect could be attributed, has led to not being able to accept its effectiveness at all!

Even though medicinal properties of plants depend on the chemical constituents they contain, therapeutic action involves primarily the use of whole plants. Research of isolated chemical substances of plants is important to understand much of their medicinal value, and has given rise to important modern drugs (e.g. the most powerful painkiller, morphine, is derived from poppy papaver). However, as the famous saying attributed to Aristotle says, ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ and in the case of plants this is most evident: A whole healthy plant is a lot more powerful than the sum of its chemical compounds, reflecting the power of nature and synergy.

Importance – Benefits

Still now, plants remain the primary source of medical treatment for the great majority of the population even in western medicine a large proportion of conventional medicines are based on plants and many traditional practices have remained the same.

The last years, herbalism is experiencing a promising revival as it demonstrates important benefits:

• Herbs can be more efficient in many cases where infectious organisms have developed resistance to single-substance, synthesized drugs.
• It can offer relief to many chronic illnesses in which conventional treatment fails, such as asthma, arthritis or irritable bowel syndrome.
• It complements well with conventional and alternative treatments, providing safe and gentle remedies.
• The use of plants and plant extracts is a powerful means to restore and preserve health without many of the side effects that conventional treatment is responsible for (according to published research, properly taken prescribed drugs were the 4^th leading cause of death in the US in 2013, demonstrating an increasing trend).
• They are a cheap and ecological way to pursue health.

Plants and herbal extracts have many, and often concurrent, therapeutic properties. They are full of nutrients and active constituents that help us keep homeostasis; acting at cell level they reinforce our immunity and help us fight infection, restore and support our nervous and circulatory system, help detoxification and digestion, balance our endocrine system, sustain our musculoskeletal system, heal and treat our skin. Their actions may be anti-inflammatory, analgesic, tonic, sedative, demulcent, decongestant, stimulant, diuretic, antirheumatic, detoxifying, cathartic, laxative, carminative, antiseptic, antimicrobial, antibacterial, antifungal, antibiotic, spasmolytic, sweat or blood flow stimulant, antidepressant, blood pressure regulatory, etc.

It is very important to realize that as natural beings we depend on plants and a healthy ecosystem, that our balance and well-being depends on safeguarding the harmony of our body, spirit and mind, for which plants are indispensable.

Use / Ways of intake

In herbalism we use mainly the roots, leaves, flowers, bark, seeds, stems and fruit, but also resins, sprouts and bulbs, which are used and processed depending on the plant, the plant part and the condition we want to treat. Plants should be organic and oil extracts organic and virgin, avoiding chemical solvents. We may use them in the following ways, dosages depending on individual cases:

Food & drink

Food and juices or drinks made of plants are what keep us alive. We may eat whole plants or their parts either raw or cooked. The majority of our nutrition should consist of unprocessed plants and make sure a big proportion of those are fresh and raw.

Infusions

The result of infusing herbs into water, also called herbal tea.

Decoctions

The result of boiling herbal parts into water; it may also be called herbal tea.

Oil Exctracts

The oils that result from either pressing part of the plant (e.g. the fruit of avocado or olive tree), or from infusing herbs into a good virgin base oil in order to extract their lipophilic compounds.

Tinctures

The extracts that result from infusing herbs into alcohol in order to extract compounds that are dissolved in alcohol. They are potent extracts used in herbal formulations or drunk in a bit of water at very small quantities depending on each case.

Powders

Powders result from grinding dry herbs and are usually used either in capsules or herbal formulations.

Salves

Oily substances consisting of herb extracts and wax. Not easily absorbed, they tend to seal the skin.

Creams

Fatty substances including water. Easily absorbed, but do not last more than a few days without preservatives due to their high water percentage.

Syrups

Syrups are made from mixing infusions, decoctions or tinctures with sugar or honey.

Pills-Capsules-Pastilles

Powdered herb material processed in different ways.

Suppositories

Designed to insert the desired herbal substancies into body cavities.

Emulsions

Mixtures of oily and water substances.

Essential Oils

Powerful extracts of the plant that result from distillation. Essential oils are, in fact, the quintessence of the plant and can be used in a variety of ways, and always with caution (see Aromatherapy section).

