Essential Oils For Weight Loss. The only universal statement we can make about weight loss and weight maintenance is eat a variety of food, watch portion size, and move or exercise The truth is that there is no diet program right for all of us. We are all different and individual. No one plan will work for us all. Some of us need more fat, more carbohydrate, or more protein. What you need and in what proportion is important for you to answer. How much activity or kind of exercise you need also requires an answer from you.
When you have determined this information, you will be ready to look at essential oils and how they can support you in weight loss and maintenance. This paper will look at various support systems to further weight loss and maintenance. One of those topics is brain chemistry and how essential oils effect the amount and desire for food. We will examine a portion of Ayurvedic medicine that looks at body types and how essential oils can help the Kappa Type maintain ideal body weight. Abuse especially sexual abuse and poor self- esteem can effect how a person uses food. Essential oils can increase a feeling of well being countering issues of abuse and low self- esteem. Essential oils can also help control and eliminate cellulite. Brain chemistry, Ayurvedic medicine, abuse and poor self esteem, and cellulite are four subjects that teamed with essential oils can improve weight loss and weight maintenance. Brain Chemistry. There is chemistry involved in smelling food and wanting food. Lose Weight with These 3 Essential Oils. There are really three main essential oils that I really believe can help your body with weight loss. DIY Projects, My Favorite Finds Tagged With: essential oils, essential oils for weight loss. Looking for the Best Essential Oils for Weight Loss? Conclusions: Can Essential Oils Help Me Lose Weight? Essential oils are not a magic bullet for weight loss. First it is a learned response. Many people think that being hungry has to do with blood sugar levels or a full stomach. Alan Hirsch says that this isn't true. Specifically, the satiety response is regulated in what is technically known as the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus, a portion of the brain that regulates many basic drives. We call this portion of the hypothalamus the satiety center. One reason we stop eating is that this center signals a fullness or a sense of being satisfied.? The nose is directly connected to the hypothalamus. So now we have another formula; I smelled it = I ate it. Dr. Hirsch points out that when the nose is stuffy or not fully open that it actually smells more deeply. The more deeply you smell; the more the hypothalamus is effected. Your nose has two nostrils and only one is open at a time. Smelling through the nostril that is not as open can cause greater stimulation to the hypothalamus. Take your finger and close one side of your nose. Close the other side and smell. Notice the difference in scent and ease of smell. One side is harder to smell through and the scent is stronger. Dr. Hirsch explains it this way. An odor molecule in the air makes its way to the top of the nose to a pin- sized area of the olfactory membrane where millions of olfactory receptors are found. The odor molecule moves through a thin area of mucous and binds to receptor sites on the olfactory nerve. These receptor sites may be very specific, in that they are designed to detect particular odor molecules. We also know that some odor molecules respond better at some receptor sites than at others, which is part of the mechanism that allows us to discriminate between odors and identify odors that are present in our environment. Each of these receptors- and we have millions of them- will link with odor molecules that match them. Once an odor molecule reaches a receptor site, the body's electrical signaling system begins operation. The odor molecule stimulates a long thin neuron nerve cell- known as the bipolar receptor cell- to fire. We can think of this as stimulus- responseodor molecules- fire, mechanism. Now a representation of the odor molecule is transmitted up to the olfactory bulb at the top of the nose. The important point here is that the representation- or neural image or picture- of the odor changes. Through a complex mechanism, the original odor stimulus is intensified by a factor of one thousand. The intensified odor signal is projected through the olfactory bulb and reaches the main components of the brain. In other words, the system operates to take individual odor molecules and then intensifies them in such a way that the brain can respond to them. The part of the brain where this is taking place is called the limbic lobe and is the seat of our emotions. The limbic lobe activates the hypothalamus which controls our drives and instincts and of course the ability to feel full. So you can see that smelling food can trigger instinctive or mindless behavior and we put food in our mouth. An emotional state could also trigger a desire for food. We can also control what we feel by smelling certain scents. Vanilla scent in a home for sale seems to increase its chance for being sold. It is thought the vanilla gives one a sense of security, home, and feels good. Scents can also be used in the opposite direction. You can