Do essential oils safely and effectively treat constipation, stomach aches and fevers?

Question

My wife was encouraged to try several doTERRA "essential oils". She's convinced (through anecdotal evidence and perhaps the placebo effect) that different oils have been effective in treating "constipation, tummy aches, fevers and immunity" in my family.

She dismisses my argument that if these oils were actually effective in treating the conditions doTERRA claims, the evidence would be abundant and well-documented.

If these oils are physically harmful I certainly want to know. But even if they're not, they're expensive, and (more importantly) I'm concerned that my wife is not modeling the kind of skeptical attitude I'd like to encourage in my children.

I did a web search (for "doterra skeptic" and "doterra evidence") and mostly found what I think is a result of doTERRA's SEO.

Can anyone recommend sources for reliable information on doTERRA's products?

Answer 1

Introduction

This is actually a tougher question to answer than you might think as we need to look at each of the claims (i.e. treatment of constipation, tummy aches, fevers and immunity) individually. I've tried to check to see what the most common treatment recommendations are by alternative medicine practitioners so that we aren't just randomly coming up with treatments.

First, we must remind ourselves exactly what an essential oil is:

An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants.

So with that in mind, I'm going to write this from the standpoint that a naturally produced essential oil may contain some difference that a synthetic fragrance oil may or may not have due to the chemistry of the oil.

Constipation

Interestingly, searching seems to imply that there are several different oils that are recommended for use (1, 2, 3) and a common means of application for all of them, namely:

Application should be twice a day, once in the evening and then first thing in the morning. Each session should last 5 to 7 minutes. Massage should follow the direction of peristalsis following the movement of food - clockwise start and the lower right part of the lower abdomen where the appendix might me and up the ascending colon, across the transverse colon and down the descending colon ending at the top of the pubis.

This is very interesting as massage is actually mentioned as an alternative treatment by the Mayo Clinic and following up on this I find that it appears that massage in and of itself may be effective at reliving the symptoms of constipation. If this is the case than it is highly possible that the essential oils themselves have no effect but the means of applying them might be the actual cause of the relief of symptoms.

"Tummy Aches"

"Tummy aches", or stomach aches, or the much more generic abdominal pain is quite broad and turning to the Mayo Clinic again we get this list of potential causes:

• Indigestion
• Constipation
• Stomach "flu"
• Menstrual cramps
• Food poisoning
• Food allergies
• Gas
• Lactose intolerance
• Ulcers
• Pelvic inflammatory disease
• Hernia
• Gallstones
• Kidney stones
• Endometriosis
• Crohn's disease
• Urinary tract infection
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Appendicitis

One of the interesting things about this list is that there are a number of cases where an stomach ache might be a temporary or transitive symptom. In which case the use of essential oils might just be coincidence as the symptom is going to go away regardless meaning that confirmation bias can play role.

Fevers

Fevers are another tough one to follow-up on as they can fluctuate throughout the day which means that confirmation bias can play a role again if someone sees a fever break following the application of an essential oil. Also, if other forms of fever management are being used in additional to essential oils then the other treatments may play a larger role as well. Lavender commonly gets mentioned as a treatment for fever, but it has the problem of being combined with other common treatments for fever and it's effects, if any, are not easy to isolate.

Immunity

This is a very interesting as Tea Tree Oil is known to be an effective treatment as an antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal. It has even been shown to be effective against MRSA. So this is an area were we can give a firm yes to the effectiveness of an essential oil; however, this applies to a specific oil in much the same way that willow bark can be effective for aches and pains: individual oils may be effective, but as a whole you cannot just randomly select one and expect it to be effective.

Summary

It is already well know that various scents can have an effect upon a person by siring up memories or having an affect upon your mood. This means that some essential oils may help in some situations just by virtue of changing your mood giving you a more positive outlook. As shown though, some essential oils can have effects; however, in most cases they are unlikely to have an effect or their application might have a greater effect than the oils themselves.

Answer 2

doTERRA is a brand of essential oils.

The US National Cancer Institute published a summary of published, peer-reviewed, clinical scientific studies into aromatherapy and essential oils.

Answer 3

I think it's interesting that you are having a hard time finding evidence on essential oils proof of validity when there is so much available.

But honestly, the biggest evidence is what they will do for you. When you have a child that is suffering and western medicines provides no answers for healing but instead a host of new side effects without resolve, then you find results within minutes, hours or days, it changes you. Please, please look and listen to the following examples of amazing results that are literally life changing, then tell me that you still require "scientific evidence" to not remain a sceptic!

• Lacy’s Story

• Recorded Call on poly-cystic kidney disease: 605-475-4099, code 185868, then ref 6# ; Recorded Call on stroke victim: 605-475-4099, code 185868# then ref 20#

Let two MDs tell you why they are using essential oils in their practices:

• Dr. James Geiger, MD
• Dr. Paul Winterton, MD, Orthopedic Surgeon

Why the oils you choose does make a difference:

• Therapeutic Grade

• People's magazine, January 2013, said

The statistics are staggering, the medicines powerful and highly addictive: This year more Americans will die of drug over-doses than in any other type of accident – including car crashes" .... and yet one might be skeptic of essential oils, aromatic plant extracts found in nature might be dangerous? More dangerous than drugs?

Let's do the real research - better yet, give essential oils a good try. Just see for yourself next time you get acid indigestion or a stomach ache, put a few drops of DigestZen essential oil blend on your tongue and see for yourself if it makes a significant difference within a matter of minutes. And when you get a headache or fever, rub a drop of Peppermint essential oil on your temples and/or back of neck and see what it does for you? What's it going to hurt to try essential oils and see the results for yourself?

And expensive? Treat an ear ache/infection for less than $1, and be done with it in a few hours. I spent over $500 for a child with ear infections - doctor bills, medicines - over a 6-month period! How about 50 cents to remove a wart instead of $120. One women was spending $1500 a month on seizure medications that were simply ineffective - now 1 $69 bottle a month of frankincense essential oil gives her results and is massively cheaper!! Expensive - you've got to be kidding me!!! Don't underestimate essential oils - they are powerful, 1-2 drops is all that is used so a little bottle can go a long ways!