Category Archives: Blog

Another Name for Phlegm

Posted by Michelle on December 13, 2011 None comments
I keep trying to think of a nicer way to say phlegm.

mucus

congestion

snot

Nothing sounds any nicer, which sucks, although I guess the reason nothing sounds any nicer or more sophisticated is because no matter what you call it, it’s still pretty icky.

I have found a solution, though, to helping get rid of it and will share what works for me.  I first started doing this when I was sick and coughing up unspeakable guck.  But, because of my allergies, I regularly wake up to the thickness in my throat.  Sometimes I can’t even swallow it because it feels like it is dangling from the back of my mouth.  I told you it was gross!

What I had done in the past was take Fenugreek and Thyme herbs.  It worked really well, but I had to take a lot of capsules – I’m talking 8 at a time, a few times a day.  As you can imagine, I burned through a bottle really fast.

So, I did some research and found Cypress and Marjoram oils help.

Using an empty capsule, I fill it 9 drops of Cypress oil and 4 drops of Marjoram oil.  Depending on the size of your capsule, you might have extra room at the top.  Sometimes I’ll fill the extra room with a few drops of olive oil, but the most recent bag of capsules I bought seem to be smaller and it’s all I can do to put the essential oils in there.  But no matter, they’re the important part.

Phlegm Disintegrator
Print
Author: Michelle Clampit
Prep time: 5 mins
Total time: 5 mins
Serves: 1
This is what I use to get rid of excess mucus.
Ingredients
  • 9 drops Cypress Oil
  • 4 drops Marjoram Oil
Instructions
  1. Carefully drop the Cypress and Marjoram oils into an empty capsule. Take with water.
  2. If you do not have a capsule, you can mix the oil with water or another liquid. This method works faster, but the taste is VERY strong and lingers.
Google Recipe View Microformatting by Easy Recipe

 

Minty Watermelon Ice

Posted by Michelle on November 13, 2011 None comments
Even though it’s fall, it’s still blisteringly hot.  But thankfully, the watermelon is as sweet right now as the weather is hot.  This frozen dish should cool you down in no time!

3 cups watermelon

1 drop spearmint oil

 

Freeze the watermelon for 4 hours or overnight.  Watermelon actually freezes quite well for slushies, so you can chop up a bunch to leave in there for when it’s not in season.

Blend the frozen watermelon with 1 drop of spearmint oil.

When you’re done, it will be scoopable like ice cream but have a soft serve texture and is super yummy.

 

Printable Recipe:

Minty Watermelon Ice
Print
Recipe type: Dessert
Author: Michelle Clampit
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 1 min
Total time: 6 mins
Serves: 3
Frozen watermelon slushy dessert
Ingredients
  • 3 cups watermelon
  • 1 drop spearmint oil
Instructions
  1. Freeze the watermelon for 4 hours or overnight. Watermelon actually freezes quite well for slushies, so you can chop up a bunch to leave in there for when it’s not in season.
  2. Blend the frozen watermelon with 1 drop of spearmint oil.
  3. When you’re done, it will be scoopable like ice cream but have a soft serve texture and is super yummy.
Google Recipe View Microformatting by Easy Recipe

 

 

 

Moving

Posted by Michelle on October 24, 2011 None comments

Hey guys!

Sorry I haven’t been able to update this much lately.  I had to move unexpectedly to a new home.  This new place is great, but we’ve had issues getting the internet up and running.  It took a few weeks longer to get access than I expected, but everything is all set up now, so expect an update on aromatherapy recipes soon!

Thanks,

Michelle

Breathing Dust

Posted by Michelle on August 20, 2011 None comments

So I went back to visit my parents this summer and became inspired by my mother to keep a cleaner house and prepare more homemade food.  One of the things she likes to do is keep a jar of browned flour on hand so that whenever she wants to make gravy, it can be made instantly.