Bach Flower Remedies

Herb and usually flower dilutions in water. Certain heat for some time is necessary to extract the desired properties, and further processing results to the tinctures called Bach flower remedies. They’re a magnificent recent inheritance of the German doctor Dr Bach (1935), and like in homeopathy, a tiny proportion of plant substances is used. They mainly address psychological states.

Hydrosolos or Flower waters

They are the resulting water after the steam distillation when producing essential oils. They also contain small amounts of essential oil that could not be extracted during the distillation process, as well as non-volatile compounds that were extracted by the steam.

Lotions

Water-based herbal preparations used to bathe irritated or inflamed skin.

Compresses

Cloths soaked in lotions, compresses are useful for the treatment of bruising and swelling, soothing inflammatory conditions, pain and fevers.

Poultices

Fresh, dry or powdered herbs applied to an affected area.

Baths/Washes

Made of water containing infusions or essential oils, they relieve many conditions of body parts or the whole body.

Gargles & Mouthwashes

Made of infusions, decoctions or diluted tinctures of usually astringent herbs.

Points of caution

General comment

Nowadays plants are becoming more and more popular as agents of health restoration and preservation; they can be potent medicines, but they also hide their dangers. Their use requires caution and expertise. In the past, it was the medicine man of the tribe or the village, the druids or doctors of the community who had undertaken the task of collecting plants and preparing medicinal formulations. Until recently, there had been a certain basic knowledge of plants’ use shared among common people even in developed countries, through folk herbalism. Now we tend to think that since plants are natural we can play around with them as we want, and there is no need to take expert advice neither to educate ourselves further. If that was the case we wouldn’t need our doctors to give us specific advice on what to eat and not to eat according to our condition. If we think about it we all know that what we eat, drink, touch, breathe and absorb plays a crucial role on our health well-being, therefore it is important to use what is good for us and not ‘whatever’.

Herbalism has followed and almost unbroken trajectory with renowned herbalists throughout time. However, since the 19^th century, medicine’s arrogant dominance over old traditions, synthesised medicines and the change to an urban lifestyle away from nature, have had as a result an increasing loss of such knowledge and practice. Still, the increasing popularity of plants and their medicinal value, together with the modern characteristic of preferring quantity over quality and pursuing the easy and profitable, has led to an uncontrollable offer of ‘natural’ products and services. Unfortunately, there are both professionals with qualifications from diploma mills and natural products or ‘medicines’ of questionable value. Overall, even though plants are considered safe, they must be used with caution. People who seek the benefits of herbalism (and not only), ought to pay attention to their choices. Still, there are well respected professionals and schools and the field is attesting a new era of growth.

Last, but not least, we should refer to the greatest challenge of our days, which is that of ecosystem loss; currently, we the danger of losing many plant species and therefore, medicinal sources.  Only a small proportion of plants have been examined for their pharmacological effects, and it is of ultimate importance that we preserve traditional ethnopharmacological knowledge, we increase pharmacological studies, and we preserve ecosystems and therefore plant species, especially those that are rare and face extinction. Unless we face reality and get serious about our future and well-being, humanity runs the risk of compromising a lot, or even everything!

Toxicity-Dosage

Even though plants are in general safe to use, there are plants that are toxic and dangerous poisons. Even common potato contains toxic compounds (glycoalcaloids), whose levels increase with age, physical damage and light exposure, and we all know of poisoning cases from mushroom species. Toxicity depends mainly on part of the plant, heat exposure, whether fresh or dry, or growing conditions, but even poisonous plants are used medicinally. Dosage, of course, plays a crucial role so as to avoid adverse results. In general, people tend to think that an herbal medicine is totally innocent and that a higher dose may double its effectiveness, but this is false, naïve and dangerous just as in the case of single substance, conventional drugs. Still, it is extremely rare that a fatal health problem arises from overconsumption of plants, since large quantities would be needed for an overdose of active constituents and toxic plants are well known and avoided in folk medicine. There’s a greater risk from an overdose of medicines from plants in which their active constituents have been artificially increased.

Correct identification and use

Important issue to consider are:

• Correct identification of plant species. We should obtain plants from reliable sources, or if we collect them ourselves we need to be able to distinguish between different species (e.g. equisetum arvense is a medicinal plant, whereas other equisetum species are toxic).
• Knowledge of which part of the plant to use for which purpose. Pharmacological components are not the same throughout the plant.
• Knowledge of whether a plant can be used fresh or dry. Some plants are to be used fresh, or vice versa. It is also possible to be able to use them both fresh and dry changing the amount necessary for the pursued result. Extracts can be made from either fresh or dry plant material, depending on the plant, the extract, and the condition they address.

