A Story of Thieves

     In October as flu season revved up it paid a visit to our household. Like many it started with scratchy raw throat, sneezing, itchy watery eyes. Because I did not jump on it within the optimal 1st hours, within a day or two my husband and I were running fevers and coughing the deep barrel cough.  Two weeks elapsed before we were feeling well enough, and wasn't coughing anymore with every inhale.

      Seems like the older we get the more vital it is to use the "golden hour" before the sickness really takes hold to pump your immune system full of helpful agents. Vitamins, supplements and nutritious foods are of essence when your body is under attack. We have warded off many sicknesses applying this code however  I missed it this round.   
     It was when I posted the menagerie of medicinal aids we had been consuming as the bug ran its course, that an Oiler friend posted, "Why use all that when you really only need two things."
    Well, I really wasn't in the mood to hear a sales pitch about the oils she so trust in but, I did file the words NiniXia Red (a supplemental drink made of wolfberries and a host of other nutritious things *see pic below)) and Thieves (known in the world of oils as one of the best antibacterial, antiseptic essential oil on the market) into the back of my mind.

     I had heard many good things over the years about Thieves Oil and Thieves household products but, judged them as too expensive for my taste. However, the Story behind Thieves essential oil stuck with me.

    The introduction of the oil that would eventually be named Thieves, one of Young Livings Best sellers, came during the Bubonic Plague of the 14th century. Known as the Black Plague it wiped out 25,000,000 European inhabitants. Between 30-60% of the population. The field of medicine were helpless as thousands of people from all ranks in life were struck down by the deadly disease. There was no treatment against it. 

     As the story goes there happen to be some spice and oil traders who had been doing commerce in England when king's from several countries close there borders and ports. They stopped all trade while this plague raged on. With no way out of England the traders food and moneys ran out. The traders band together and began going into the homes where folks had died, exposing themselves to the plague, stealing everything of value they could. Touching dead bodies retrieving valuable gold and jewelry did not make them fear or make them sick.  The Plague was highly contagious yet the thieves never contracted the illness.

     Eventually, they were caught. It was obvious they had a secret arsenal to keep them from getting the deadly disease, so the king struck a deal with them. They were given opportunity to confess how they were immune against the loathsome disease and receive a lesser judgment of being burned at the stake. They choose to divulge their secret, giving up the recipe of essential oils that boosted their immune systems keeping them safe from the Plague.

     Supposedly the thieves were all members of the same family from a long line of Apothecaries. They had specific knowledge of what combinations of plant oils could be used to rubbed over their bodies to protect them from the disease.

     Hundreds of years later Gary Young of Young Living Oils made the diligent search to retrieve the recipe for the life saving combination of oils. He found it, reproduced it and respectfully named the aromatic yet medicinally powerful cinnamon and clove based oil after those who initially created it. Thieves.   

     This is no folktale. It is established history that many perfumers and tanners of that era in England also escaped the Black Plague because they too used a combination of powerful plant oils to ward off their demise. They used the plants and oils in making perfumes and in the scenting of leather goods.
      There was one town named Bucklersbury, England where nearly the entire town was saved from the plague, while folks from nearby towns were dropping like flies. Why were the folks in Bucklersbury not affected? It is believed because the town was the center of European lavender trading. Lavender oil has long been known to have powerful disease fighting properties. In fact, it has been proven to have immune enhancing properties that compare or even surpass modern antiseptic and antibiotic drugs.

     This brings us down to todays use of Thieves oil. It has been perfected by Young Living Oils with the highest standard ingredients. There may be cheaper imposter oils that claim to be as good but, the Thieves brand was the first and is the best. Thieves is highly guarded as the seeds are put into the best soils of the world, cultivated with the greatest care, until bottled and the Young Living Seal is put around the cap.
     Young Living’s Thieves Oil has been scientifically proven to kill deadly germs. Research from Weber State University in Utah has shown that it has a 99.96 percent kill rate against airborne bacteria. It was proven to be highly anti-infectious, antiviral, antibacterial, and antiseptic.
*Research shows that Young Livings Thieves Oil effectively interrupts the life cycle of bacteria and also interferes with the ability of viruses to replicate. Studies also confirmed that most viruses and bacteria cannot live in the presence of many essential oils, including two of the oils found in the Thieves Essential Oil Blend, cinnamon and clove.  
     This healing oil is a blend of five different therapeutic grade essential oils, including cinnamon, clove, lemon, eucalyptus, and rosemary. This combination of healing oils covers a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity and contains properties that strengthen the immune system. Due to its effectiveness against highly infectious germs, including viruses and bacteria, it is one of nature’s most powerful natural home remedies.
     It is a powerful blend yet mild enough to use on children and babies. It is one of my favorite oils. My household will never be caught without it. We use Thieves Oil for flu, colds, sinusitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, sore throat, strep, toothache, cuts, poison ivy, and as an immune stimulant. We use it to eliminate odors, disinfect around the house, and so much more.     If you read my last blog you will recognize that it is Thieves, lavender and frankincense taken with NingXia Red that proved to be the cure for what would have surely been another two week ordeal of coughing, hacking and overall feeling like crap. But No! With the immunity boost of the combination oils and NingXia, the flu got shot down before it took hold.

If you would like more information on Thieves Oil or any of Young Living Oils contact me by leaving your email address in the comment section or call. I will return an email within 24 hours.

