Читать книгу Aromatherapy Workbook - Shirley Price - Страница 30

Apart from adding synthetic components to an essential oil, a chemist can put together only synthetic molecules, to simulate the aroma of an essential oil, and, whatever plant name may be bestowed upon them, many cheap perfumes (and ‘aromatherapy’ toiletries) are totally synthetic (as indeed are many flavourings). It would be wrong of me to say that these have no effect whatsoever, as any smell, from whatever source, has an effect on the mind – even a bad smell – and can make one feel relaxed, awake, hungry or nauseous (for example, new-mown grass, frying bacon, nail polish remover, etc.)

However, a synthetic smell cannot, in my opinion, help a health problem without leading to side effects, as is often the case with synthetic drugs. There are scientists today who would argue with this and I believe such people are forgetting certain principles.

When science removes the therapeutic molecules or components from plants or essential oils, the administered result seems to give side effects. It is now appreciated that in the whole plant, or whole essential oil, there are many apparently useless components, including several that we cannot identify. These are believed to be ‘quenchers’ of the side effects which therapeutic agents in isolation could, and indeed do, cause. A good example of this is cinnamon bark oil. Cinnamic aldehyde, a major constituent of this oil, was found to be a severe irritant and the oil was therefore branded as an irritant. However, the complete oil, when tested, was found to be an irritant only on certain people – and to a much lesser degree.⁹ The other components or constituents of the whole oil were quenching the irritant quality of the aldehyde, no-one knowing exactly which ones or how. (The whole oil may, however, be a sensitizer for some people – see chapters 3 and 6.)

If an essential oil can be made using synthetic versions of the chemicals that are known to occur naturally in the plant, the unidentifiable ones will be absent, therefore the result will not be a complete and whole essential oil. Thus it will most likely produce side-effects, as do other unnatural drugs. Nature always knows best!

There are scientists who believe that essential oils made in the laboratory will have exactly the same therapeutic effect as those made by Mother Nature; it is true that tea tree, the simplest essential oil, can be made in a laboratory and may help a health problem (though perhaps producing side effects with prolonged use). If asked whether there is any difference between synthetic and distilled tea tree, the scientist is bound to admit that there is a slight measurable difference in the carbon atoms, therefore giving a clue as to whether the oil is synthetic or not. He will also tell us that despite this, the properties are exactly the same! With more complicated oils, there are many unidentified components present in very small quantities, which cannot be imitated; hence such an oil would not be ‘whole’ as we know the meaning of the word.

This brings us to the question of vital force in essential oils. Almost every aromatherapist believes in this subtle, invisible, intangible quality that is not susceptible to any scientific proof. ‘Life force’ is thought to be due to some indefinable process (perhaps comparable to photosynthesis) whereby some part of the electro-magnetic energy of the sun’s rays is converted into an energy which is stored in the essential oil cells in the plant.

The scientific community will quote the dictionary definition of vital force; ‘the force on which the phenomena of life in animals and plants depend – distinct from chemical and mechanical forces operating in them’. In other words, once a plant is harvested it is dead.

The only difference between a living human being and a body in the immediate moment of death is this ‘vital’ or ‘life’ force. At that particular moment, nothing else has changed. The spirit or soul is a different matter for consideration; many religions, including Christianity, believe this lives on. In my opinion, the spirit of a plant (its energy) ‘lives on’ in its synergy (it is no longer living) and it is this special and unique mix of natural chemicals – which no human has been able to put together – which gives an essential oil its subtle, invisible, intangible, vibrant quality.