Overall, it is very important to seek professional advice especially if under medication or when we want to treat health problems successfully.

Individual needs/ Herb-drug interaction

Even though a plant or herb may be suitable for the treatment of a specific condition, each individual case must be treated separately. Age differences, lifestyle, possible sensitivity to substances, medication taken and the individual’s health situation must be taken into account. Herbs may, in fact, provoke severe side-effects if combined with prescribed drugs. A typical example is St John ’s Wort, which may interact with prescribed medicines, in particular antidepressants and anticoagulants and should not be taken without consultation. Or, common sage, which may increase the hepatotoxicity caused by carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄). [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691506002729?via%3Dihub#!]

Importance of healthy plants

If we want to obtain the best medicinal properties from a plant we easily understand that its health and purity is of the utmost importance. They should be free of chemicals and grown in the best possible natural conditions. Environmental factors such as sunlight, moisture, soil, but also predators, play a most important role in the development of secondary metabolites, which have a direct effect on our immunity, adaptability and defense. A healthy ecosystem means healthy plants for our food and medicine.

Processing & storage

The way we process and store plants, is also very important for the preservation of their medicinal properties. Mass production by default compromises quality, as is the case with everything. It would be preferable to grow, collect and process herbs we need ourselves, or seek and promote (or even become!) small-scale farmers. Whichever the case, a specific know-how of growing, processing and storage is required and plays an important role. For example, plants and herbs respond differently to different growing conditions and they should be stored in dry, cool and shady places. They are particularly photosensitive; therefore avoid herbs which are exposed to light.

Getting hold of plants

Try to buy plants from reliable providers. The more information you have about the plant, including latin name, the better it is. Aroma and colour are good indicators when you get some experience, and conditions of storage crucial. Prefer local producers as much as you can, and when possible grow them yourself. Learning about plants is very rewarding and if you want to collect from the wild, make sure you recognize the plants safely and only from places where there’s abundance and you won’t interrupt the ecosystem’s balance. Never collect rare plants.

Quality – Effectiveness: the highlights

It’s basic common sense that effectiveness is based on quality, of plants as well as of their processing. The most important factors that affect both are:

• Identification/authentication
• the part of the plant used
• time of harvesting
• the quality of the plant (growing and climatic conditions, absence of toxic agents)
• processing (absence of contaminating factors, pests etc.)
• storage conditions
• the process of extraction
• the extraction means
• the combination of active compounds etc.

Necessary plants for our balcony or garden

There are certain plants that are widely used for culinary purposes and they also have an important medicinal value. Some typical examples are rosemary, sage, oregano, basil, chilli, thyme, parsley, mint, but it is advisable to learn about herbs that are particularly helpful for your own individual needs and include them as well, e.g. chamomile, lemon balm or lavender. Growing plants in a garden is an opportunity one should not miss, but even a few pots in the balcony can make all the difference in your everyday life. If, however, you live in a polluted urban environment, it is advisable to avoid consumption from your balcony plants; Find or buy healthy, organic ones.

Aromatherapy

Scent transcends time and space.

Short History

Aromatic plants have been used since the most ancient times, living their traces in specially designed bottles, texts and pictorial art throughout time. Their aromas accompanied both religious and secular rituals in ancient India, Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece (already in the Bronze Age, 3^rd & 2^nd millennium BC), and it is mainly their aromas that have rendered them precious as beauty enhancing, medicinal, spiritual, aromatic, flavouring and therapeutic agents. As such, they have played an important part in social relations and cultural expression across time and space and they still do.

Aromatherapy plays an important role in herbalism; it is the art of encouraging health and well-being using natural oil extracts and essential oils. The term was first used by René-Maurice Gattefossé in the beginning of the 20th century, who also discovered the amazing antiseptic and healing qualities of lavender essential oil. Another important figure was Dr Jean Valnet born in 1920, who performed extensive research on the therapeutic properties of essential oils, which he used extensively in his medical practice and is considered by many the father of modern-day phyto-aromatherapy. The French tradition, focusing in the medical use of essential oils including ingestion, has been enriched by several other doctors and pharmacists. A present day leading figure (since the 1990’s) is Dr Daniel Pénoël being who, together with his wife, has worked for over 40 years ‘promoting health and well-being of humans and the natural environment’; as said, the two are inseparable.

