How Essential Oils Directly Aid Detoxification and Cleansing and Protect Us from Harmful Toxins

Our Toxic World

Our world is full of toxins. This fact that we are surrounded by ubiquitous, harmful chemicals can be enough to scare the health out of anyone.

Literally.

These hazardous environmental compounds have been linked to bothersome symptoms and have been found to increase our risk for chronic diseases. These include cancer, reproductive issues, metabolic dysfunction, psychiatric disorders, and more.

Yet, being aware of the negative repercussions of these detrimental exposures can also be empowering. We can use this information to make healthier purchasing choices. We can also be proactive in protecting ourself from their effects through using natural interventions.

 

Essential Oils: Enhancers of Health and Defenders from Harm

For the past several weeks, we’ve been discussing how incorporating essential oils into our lifestyle practices can safeguard us from the impact of damaging substances in the following four ways:

(1) Their biochemical properties

Previously, I detailed how essential oils can protect us from the negative effects of toxins due to their ability to:

• modulate inflammation
• balance hormones and neurotransmitters
• influence the stress response
• support mood
• ward off microbes
• assist with digestion and elimination and a healthy microbiome
• act as cellular protectors (antioxidants)

(2) Serving as safe cleaning substitutes and wellness enhancers

I recently reviewed how essential oils can shield us from chemical overload and keep our homes safe and clean while boosting our health. This is through incorporating these aromatic allies into our sanitizing products, personalized scent signatures, and perfumes.

(3) Supporting detoxification and elimination pathways

In this video post, we’ll review the third way essential oils can support detoxification and cleansing. Specifically, I will detail their ability to directly impact the process of detoxification by acting as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, metal chelators, and cellular signaling molecules.

(4) Assisting with emotional balance and purging negative emotions

In an upcoming blog in this series, we’ll discuss the fourth and final way essential oils enhance our resilience while living in a contaminated world. This is in relation to their ability to calm our mind-body and balance our nervous system.

As always, all the links to the studies and references will be within this accompanying article and previous posts and sources can be found in the resource section.

So, let’s get started.

 

Essential Oils as Antioxidants and Anti-inflammatory Agents

Essential oils are antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. This means they can protect our cells and organs from the cellular damage that can result from interacting with synthetic chemicals. Specifically, these volatile compounds can prevent the oxidative stress (from molecular free radical production) and inflammation that arise from these toxic compounds.

One short review article expanded on how the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of essential oils can turn down these harmful reactions in our body, decreasing the risk for negative health consequences. The authors stated (bold emphasis mine):

The antioxidant activity of essential oils is another biological property of great interest because they may preserve foods from the toxic effects of oxidants [15]. Moreover, essential oils being also able of scavenging free radicals may play an important role in some disease prevention such as brain dysfunction, cancer, heart disease and immune system decline. Increasing evidence has suggested that these diseases may result from cellular damage caused by free radicals [16,17].

If essential oils are able to scavenge some free radicals, they can also act as anti-inflammatory agents, because one of the inflammatory responses is the oxidative burst that occurs in diverse cells (monocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, and macrophages) …

The anti-inflammatory activity of essential oils may be attributed not only to their antioxidant activities but also to their interactions with signaling cascades involving cytokines and regulatory transcription factors, and on the expression of pro-inflammatory genes.

The good news is that virtually any essential oil in your collection has the capacity to support your body’s ability to decrease the damage from pollutants through these mechanisms. This is because terpenes and terpenoids are the main bioactive compounds of essential oils, which are natural antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents.

 

Highlighted Essential Oils as Metal Chelators and Antioxidants

Several essential oils contain compounds that are specific for assisting the body in its detoxification processes. For example, preclinical studies have demonstrated that citral, found in various essential oils, can induce the antioxidant and “master” detoxification enzyme, glutathione.

Several other essential oils have been shown to act as heavy metal chelators (agents that bond to metals). Heavy metals can cause a lot of damage to the body, so supporting the body’s ability to sequester and remove them is important.

Some highlighted oils with these properties include:

1. Rhaphiodon echinus oil – an essential oil that has in vitro (petri dish) evidence of antioxidant properties and chelation potential.
2. Clove oil– an oil that is a powerful antioxidant and a potential iron metal chelator.
3. Rosemary oil- an oil reported in a review article to have iron chelating properties. It also contains carnosol, which was found to inhibit copper LDL (lipid) oxidation in a cell study. Furthermore, rosemary oil is an antioxidant and a neuroprotective agent.
4. Lemongrass oil–the citral component of this essential oil was shown in vitro to modulate phase II detoxification.
5.  Lemon oil– an essential oil that also contains citral. Additionally, it is an antioxidant and contains the anti-inflammatory terpene, limonene. Limonene has various benefits, including being neuroprotective.