see and smell donuts on your office counter and be stimulated to eat one. If you take out vanilla essential oil and smell it, you can connect with the feeling of security, home, and just feel good. This could replace the need to eat the donut with the pleasure of feeling comfortable, at home, and secure at work. Our sense of smell is directly linked to our survival and directly linked to our emotional center not our rational or cerebral cortex. Without having to intellectually respond to scent, we can react very quickly or unconsciously. Sense of smell can help us control appetite and all those irrational responses we have to food. Perhaps our sense of smell used consciously can give us control where our will power failed. Perhaps using scent can control cravings. The Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Institute of Chicago found that inhaling a culinary scent (Basil, Oregano, Lemon, etc.) regularly throughout the day, especially when hungry can suppress the desire to taste and therefore eat. By inhaling an aroma six times in each nostril, the desire to eat is inhibited. Hirsch in his research found that sniffing three times in each nostril was sufficient. If the scent is not adequately smelled, it can increase the desire to eat so it is important to smell the oil deeply and as many times as suggested. They also found that the oils should be changed daily for the best effect. We are naturally attracted to different smells and tastes each day and eating the same foods again and again leads to feelings of deprivation which is the most important cause of failure of most diets. Cheating on a diet could just be another way to increase variety in the diet. Hirsch in his study also found that you could not smell too much. In fact, the more people that used scent to control their appetite, the more weight they lost in his study. Which scents to use. Most people tend to prefer sweet smells. Chocolate fragrance creates serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is linked with cravings for sweets. Smelling chocolate can reduce the desire for sweets. Banana, green apples, and peppermint were found to be most successful. The flower and medicinal smelling oils were least effective. The oils associated with cooking or culinary herbs were best. Fragrances are not essential oils and some people do not like using synthetic products such as fragrances as they can create allergic reactions. Essential oils are natural products usually steam distilled from plant material. Most people seem to be handled natural essential oils more easily, but people can have allergic reactions to essential oils too. See what works for you. Essential Oils. Allspice. Cinnamon Leaf. Ginger. Black Pepper. Bitter Almond. Clementine. Grapefruit. Peppermint. Anise. Clove Bud. Laurel Leaf. Rosemary. Basil. Coriander Seed. Lemon. Sage. Caraway Seed. Cornmint. Lime. Sassafras. Cassia Bark. Cumin Seed. Marjoram. Savory. Celery Leaves. Black Cumin. Mentha Citrata. Spearmint. Celery Seed. Dill Seed. Nutmeg. Thyme. Cilantro. Dill Weed. Orange. Vanilla. Cinnamon Bark. Fennel. Parsley. Wintergreen. Fragrances: Banana. Coffee. Green Tea. Peach. Chocolate. Green Apple. Maple Syrup How to use the essential oils and/or fragrances to control appetite. Choose three or more essential oils to use through out your day. Make sure that you carry them on you or keep them close by. The more you use them; the more effective they will be. Each day change the oils you used previously with three new ones. When you find you are tempted, you feel hungry, or beginning to eat a meal, just open the bottle and take at least three whiffs in each nostril. Breath as deeply as you can especially with the one nostril that is partially closed. You do not want to diffuse or use in the space constantly as you become used to the smell and it is not as effective. The goal here is not to eat, but to eat when you want and how much you want easily and comfortably. Caution. People with asthma or migraine headaches may find that sniffing a variety of smells can aggravate their conditions so they need to be very careful. Toxicity of the liver has been reported when people use extreme amounts of oil. Essential oils are not water- soluble. The liver must break them down the oil into a more soluble form by the use of enzymes. If the oil is introduced into the body at a rate faster than the liver can convert it, toxicity can result. Primarily this has been noted in skin application, but it is worth noting so that one is respectful in using the oils. Inhaling as instructed here should not cause a problem. Ayurveda and Body Types. Dr. Light Miller in her book, Ayurveda and Aromatherapy, does a lovely job of explaining how Ayurveda medicine classifies people into doshas or body types. There are three main ones called Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. They combine into seven mixed types and most people can find themselves within these different types. What is of most interest to us and this paper is the Kapha type. Kaphas tend to have large bodies with heavy bone structure and slow metabolism. They also tend to have large foreheads, large liquid eyes, and large teeth.
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May 2017
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