The English tradition considers aromatherapy as an important complementary path of treatment, however, EOs are not considered safe to use as potable therapeutic agents. Instead, stress is given on external use, especially through massage, in which case they act both via entering the blood stream directly and through smell. The German tradition, gives emphasis on the therapeutic effects of inhaling them. In reality, massage and inhalation are two powerful means of therapeutic treatment in which EOs play the leading role; they can be more effective than other plant extracts which lack the quality of odor. Aromatherapy should, of course, be seen as a unified field that studies and uses the beneficial effects of this unique form of plant extracts, namely Essential Oils. If used correctly, as is the case with everything, EOs are a powerful guardian of our health and well-being. Thankfully, the field is attesting a growing recognition.

How it works

True essential oils are primarily the product of steam distillation, in which the volatile compounds of the plant are separated in the form of oil. They are considered as the quintessence of plants; great quantities of plant material are required to produce this concentrated form of healing power, this is why some are very expensive (e.g. 1 ton of rose pedals produces about 200ml of rose oil). Depending on plant, essential oils can be found in all the various plant parts; leaves, flowers, fruit, seeds, bark, wood, root, and resin and some plants deliver different essential oils from their different parts (e.g. bitter orange tree).

EOs contain hundreds if not thousands of active constituents that interact in complex and not well-understood ways, even if their medicinal effect is beyond doubt. As already said, herbs have provided the biologically active compounds for most of our modern-day drugs (such as quinine and morphine); however, since it’s not only one substance responsible for their effect, but the presence and synergy of multiple substances, we still have a lot to learn about their precise pharmacology. This is particularly true of Essential Oils, which demonstrate a very concentrated and at the same time multifaceted composition.

Chemical constituents of plants interact directly with cell receptors and therefore respective processes are triggered (e.g. Inula graveolens or tanacetum annuum prevent the activation of reactions normally triggered by inflammation stimuli). Secondary metabolites are particularly important; they’re the substances responsible for smell and colour, they fight off herbivores and other enemies, they attract pollinators and communicate with other species! Their straightforward evolutionary superiority to simple substances is of immense importance for our survival, health and well-being.

Just like all herbal extracts, EOs can work simultaneously at many levels affecting more than one body systems, sometimes stimulating one and relaxing another. Their activity can be noted at physiology, emotions and mind. They can thus treat more than one problem at the same time, while their possible side effects and interactions with other herbs and/or medication vary. Furthermore, scent, which is perhaps EOs most important attribute as it is not as strong in other herbal extracts, has a direct influence on our nervous and hormonal systems, influencing emotions, memory and psychological state. This is why even though many plants and herbs have an antimicrobial activity, one would be more suitable for an individual than another.

Points of caution

In fact, they should be used with extreme caution as they are very concentrated and could therefore, be harmful. Even one drop can affect significantly our physiology. One should follow the guidelines of application:

• Except for rare cases they should not be applied neat on the skin, but diluted in appropriate vegetable oils (around 1-2%).
• They should not be used internally as they could seriously damage our mucus membranes. Ingestion should be avoided except if under expert professional consultation. Age, health condition, essential oil to be used and especially dosage should be taken into serious account.
• And of course, we only talk about genuine essential oils and preferably organic. Even though some are very expensive, they are in general very cost-effective as they last long and we use tiny amounts. If in doubt, avoid using them altogether!
• Get your EOs from reliable sources. Information on place of production, producers and wholesalers and of course the latin name of the plant guarantees you get the true essential oil you want.

Ways of use

Skin application

Applied on the skin, usually in herbal formulations or diluted in base oils and other substances, they can effectively treat many conditions, from bacterial infections, to eczema and burns.

Massage

Massage can be an excellent means of treatment that operates in two ways: on the one hand, EOs are absorbed by the skin and enter the blood stream triggering desirable responses; on the other, through smell that has a direct impact on our central nervous system, they can also affect our physiology, emotions and psychological state. Massage has the extra benefit of touch, which is healing by itself.

Baths – Washes

Essential oils are great to use in the bath and are also good for skin washes (e.g. compresses & lotions). Thus, they will help successfully with relaxation or back problems in a bath, and a wash (for small area) will equally comfort irritated skin.