 

Essential Oils as Cellular Mediators

Essential oils not only have a multitude of wellness advantages, some have been shown in pre-human trials to directly impact our cellular expression. This means they can “reprogram” our cell responses for better health outcomes. In the article, “Essential oils: a systematic review on revolutionizing health, nutrition, and omics for optimal well-being,” the authors state (bold emphasis and bullets mine):

Essential oils have been shown to have multiple health benefits, primarily due to their antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects.

• The mechanism of action of cinnamon oil alters bacterial membranes, modifies lipid profiles, and inhibits cell division, giving a potential benefit in protection against colitis.
• On the other hand, a significant improvement was observed in the diastolic pressure of patients with metabolic syndrome when supplementing them with cumin essential oil.
• The antimicrobial properties of coriander essential oil, especially its application in seafood like tilapia, demonstrate efficacy in improving health and resistance to bacterial infections.
• Cumin essential oil treats inflammation.
• Parsley essential oil is an antioxidant.
• Orange peel oil is antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, and pro-oxidative.
• Lemon essential oil affects mouse intestinal microbiota.
• Thyme essential oil protects the colon against damage and DNA methylation.
• Carnosic acid in rosemary oil can reduce prostate cancer cell viability by modifying the endoplasmic reticulum function.

 

How To Use Essential Oils for Detox

Now that we know essential oils can be helpful in aiding our natural elimination and detoxification processes, how do we incorporate them into our lifestyle? There are several ways to do this.

• Diffusing essential oils is a gentle way to breathe in the benefits and neutralize the air.
• Some essential oils can be taken internally by placing a few drops in a small amount of honey or into a capsule with a carrier oil. (Consult your integrative healthcare provider or clinical aromatherapist for dosage and safety precautions before implementation.)
• Massaging essential oils into the skin (with proper dilution ratios) provides the same benefits as inhalation and ingestion while enhancing circulation and lymph drainage.

Reminder: Please only use high quality essential oils and be versed in proper usage and safety!

 

Summing Up: Using Essential Oils for Supporting Detoxification and Cleansing Processes

Essential oils can aid our body in enhancing our ability to cleanse and detoxify through (1) their biochemical properties, (2) serving as safe cleaning substitutes and wellness enhancers, (3) supporting detoxification and elimination pathways, and (4) assisting with emotional balance and purging negative emotions.

Due to their many mechanisms of action, essential oils address the underlying imbalances that harmful, ubiquitous compounds can create. This is based on their chemical properties and acting as antioxidants, metal chelators, anti-inflammatory agents, and cellular signaling molecules. These therapeutic volatiles can be used to help alleviate the unwanted symptoms and chronic diseases that can result from chemical exposures.

What do you think?

After reading the blog or watching the video, I’d love to hear from you on how you use essential oils to support your health and to keep you safe in this toxic world.

Thank you so much for taking the time to learn how to nurture your mind, body, heart, and soul.

Sending you many blessings.

 

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Resources

• Shh…. The Dirty, Toxic Secret of a Sanitary Home: How Essential Oils Can Safely Keep Your Home Clean While Enhancing Your Health (My video blog with references)
• Four Ways that Essential Oils Gently, Yet Powerfully Aid Detoxification and Cleansing (My video blog with references)
• The Three Dangers of Detoxes and Cleanses That No One is Talking About (My video blog with references)
• How Diet Culture Messages About Cleanses, Detoxes, and Healthcare Can Backfire: Part 1 (My video blog with references)
• How Diet Culture Messages About Cleanses, Detoxes, and Healthcare Can Backfire: Part 2 (My video blog with references)
• Personalized Medicine: Why A One Diet-Fits-All Approach to Food Goes Against Naturopathic Principles (My article with references)
• Resources for Living a Healthy, Non-Toxic Life for Better Mind-Body Balance: Greener Living with Clean Food, Safe Cosmetics, Chemical-Free Household Products, and Quality Water (My article with references)
• Why Cleanse and Detoxify in Our Toxic-Soup, Chemical World? A HAES (Health at Every Size) and Naturopathic Perspective: Part II (My article)
• Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Activities of Essential Oils: A Short Review. (Molecules. 2010 Dec 15;15(12):9252-87.)
• Antioxidant Activities of Essential Oils and Their Major Components in Scavenging Free Radicals, Inhibiting Lipid Oxidation and Reducing Cellular Oxidative Stress. (Molecules. 2023 Jun 5;28(11):4559.)
• Terpenes and Terpenoids as Main Bioactive Compounds of Essential Oils, Their Roles in Human Health and Potential Application as Natural Food Preservatives. (Food Chem X. 2022 Jan 19;13:100217.)
• Essential oils: a systematic review on revolutionizing health, nutrition, and omics for optimal well-being. (Front Med (Lausanne). 2024 Feb 16;11:1337785.)
• A Phase II Detoxification Enzyme Inducer from Lemongrass: Identification of Citral and Involvement of Electrophilic Reaction in the Enzyme Induction. (Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2003 Mar 14;302(3):593-600.)
• The Therapeutic Potential of Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) Diterpenes for Alzheimer’s Disease. (Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2016;2016:2680409.)