 

 

I used to do this, too, but have gotten out of the habit.  Tasting her gravy, though, made me remember how much better it is than gravy mixes, so I set out to brown a big batch of flour.  I found the perfect container – a newly emptied plastic honey bottle with handle and a big mouth.

 

 

This was going to be the best gravy ever.  I poured the flour into the container so that it fit perfectly, then sifted the flour into a bowl and resifted it to make sure it was nice and smooth.  No lumps for this gravy.

I poured the entire batch – all 48oz into a big pan and started stirring.  And stirring.  And stirring.

If you’ve ever browned flour, you know that it takes forever.  It stays white for a long time, then suddenly goes from white to burnt if you aren’t paying close attention.  I was paying close attention.  But it was the middle of summer.  There was no air conditioning and I was in front of the hot gas stove.  So I turned on the ceiling fan to cool down a bit while I continued to stir the flour.

Now remember, I was paying close attention to the color of the flour.  It was so hot, but I was determined that not one speck would burn.  It wasn’t until my mortified SandalwoodMan walked into the kitchen with his shirt covering his mouth that I looked up and saw the world around me.

The entire kitchen had been transformed into a dust ball.  Literally, it looked like the kitchen was filled with smoke, except that every nugget of smoky air was actually a fine dust particle of gravy flour.

Even the kitchens in LA are smoggy!

I had been breathing this in for a good half an hour.  My throat had been scratchy for awhile, but I didn’t want to risk wasting all the time I’d put into this perfect batch of gravy flour, so I’d been ignoring the feeling.

Fast forward a few days and I was coughing up junk.  My chest, lungs, and throat hurt from coughing up so much phlegm. All that fine dust I had been breathing seemed to just lodge itself into my alveoli, causing a form of dust pneumonia.

I’d been taking fenugreek and thyme to dissolve the phlegm, but this felt deeper than a regular bronchial infection.  I was having difficulty breathing and couldn’t take in more than a shallow breath.  Even though I was no longer in a dusty area, I still felt like I was breathing dust.

That’s when I remembered that essential oils can be used to draw out toxins in the lungs.  I remembered how Jim Lynn layered oils on his wife’s back and how her tumor disappeared after that.  So, enlisting the help of SandalwoodMan, I set out to pull the dust out of my body.

He rubbed the 3-4 drops of each of the following oils into my back, taking care to rub them into my spine and behind my lungs:

 

  • Melrose
  • Cypress
  • Lavender
  • Thieves
  • Peppermint

 

I told him to use the peppermint oil last as a finisher to enhance the other oils.  He then laid a hot, wet towel on my back, covered that with a warm, dry towel, layered on a heated sock that had been filled with beans, and finally covered it all with a big, hot towel to help seal in the heat.

Then came the hard part – waiting for 2 hours.  I think I lasted about an hour and a half before I had to get up to use the bathroom.  At that point, I felt a little better, but was disappointed because the little white towel that had been touching my back was still white.  I had heard stories from others how the towel became dingy and sometimes black from the junk that was removed.  Not for me, though.

 

 

 

 

I filled a cool mist humidifier with water and about 15 drops of cypress oil to breathe while I slept.

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn’t until the next morning that I realized the benefit.  I slept soundly, was able to breathe all night without issue.  I could take normal sized breaths and feel the air enter my lungs without any pain or scratchiness.  I could talk without having a coughing fit.  Even better, my voice didn’t sound like I’d spent the last 30 years chain smoking.

It worked so well that we did it again the next night.  I also started taking the oils internally to help dissolve the phlegm.  In a capsule, I put:

  • 3 drops Ledum
  • 3 drops Marjoram
  • 3 drops Cypress
  • 1 drop   Lavender

This combination cleared the mucus quickly and lasted @ 3-4 hours before I would make up a new capsule.