Inhalation-Vaporization

Inhaling essential oils is also an effective means of triggering desired responses. The sense of smell is the most basic instinct and therefore crucial. EOs are important in complementing treatment whether to treat a cold, nausea, insomnia or fight depression. Inhalation is a well-established form of using them, whether in a burner, directly from the bottle, or as steam inhalation.

Ingestion

As already clarified, ingestion can be a potent but risky means of treatment and should be avoided for self-use at home. Even though EOs are approved as culinary substances, and a drop can give taste to food and drink preparations, ingesting them in everyday life is not advisable, and in some cases it can be particularly dangerous. It is appropriate only in specific circumstances and should take place only under professional advice.

Beauty

The skin is our biggest organ. Through it we feed our body with substances that can be either health or malady factors. Vegetable oils and EOs are amazing for skin and hair care. There’s nothing like immerging into the beneficial sense and the aroma of good quality aromatic oils that can support our health and beauty. Their use can be very successful as part of a general health (and therefore beauty) care programme.

EOs for home use

Although to take advantage of EOs full therapeutic spectrum is as complex as they are, they are easy, safe and most of them cheap to use at home as first aid and to improve our well-being. An aromatherapist will certainly help you with specific conditions and is absolutely necessary for serious concerns, however, it’s worth learning a bit more about how to use them and incorporate them in your everyday life. Here follow some typical examples:

• Lavandula officinalis: one of the rare EOs that can be applied neat on the skin. It’s very helpful to burns and insect bites, whereas inhalation can help with insomnia. Back pain, arthritis but also cuts and wounds are also among the many conditions that lavender oil can be very helpful with.
• Citrus Limon: good antiseptic for skin problems and an immune booster, it helps circulation and relative difficulties, excellent for home cleaning, a very refreshing flavouring and aroma agent.
• Pinus sylvestris: good for poor circulation and arthritic problems, muscular pain, the genito-urinary and respiratory systems, it helps with colds and nervous exhaustion. In a burner/diffuser it clears the atmosphere of the house.
• Eucalyptus globulus: an effective antiseptic for skin infections and the respiratory system, one of the best for asthma, coughs, sinusitis or throat infections. It helps circulation, and relieves muscles and joints.
• Origanum vulgare: it helps with some eczema, psoriasis and fungi conditions, digestive upsets and bronchitis, rheumatic and back pains. Try a few drops on your home cleaning cloth.

The list of aromatic plants is huge and we know only a small percentage of them. There’s nothing like the pleasure of a beautiful aroma filling our existence, nothing like the feeling of being able to look after ourselves even if just for basic self-care. Exploring and experimenting with EOs is, indeed, a very rewarding process!

Lifestyle & Well-being

Happiness is the harmony among body, mind and spirit.

Breathing

There is no life without breath. Proper inhaling fills blood with oxygen which is then circulated throughout the body and all our cells get oxygenated, whereas proper exhaling gets rid of all trace in the form of air and CO2. A good respiratory and a good circulatory system are the basis of good health and they deserve all attention. Ensure you fill your lungs with good quality air, and do your best to preserve a clean atmosphere, in your house and in the whole planet. There’s nothing more worth fighting for if we care about life. And do not hesitate to endeavour into Pranayama, the yogic science of breathing!

Nutrition

It can never be overstressed how important nutrition is for our survival, health and well-being. The types of food we eat define our physical and mental health, they can cause imbalance or protect us from disease and disharmony. Except for vitamins and minerals, that some are also present in animal foods, plants abound with other substances that are most important for disease prevention. Such are dietary fibre, phytosterols, bioflavonoids, carotenoids and several other phytonutrients. This is why our nutrition should be primarily based on plants.

Changing our nutrition is the first thing doctors advise us when in need to combat ailments. The typical western diet, being too rich in animal fat, sugar, salt, processed raw sources, and alcohol, is directly linked to all most important health problems such as cardiovascular disease, strokes, hypertention, obesity, diabetes, allergies, or chronic degenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease, cancers, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis etc).

When we want to address specific problems, we need to follow a specific diet given to us by health professionals and incorporate into our diet plant extracts in appropriate amounts. However, there are some basic guidelines that if followed, they help us stay strong and healthy.

