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Essential Oils Might Be the New Antibiotics

theatlantic.com

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Re: Essential Oils Might Be the New Antibiotics

#41

Post by palmer_eldritch »

refurb wrote: post #18
thanatosmin wrote: post #8

It's telling that only one of these studies is published in a journal where I can find the full text (with MIT journal access). Sadly, it's only really possible to judge the research in that article, which is questionable. They test the susceptibility of e. coli strains to various oils, at 8-12 uL/mL. I think the only observation one needs point out is that concentration in a person's blood would kill them too. I wis…

This kind of reminds me of all the "X cures cancer" media reports. It's not that hard to kill cancer cells in a petri dish (or in a xenograph model). Tens of thousands of compounds have killed cancer cells in models, but failed entirely in humans.

Reminds me of: http://xkcd.com/1217

Re: Essential Oils Might Be the New Antibiotics

#42

Post by LogicFailsMe »

greglindahl wrote: post #31
LogicFailsMe wrote: post #22

I used to have an incurable sinus infection that plagued me every winter. Antibiotics were worthless. Then, after X-rays confirmed my maxillary sinuses were filled to the brim with crud and doctors wanted to cut out large swaths of my sinuses, I decided to hang upside down on my personal quack theory that it might let them drain. To my somewhat surprise, every day I did this an unholy brew of dark brown mucus and blo…

Sounds like both you and traditional medicine were theorizing about the same cause -- you tried a cure that has to be repeated if the situation develops again, while they were aiming at something that might be a permanent fix. Why did you conclude that traditional medicine wasn't the answer?

Except if you read the experiences of people who get the sinus surgery, it's not a permanent fix and it can go horribly wrong. It just buys one a few years of relief while the creeping crud finds another way to make your life miserable again. You're right that both approaches assumed there was a mechanical/stuctural fix to the problem. It's just that mine was less invasive and IMO the correct first step.

As for the root cause being viral versus bacterial, I suspect it was pneumonia bacteria. There was a frequent peroxide smell to my mucus and said bacteria were cultured repeatedly from the crud.

Re: Essential Oils Might Be the New Antibiotics

#43

Post by spacemanmatt »

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #34
thanatosmin wrote: post #8

It's telling that only one of these studies is published in a journal where I can find the full text (with MIT journal access). Sadly, it's only really possible to judge the research in that article, which is questionable. They test the susceptibility of e. coli strains to various oils, at 8-12 uL/mL. I think the only observation one needs point out is that concentration in a person's blood would kill them too. I wis…

Yeah, totally, that's ridiculous. Essential oils should never be taken internally. Having said that, the oils from most culinary herbs can usually be diluted one drop per litre safely. I studied herbal medicine formally for four years about ten years ago, and I always just tell people "never take essential oils internally" and they say things like "but what if an Aromatherpist (actually a qualification in Australia)…

I wouldn't say never.

A midwife recommended oregano oil for my wife when she couldn't take antibiotics, and we have used it to mitigate sore throats and possible sinus infections ever since. She did say it's not something you want to stay on forever, because that can have its own downside, but its limited toxicity is much better than a bacterial infection or stronger antibiotics, if you can safely avoid them.

Re: Essential Oils Might Be the New Antibiotics

#44

Post by Mz »

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #38
refurb wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Changing gene expression happens all the time due to everyday things like: sunlight exposure, amount of fat you eat, how much sleep you get, etc, etc, etc.

So true. "change in gene expression" is one of those three-word-slogans. A change in gene expression occurs ever time we eat as our liver and pancreas ramp up production of various enzymes. It's probably true that every activity we participate in cause a change in gene expression as the underlying physical manifestation of a change in biochemistry.

Yes, but it excites me because my focus has been figuring out how to change the gene expression using diet and lifestyle. I have gotten a lot of flack off of people. I am excited to see language like this in an article about this kind of "natural" approach.

I know what I am doing. I just don't know how to talk about it with other people and it's been very frustrating. So I find stuff like this interesting.

Thanks for your various comments throughout this discussion.

Re: Essential Oils Might Be the New Antibiotics

#46

Post by DubiousPusher »

benten10 wrote: post #40
DubiousPusher wrote: post #39

Carl Sagan, in his book Demon Haunted World, described his bologna detection kit, a set of principals and tests used to get a feel for the veracity of a claim. Here is my Medical modality bologna detection kit. 1. It is claimed the modality cures or treats a wide variety of otherwise unconnected symptoms. 2. Claims about the modality are unspecific. "It boosts the immune system." "It removes toxins." 3. It is claimed…

Slightly off-topic, but a Bologna detection kit wouldn't be that difficult to construct: even standard CV software could detect standard Bologna in standard shape. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bologna_sausage On the other hand, I imagine Italian bologna is prepared with essential oils, so a working Bologna detection kit would also positively identify essential oils. On the other hand, Sagan's kit would be quite a use…

Ha, my mistake. Baloney is a word you hear frequently but don't see written very often. I presumed the slang used the spelling of the sausage it was derived from.

Re: Essential Oils Might Be the New Antibiotics

#47

Post by specialist »

LogicFailsMe wrote: post #22

I used to have an incurable sinus infection that plagued me every winter. Antibiotics were worthless. Then, after X-rays confirmed my maxillary sinuses were filled to the brim with crud and doctors wanted to cut out large swaths of my sinuses, I decided to hang upside down on my personal quack theory that it might let them drain. To my somewhat surprise, every day I did this an unholy brew of dark brown mucus and blo…

I feels ya. Surgery sucked.

I wish someone had told me about netty pots, nebulizers, xylitol nasal spray, whatever preventative things to try first. Pre surgery, I was in so much pain, I would have tried anything.

Post surgery, for months, to clear things out, I would lie down face up hanging my head over the edge of the bed, fill up my nostrils with the saline concoction (ABX, steroids), and let it marinate. For as long as I could handle it. Worked pretty good.

It's astonishing how much goop the human head can store up there.

Re: Essential Oils Might Be the New Antibiotics

#48

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

Mz wrote: post #44
TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So true. "change in gene expression" is one of those three-word-slogans. A change in gene expression occurs ever time we eat as our liver and pancreas ramp up production of various enzymes. It's probably true that every activity we participate in cause a change in gene expression as the underlying physical manifestation of a change in biochemistry.

Yes, but it excites me because my focus has been figuring out how to change the gene expression using diet and lifestyle. I have gotten a lot of flack off of people. I am excited to see language like this in an article about this kind of "natural" approach. I know what I am doing. I just don't know how to talk about it with other people and it's been very frustrating. So I find stuff like this interesting. Thanks for…

Shoot me an email, let's have a conversation. I've been studying this sort of thing for over a decade now.
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