Now – here’s what happened that I didn’t expect.  My period started – well, that part I was expecting – but usually I have horrible cramps and feel so lethargic that all I want to do is lie down.  But this time, I hardly felt any cramping at all.  The first day, which is usually the worst day, came and went with no cramping whatsoever.  The second day, I felt a little bit, but maybe only about 25% of what I normally feel. I didn’t feel lethargic at all.  The pain that I feel on a monthly basis was now more of an awareness that part of my body just wasn’t as comfortable as usual. 

I’m not sure if it was the back massage or all the oils that I’d been taking internally that made my cramps disappear.  My suspicion is that it is the cypress oil that I was taking internally.

Either way, this I can live with!

 

 

 

Headache and Migraine Relief – Causes and Natural Solutions

Posted by Michelle on August 11, 2011 None comments

Headache and Migraine Relief – Causes and Natural Solutions

 

I have suffered from headaches and migraines for as long as I can remember. My dad has told me that when I was a baby learning how to talk, one of the first things I learned how to say was that my head hurt. I grew up taking pretty large amounts of acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Motrin) regularly for the pain. While I really dislike putting drugs in my body, when it comes to intense pain, I find myself turning to whatever brings relief.

The problem with headaches and migraines is that it is hard to identify why they happen. Sometimes, it is obvious; your head is stuffy from sinus pressure or you fell and bumped your head pretty hard. But most of the time, they just creep up on you over a few hours until you finally reach the point where any type of movement, noise, or bright light feels like a hammer smashing against your head.

The years of taking pain relievers have caused me liver damage. I’m not blaming them, because I have chosen on many occasions to put them in my body, and I’m sure will again do so in the agony of the moment. They help, most of the time, to ease the pain, and sometimes we just need to get to the next moment in order to move on.

But they don’t always help. Truth be told, I haven’t found anything, drug or natural, that completely removes my migraines every single time. However, I’ve found that by having an arsenal of different potions, one of them is bound to work for whatever kind of headache I happen to be having at the moment. Maybe one of these will help you.

 

Overlooked Causes for Headaches:

Low blood sugar

High / Low blood pressure

Low blood circulation

Toxic blood stream

Dilated blood vessels

 

Notice the connection between headaches and blood? Hmmm

 

Headache from high blood pressure

From Aajonus Vonderplanitz, The Primal Diet

Mix

2 oz naturally sparkling water

2 TBS UNHEATED honey

1 whole lemon, juiced

Add 6 ounces more of naturally sparkling water and drink.

Headache from low blood pressure

 

 

From Aajonus Vonderplanitz, The Primal Diet

Mix

2 oz naturally sparkling water

2 TBS UNHEATED honey

Add 6 ounces more of naturally sparkling water and drink.

 

 

Hormonal Headaches

Apply Dragon Time, an essential oil blend from Young Living, directly on the abdominal area and lower back.

or

6 drops of Dragon Time on the bottom of each foot and on the insides of ankles

Sinus Congestion Headaches

Peppermint oil can be used in many ways.

Peppermint oil #1

The simplest is to just put a few drops in the palm of your hand, cup it over your mouth and nose, and breath in deeply several times. This helps the stuffiness.

Peppermint oil #2

I generally apply the peppermint oil directly to my scalp, right where the pain is. Wherever it hurts the most is where I apply it. But I also will put some in the palm of my hand and dab a little on my fingertip to apply to above my eyebrows, behind my ears by the mandible, and all over my neck.

Be careful to not get it in your eyes or use that dabbing finger to rub your eyes later. If you do get some in, simply get out a little bit of vegetable oil and gently apply it to the burning area. It will stop the burning almost instantly.

Peppermint oil #3

I know people who have gotten rid of a headache by a single drop of peppermint oil on the nape of the neck. It hasn’t worked for me, but I’ve met too many people it has worked for to be skeptical.

Peppermint oil #4

Mix a drop of peppermint oil in with your shampoo and then again in your conditioner. The lather helps the oil to disperse easily over your entire head. The tingle feels so good that I don’t want to rinse it out. This feels nice even when you don’t have a headache, but if you do, it feels just heavenly.