• Vegetables, in particular fresh, and fruit should dominate the diet.
• Ensure an adequate intake of fibre such as pulses, wholemeal grains and nuts.
• If you eat animal products, cut down on the frequency as they contain high amounts of saturated fat. Be aware that animals produced for mass production are badly fed with unnatural foods, injected and kept in horrible conditions. Support local organic farmers and avoid overconsumption – just as our ancestors did.
• Stop eating artificially saturated fats such as margarine. Fats in general shouldn’t be more than 30% of our total energy intake and two thirds of this should be unsaturated such as olive oil.
• Include food sources of omega fatty acids.
• Minimize refined carbohydrates (e.g. white bread) and sugar.
• Minimize or exclude salt, alcohol, tea and coffee.
• Avoid ready-made and processed foods that are full of additives. Check the labels as what you need is nutritious food and not a whole range of chemicals, linked to many health problems.
• Make sure you drink at least 2lt of clean water a day.

Our food is our life. Educate yourselves on the best possible nutrition for your needs. Choosing the best for us is defining of our quality of life. Remember the saying of Socrates and many others thereafter ‘I eat to live; not live to eat’.

Movement / Sensory experiences

Physical exercise

Living physically and using properly all our body systems gives us reason to stay alive and healthy. Life is movement, and if movement does not strain the body or spirit, but is balanced in a in a way that all our cells, and therefore body systems, function in the best possible way, it means life. Exercise has broad implications for our physical and mental health and it is a prerequisite of good health; but only if within a framework of balance with (our) nature. Hatha Yoga and a flow of Asanas is the most balanced form of physical exercise. Walking in the nature and swimming in the sea are also of great value. Dance, especially forms that are not too austere, is a great combination between exercise and self-expression.

Live senses & Nature

Our senses are our means of communication with the outside world and they are responsible for the messages transferred to our brain regarding danger or safety. Adaptability and survival depend on our senses, and so is our well-being. If the message conveyed is one of health and harmony, it’s going to show in our general physical, mental and emotional state. Living as natural beings is what we are designed for, and there is no coincidence in the fact that we all feel better when in a natural setting.

All our senses and sensual organs can be trained and if this is achieved in relation to nature, we feel better, our communication organs send a message of safety and joy and all systems are nurtured. It is, therefore, important to:

• Hear and listen to peaceful sounds
• Look at harmonious views or sights
• Smell beautiful natural aromas
• Taste a wide spectrum of natural tastes
• Feel the breeze, the water, a flower or a human being

Relaxation & Stress Management

Learn how to – Train yourselves

Relaxation time and mostly sleep is when our system can take a break and restore energy levels. However, this is not as obvious as it seems; a tense nervous system and an always hyperactive mind with high stress levels do not allow the organism to rest. Our muscles may be tight even when sleeping and our mind may keep us awake or anxious. It is only natural that lack of rest, relaxation, and stress management result in poor health.

For starters, allow yourselves enough hours of sleep. Secondly, train yourselves in both: a) how to really rest, whether this is conscious relaxation or sleep; b), how to manage your stress. Nutrition and phytotherapy/aromatherapy can play a vital role in balancing as much our physiology as our psychology.  Moreover, yoga is a powerful means of stress management. Nature and natural living are also amazing in releasing stress and work with a good analyst can be defining. Do not cover and hide problems, they work underneath; always look for ways out. 

Self-expression

Being in conflict with ourselves and others results in great stress. Living in accordance with our true nature and being able to express ourselves make us blossom. Self-expression is, of course, suffering greatly in a world where our movements, emotions and way of being is constantly under pressure to fit the proposed social characters of our times. However, one who discovers oneself and tries to stay as close as possible to his true being, he/she lives in peace with oneself. And being who we are, it is important to find ways to express ourselves, our physical, spiritual and mental energy through movement, speech, creation, discussion, writing or laughter. Blocked feelings, believes, and desires or aspirations that are not shared or expressed, form a fertile ground for the construction of illness.

Time with oneself / Socializing / Relationships

Time with oneself is indispensable for a person’s rest, self-care, redefinition and self-development. Living in peace with ourselves requires a certain level of self-understanding, and unfortunately we are not taught, trained or encouraged to pursue it.  Self-understanding, however, and well-being are inseparable, for without it it’s impossible to seek to satisfy our real needs. Within this framework, honest and quality time with oneself plays a key role.