   

 

Thinking Out Of The Box

     A Pandora box of insight was opened the moment I punched the words, natural remedies into the Google search bar. Since then, I have learned there is not just one natural remedy for nearly everything that plagues mankind. There's dozens.
     Someone said to me recently, "So what "thing" are you into now?" At first I was a little offended but after reasoning I can see how they could say that. My course over the last 12 years may seem like I bounce from one "great alternative" way of healing to another. There's so many different ways to help our immune system to recover from disease, to help it fight to keep us from becoming sick in the first place, keeping us healthy behind the scenes while we live a good life, and so yes I am guilty, I have been interested in them all. 
     It is hard not to share information that I know has truly helped me and may help others, in a non-toxic way. Take for instance, depression. Been there done that. OR at least that's what doctors had me believe. Like a million other women I was prescribed all kinds of pills over a 15 year course. Prozac, Wellbutrin, Desyrel, Zoloft and others. Still never answering why I was depressed, anxious, down. Even with the meds the depression would always return. Thus, the switch to another medicine. Tired of the obvious, I investigated and read much about Omega 3's and  Complex Vitamin B's and what effects not having enough of these in our systems does to our brains. I started a regimen of a tbsp. liquid fish oil  2X a day and Mega Foods B complex  (whole food no fillers) 2 times a day. Within a very short time I started feeling better. Energy and positive thoughts flooded my mind. I felt better than I had in years. I have not taken any prescription drugs for depression in nearly 20 years. Depression along with a host of other things subsided. And it is so easy, non toxic. I did not hear this from a doctor. I read it in books. In documents found on the internet. My brain was starved for the nutrients that make it work right. Once those nutrients fed my brain, depression symptoms let up. This is not to tell you what to do, it is what worked for me.

     My belief is that chiropractic is: awesome for many  ailments that plague people. Acupunture/acupresser is awesome for many diseases, as is the different massages. I believe vitamins and supplementation or lack  thereof play a huge role in all common diseases of today. Good Nutrition is a key that has been explored by traditional medicine only recently.  Something that "alternative medicine" has long proclaimed as one of the answers to many of the devastating illnesses plaguing mankind.  Lesser know reflexology which my mother had an attachment, holds a place for healing, as well as the ancient, yet seemly new booming business of Essential oils.

     I don't claim to know everything about any one health alternative but, I do spend a great deal of time getting enough information to make educated choices about what I might do in individual circumstances.  I'm not a specialist. I'm  more like a general contractor. Know a lot about many areas of health, some much better than others. I have learned what it takes to keep me out of a doctors office, in fact, except for a naturopath I see occasionally, I don't do doctors.  An occasional asprin and the bioidentical hormones i'm currently on, (eventually I will wean off them and use Essential Oils to balance my hormones. I am on no other prescription drugs. At 56 I think that's pretty good. 

     That's not to say my family and I never get sick. Of course we do. But there's a remedy, nutrient or oil for that.    IF, I jump on a cold at the first sneeze or within "the golden hour", supplementing vitamin C & D (boost immune system) and Echinacea (boost immune and dry up sinuses) every 4 hours, I can usually get rid of it before it gets a firm hold. If not I will be sick for at least a week. 

     

In fact, as I write this I am fighting a cold. It's being fought with some of my old favs and some new additions. Two ounces twice a day of a wolfberry super power antioxidant drink called NingXia Red (see above) We ad the Knockout Shot to the NingXia and took this for three days. I also rubbed 1 drop each of peppermint, lavender and frankincense on all the vitaflex points (feet, hands and chest) for sinuses/chest. We used Echinacea and peppermint oil to help dry up and open the nasal passages. Had I had my Netti Pot we would have done that too but, I left it back in Ohio. I suspect this cold will be all but gone tomorrow. Making my down time 3 days. I  used the same technique on my husband last week when he came down with all the classic symptoms of cold/flu on Thursday and was pretty much back to himself by Sunday. We're literally in the test period of proving to ourselves if essential oils are all that books and people say they are. So far we have not been disappointed. This new protocol proved worthy of finding its way into our medicine cabinet and remedy book.

    

     What about the little pink, blue and yellow packets? Wheat? Sugar? These are all common everyday foods that have been all a buzz. Can they possibly be the culprits of so many problems that have developed over the last forty years? "IF this is true all the doctors would know." Why don't we hear about it on the News? Argh! that's a whole nother blog. Research!

     It is my opinion that how much of these things a person uses has a clear impact on how well or how sick she will become, whether now or down the road. This world is a sick place. I try to keep up with current topics. Some ring true, some don't. But IF I don't put in my due diligence to learn and understand, how can I or anyone else poopoo or agree  with any one thought. Many times it the people who haven't taken a lick of time to research a subject, use a natural remedy, try a technique or use a protocol for a period of time that are the most vocal in the bashing of the claims. Their disbelief is founded on hearsey and ignorance.

     If you come to me with an ailment or question, I will happily direct you to resources that I've found helpful. Books, websites, videos and even an essential oil. It will be up to you to follow through and come to your own conclusions. 
     It's funny how things have come a full 360. Forty years down the pike I am the one everyone calls a "health nut."

     "So what am I into lately?" Continue to follow my blog and you will be learning right along with me about the world of  Young Living Essential Oils.