Peppermint oil #5

Inhale it: rub on tip of nose, breathe deeply. Apply neat to forehead and temples, cheekbones, across bridge of nose, and around ears.

Roman chamomile oil

Apply to each of the points of the face and neck, basically wherever you feel sinus pressure. This has never helped me, personally, but we’re all made differently.

 

Low Blood Sugar

Check your blood sugar. If it is between 60 and 70, you can develop a light headache. If it is between 50 and 60, you are more likely to have a full blown headache, feel weak, tired, and irritable. My best friend gets a headache whenever her blood sugar drops. As far as I’m concerned, she is lucky, because as soon as she eats, her headache goes away.

 

Migraines and Liver

Using the theory that migraines are related to the liver, target the liver & head areas on your feet. Apply a few drops of Valor essential oil all over your feet, paying special attention to the back of the big toes, rubbing it in hard. Rub a drop or two of M-Grain on the back of your big toes as well as on the nail bed. The brain point is on the big toe.

The liver point is on the right foot. If you find the center of your foot (not including toes) and move out towards the part you step on, that’s where you rub. I rub a drop of M-Grain here as well, rhythmically rubbing it in for a few minutes. It’s easier to rub in with a few drops of olive oil.

Then massage the M-Grain on the Liver 3 point, which is on the top of the foot along the way from between the big toe and toe next to it all the way up to the ankle. Run a finger between those bones, rubbing the oil in.

 

Chemical headache

Toxins from chemicals, such as paint fumes, can cause a headache. Breathing in an essential oil, such as peppermint oil, can help to restore balance. Diffusing the oil is particularly effective here.

 

Dilated Blood Vessels

Caffeine constricts the blood vessels. Sometimes just drinking some coffee or Coke can help a migraine.

 

Other things to try:

Fresh wheatgrass juice

Fresh celery juice

Thieves essential oil blend

Apply one drop to your thumb and press on the roof of your mouth

 

Lavender oil & peppermint oil

Apply a drop of lavender oil to your temples and neck. Layer peppermint oil on top of the lavender. Sometimes the combination is stronger than an individual.

 

Grapefruit oil

By itself, it does nothing for me. However, when I layer it on top of other oils, it intensifies the effect of the other oils.

 

 

Here is another recipe for pain in general. But this one might knock you out, so don’t take it unless you are at home and able to rest. Valerian is classified as a mild tranquilizer and has a sedative effect on the body. It is called “Nature’s Valium” for a reason.

20 drops of Valerian oil

10 drops of Helichrysum oil

3 drops of Clove oil

3 drops of Peppermint oil

Fill an empty capsule or two, depending on the size of the capsule, with these oils and swallow with a glass of water.

 

Cold Prevention – How I Keep My Family From Getting Colds

Posted by Michelle on August 10, 2011 None comments

Cold season is upon us and no one knows better than I do how that can impact a person. You see, I teach grade school and spend the entire winter wiping the snotty noses of my students. One day, they’ll have the art of covering their mouths when they cough, but as for now, it’s still a work in progress.

Let’s face it, you know when you’re going to get sick. If you are in tune with your body, you know the day before, or at the latest, the morning of the start of a cold. You’re not really achy yet, but you don’t feel well. Maybe you think you just didn’t get a good night’s rest. But then, you notice your throat has a tickling sensation. That’s what I notice first. My throat feels just a little bit scratchy, but not so much that I can’t ignore it if I’m in the morning rush to get to work on time.

The thing is, when it comes to fighting a cold, time is the most important factor. If I hit it hard as soon as I realize it is upon me, I can avoid getting sick. If I wait until the afternoon or next day, while I won’t get a full blown 4-7 day long illness, I may feel that groggy, not-quite-100%-well feeling.