On the other hand, humans are social beings like many others. We need to share and communicate, to love and feel loved, to have a group identity through common goals and efforts, and to feel safe in family/friends/community support. We all know how important socializing is, however sometimes our social environment acts to our disadvantage and we need to be able to discern when this happens. Understanding ourselves and others allows for the development of positive thoughts and feelings for both. This, in turn, allows for good, healthy relationships, which define communal and therefore, personal well-being.

To sum up, happiness passes through quality time with us and others and even though learning how to achieve it in modern societies may be a lifetime’s effort, what else is it worth living for?

Nourish the mind

Self-development

Just as we need good quality food to nourish healthy bodies (and not only), we need a fertile ground for our minds to evolve. Philosophy (from Greek Philos = friend/lover + Sophia = wisdom) is vital. Love for learning opens doors and clears cloudy skies, while egoism and fear of failure keep us in the darkness. Allow yourselves to learn from others, accept help, be inquisitive and dubious, ready to change and evolve your mind; It is with passion for learning, patience and perseverance we all ascend the ladder of understanding, and understanding is a path to peacefulness.

Learning about the history of humankind and the planet, studying the self and sociocultural temporality, gives us access to understanding better ourselves in the present and therefore be able to choose and set personal goals that are fulfilling. Opening up to ideas and thoughts of other people and cultures expands our consciousness and frees us from time and space bound conceptions and misconceptions. Our reality is nothing more than the sum of our thoughts, dependent on our social, environmental and personal focus. Plato’s allegory of the cave explains this very well: unless we free ourselves from the chains of an ephemeral, subjective and distorted reality through education and dialectic (discussions based on logical arguments), we remain prisoners to a ‘reality’ that consists of shadows and not ‘real’ forms and ideas. Quantum physics have also demonstrated our restricted perceptibility and the relativity of ‘reality’; such discoveries reveal the magnitude and complexity of cosmos and urge for an open, curious mind that humbly seeks to understand. Every level of comprehension we acquire is another step towards accomplishment and serenity.

All that said, even though education plays a crucial role in well-being, we don’t need to pursue numerous qualifications; there are qualified people that are uncultured as there are ill-educated people who promote themselves as experts. We need to be open to learning, always, as this is the path of intellectual and spiritual elevation. We also need to cultivate an ability to discern false and fanatic ideas and remember that the mind is an ally when it serves logic and not passion or psychological weaknesses.  Dogmatic views are nothing but heavy chains that drug us down to a false, disharmonious and meaningless way of living. Having a real discussion where we listen to what the other says and allowing ourselves to even change opinion, is a door to an enlightened mind.  Feeding our minds with good quality culture, music, art, reading and thinking gives us incomparable pleasure.

Meditation & Positive thinking

Thoughts can make us happy or unhappy.  They govern our lives, define our whole being. Naturally, they revolve around our experiences, the sensory stimuli we are exposed at and which delineate our memories, mental associations and resulting feelings. Unfortunately, modern life is overburdened with negative sensory stimuli (e.g. scenes of violence, deafening sounds, unpleasant smells etc) and negative feelings (fear of failure and exclusion, jealousy, lack of safety in a competitive environment etc). An easy, universal tactic to escape from thoughts and worries that stress us out is to concentrate on external stimuli; this is why TV, for example, is an ‘addictive mind pill’. However, watching scenes of violence are anything but calming to the mind. After all, if there is an appeasing feeling in not thinking of what worries us it usually lasts only for as long as the external stimuli last.

It is only natural that we cannot feel content and happy unless we have a peaceful mind. Meditation is exactly this: the art of calming the mind. It is the technique of concentrating on the ‘inside’ rather than the ‘outside’, which allows us to really rest and come closer to our true selves; to escape from external influences that drive us away from self-fulfilment. True peace of mind transcends time, space and causality helping us to eliminate stress that relates to a temporary and biased ‘reality’. Meditation calms the mind and as a result also the body, and leads to positive thinking and peace.

In short, if you want to be healthy and happy, ensure you have positive sensory experiences and think in a positive manner. Meditation is key to a peaceful mind.

Nourish the soul

Give and accept love

Even though it is scientifically proven that sharing love and positive feelings are an immense immune booster fortifying us with vital energy, we don’t really need scientific proof; we have all experienced life-giving moments of love and life-taking moments of negativity or hostility. To have and share positive emotions is one of the most important factors of being healthy.

The truth is that we can only give from a surplus, and unfortunately in modern times, solitude and imbalance together with our culture’s prevailing value of always being in need makes us being stingy both with material and immaterial things and cultivates a grabby attitude. Competition and negativity favour aggression, which usually hides a very low self-esteem. When weak and scared, we cannot accept love, we cannot spare to give. On the contrary, offering love and positivity is actually a sign of strength and braveness just like accepting it. Whoever feels good with oneself, he/she need not be aggressive, need not lie. He/she is full, has surplus and can offer and give, a true smile, a true hand.

The good news is that by giving love and kindness to others we actually empower ourselves with positive feelings and vital energy. We create a fertile ground for us to grow and we attract positivity. We may not take back from the same people; we may even feel empty after giving and not receiving. Still, as our acts and thoughts create an energy circuit that affects our lives, it is to our advantage to create a positive one. Even though we should protect ourselves from ungrateful and greedy people who only take, and who could unfortunately exist in our immediate environment, giving makes us stronger, more positive, loved and lively.

Sharing

It cannot be overstressed how important sharing is for our lives. It means communication, which is a natural need, and exchange of positive feelings, which nourish our existence. Sharing makes one richer, not poorer. It gives reason to our life; it is a prerequisite of successful relationships and forms the basis for communal living. Being able to share means that ‘I know how to coexist with other beings’, which in turn means that ‘I understand and respect my own nature’. No one is the only existence in the universe; egoism and atomism brings loneliness and unhappiness. On the contrary we all know that our happiness depends on harmonious relationships, for which sharing and respect are the founding stones. Surpass the ego and the fear for ‘not having enough’. Delve into the beauty of giving and receiving, into the magnificence of sharing.

Giving and sharing are the art of living. Competition, jealousy, greed, even the least violence will make us sick, whereas love, affection, respect, and generosity will nourish our whole being.

Good habits

I don’t know if you have noticed, but our lives are dominated by habits. I believe there are two reasons for this. Firstly, a certain repetition provides us with the feeling of stability, and therefore safety. Satisfying a primary need probably relates to the release of endorphins and the feeling that ‘all is good’.  This is why it’s difficult to change our habits, even if they are actually harmful. Furthermore, our senses, which are our communication system with the outside world and the regulators of appropriate signals to internal processes, are also closely related to the secretion of endorphines. Eating and drinking habits or patterns of physical movement are typical examples. Even though it is probably impossible to alter our psychological need for the feeling of safety, to our good luck, our senses can change and are relatively easily trained. For example, most people have the experience of liking a taste they used to dislike or vice versa.

To sum up, since habits play an important role in an individual’s health and well-being, and they can actually change over time, it is to our advantage and not impossible, to try and have ‘good’ habits rather than ‘bad’ ones.

Be honest

There’s an unrivalled grace about being honest. It shows a clear and strong mind that can differentiate between right & wrong, a brave character that has the courage to support the truth and which is not afraid of responsibility. A liar resembles a worm that always needs to hide under the ground. Those who are not scared to tell the truth gain respect from themselves and others. The truth shines thousands of times more than the sun (Mahatma Ghanti); it is the foundation for meaningful relationships, for a meaningful existence. Even though we may easily find excuses to justify our lies, we should not forget that having a clear mind, soul and consciousness is a prerequisite for well-being. Hiding the truth can be rarely justified if, for example, there are issues of survival; still, our heroes are those who did not deny it.

Be grateful

Nothing should be taken for granted. Every day and every moment we are alive and free, we can chose to live in positivity. Empathy and the ability to look at our lives from a wider perspective and in relation to others across space and time, allow us to have a clearer picture and recognize our good luck. We should think of and feel grateful for all those good things we experience. If you think of the negative ones, do so in order to find solutions and a way out. Do not fill your heart with bitterness, you’ll get sick.

Here are a few examples why I am grateful; Start thinking of all the reasons why you should be grateful; you’ll feel a lot more content!

• I am grateful for the beauty of existence all around me.
• I am grateful I am alive and free, able to work towards happiness.
• I am grateful for everything I have succeeded, and for being able to try for more.
• I am grateful for all the beautiful experiences I’ve had, all the nice feelings I’ve shared.
• I am grateful to those who I’ve shared love with.
• I am grateful to all those strangers that were kind to me without expecting anything in return.