What do I do to avoid getting a cold? I’ll tell you. First of all, I take an extra 2000 mg of vitamin C to boost my immune system. Then I rub a drop or two of therapeutic grade essential oils of lavender, lemon, and rosemary on the sides of my neck. Lavender oil has shown to be antimicrobial (Larrondo JV,et al. “Antimicrobial activity of essences from labiates.” Microbios. 1995; 82(332):171-2.) According to Jean Valnet, M.D., Lemon oil can kill pneumococcus bacteria within three hours. It is anti-infectious and antiviral. Rosemary oil acts as an expectorant and has mucolytic (breaks down mucus) properties. It is also antibacterial.

The last thing I do is rub a few drops of Thieves oil from Young Living on my feet. This blend was found to have a 99.96% kill rate against airbourne bacteria when tested at Weber State University for its antimicrobial properties.

My recipe to prevent colds:2000 mg Vitamin C

1-2 drops Lavender oil

1-2 drops Lemon oil

1-2 drops Rosemary oil

Rub oils on sides of throat.

3-5 drops Thieves (per foot)

Rub on bottom of foot, focusing on the ball of the feet,
where the Vita Flex points for the lungs are.

Happy healthy living during this cold season!

Michelle Clampit is a teacher of Deaf and hard-of-hearing students in California. She is fascinated by the use of therapeutic grade essential oils for health and well-being. Her Healthy Aromas website is filled with ways she uses these oils for healing, cleaning, and meditation.

Brain Teaser

Posted by Michelle on August 7, 2011 2 comments

Can you identify what plant this essential oil comes from?

 

 

 

I was the first LifeSavers flavor.

 

 

 

Joey Dee and The Starlighters sang a Top-10 hit about me called “______ Twist” in 1962.

 

 

 

Traditional folk remedy uses me as a digestive aid.

 

 

 

Clinical studies have shown that I significantly reduced the pain in irritable bowel syndrome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My leaves were given as an “after dinner mint.”

 

 

 

 

In India they hang fresh bunches in doorways and open windows allowing the breeze to carry the scent throughout the house. The aroma is said to symbolize hospitality.

 

I am a popular toothpaste flavor.

 

 

 

Even one of Charlie Brown’s friend’s is named after me!

 

 

 

Some people rub me on their foreheads and temples to ease a headache.

 

I am one of the world’s oldest medicinal herbs, with use documented in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

 

 

A red and white striped candy is made with me during the Christmas holidays.

 

 

If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m the ever popular, peppermint oil. This oil is used both for health benefits as well as for flavoring. Many people think it is not safe to eat any essential oils, and they are partially correct. Just as there are some plants that are poisonous, there are some essential oils that should never be eaten. Peppermint, however, is not one of them. Not only is peppermint oil safe to eat, assuming that you buy a pure grade oil, it is one of the most popular flavorings around. Think that is a coincidence? Think again. There is a reason after dinner mints are so popular.

Peppermint oil helps to stimulate bile, thereby aiding digestion. It reduces indigestion and colonic spasms by reducing the gastro colic reflex. So next time you eat something that doesn’t agree with you, consider the health benefits of peppermint oil. Something as simple as a strong breath mint or a drop of peppermint oil in water just might feel as refreshing to your body as it does to your breathe.

Resources:

1. Dew MJ, Evans BK, Rhodes J. Peppermint oil for the irritable bowel syndrome: a multicentre trial. Br J Clin Pract. 1984;(11-12):394, 398.

2. Spirling LI, Daniels IR. Botanical perspectives on health peppermint: more than just an after-dinner mint. J R Soc Health. 2001 Mar;121(1):62-3.

Privacy Policy

Posted by Michelle on August 6, 2011 None comments

This is just a little personal web page that I made to share my passion about essential oils. Any information you share with me will not be given freely or sold for any reason to anyone else. Period. The most that might happen is that I write or call you back to respond to your comments.

*~*~Healthy Aromas~*~*

Posted by Michelle on August 1, 2011 None comments

Welcome to Healthy Aromas!

Learn how to incorporate aromatherapy into your daily life.

Discover recipes for health, cleaning, baths, food, and drink.

Where I buy my favorite essential oils