The Healing Power of Essential Oils: Soothe Inflammation, Boost Mood, Prevent Autoimmunity, and Feel Great in Every Way

I have a friend who uses essential oils to promote health. I have another who eschews medical use and will only use essential oils for cleaning. I have a family member who believes in bleach, chemicals, and antibiotics. If you do an internet search on essential oils, there's an insane amount of information, and it's frequently conflicting. Enter The Healing Power of Essential Oils by Eric Zielinski, D.C. In this book, Dr. Zielinski, who is a health researcher and aromatherapist, begins to disentangle the truth, half-truth, propaganda, and nonsense that can surround the use of essential oils. In my opinion, he's more evidence-based than what is normally found in the blogsphere or essential oil Facebook groups. He's also quick to state that in some oils, there just hasn't been a lot of research or there is still more research needed. This book covers numerous topics: fundamentals of aromatherapy, using essential oils safely, how to start off, house cleaning with essential oils, basic essential oil recipes for wellness, more advanced recipes for specific physical issues with an emphasis on women's health, and more! It took me a few weeks to read through this book and I was bit overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information, including a few parts that were very scientific. That being said, Dr. Z's approach is to start with what you can. No, you can't completely change everything all at once. Integrate what you can and add more as you learn. And I did learn a lot in the book! Overall, it's very understandable and Dr. Z lays down the safety issues and basic procedures at the very beginning. He also repeats that you should listen to you body, discontinue use if something seems off, and that we all have biological differences stemming from gender, race, family history, etc... therefore, what works great for one person may only give moderate relief to someone else. So, did this book convert me to essential oils? Maybe. It's definitely opened my mind up to them and exposed some harmful substances I wasn't aware of. (example: toxicity of hand sanitizer) I do plan to start small and give some of this a try. I will keep The Healing Power of Essential Oils by Eric Zielinski, D.C. on my bookshelf for future reference. One last note: Dr. Z. is a proponent of Biblical health and mentions prayer and Biblical health guidelines throughout the book. If you are uncomfortable with that, this book may not be for you. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Having recently begun using products such as soap, shampoo, and skin creams that are all natural and made with various essential oils and being quite happy with them, I thought perhaps this book, The Healing Power of Essential Oils, might be a good introduction to benefits of utilizing essential oils in various ways in my daily life. I realize that essential oils are good but they can also be toxic or harmful on different levels when wrongly used. So one shouldn't indiscriminately purchase the oils and start mixing, rubbing, and ingesting them. One should definitely find out just how, when, what quantity, what quality, and which oils to use. This information must come from a dependable source. This book by Eric Zielinski, D.C. was offered for review through a blogging program and I thought it would be interesting and perhaps helpful to me and my family. I am definitely lacking in knowledge of how to use essential oils and which oils serve which purpose. I do enjoy walking into a room that has a diffuser distributing mist allowing me to enjoy the aromatics and goodness of various oils. Again, education and knowledge in use of or being guided by an expert clinician would be helpful. The book: The cover is lovely and definitely appealing and the book lengthy enough but not overpowering to the newcomer or novice. I was disappointed in the quality of the paper. It appears thin and of a recycled type used in pulp-novels. I would expect a bit nicer paper from this publisher. The information: I can not evaluate the veracity of content since I am lacking in personal knowledge of essential oils and am a seeker of information. The book is written from a Christian (or Biblical) perspective and Dr. Zielinski is a "Biblical Health Educator." This appeals to me, but I am always a cautious reader when an author makes claims and I seek further confirmation rather than to simply accept the author's statement. The author states in his introduction that the "therapeutic use of essential oils doesn't have to be complicated...." and that he has "painstakingly taken out all of the guesswork... to distill everything down to manageable bite-sized pieces." Dr. Z. includes some do-it-yourself recipes that can help you get started replacing commercial products with those you make yourself with essential oils. Or you can understand the process from this information and seek out products made by others and in small batches from the same ingredients and sold in "natural" product shops. I like that the author writes with a light touch and sense of humor. There is a nice bibiologaphy and index in the back of the book I received a complimentary copy from the publisher to facilitate this review. Opinions are my own and are freely given.

My book arrived today and I am so excited to dive into it. I attended the Essential Oil Summit last year and absorbed so much useful information. I have notes everywhere and now I have it all in one consolidated place. I am on this track for natural healing through diet, EO's, herbs, etc. So many recipes. I already drive my friends and family "crazy" as I enlighten them with my newfound wisdom. More tools for my toolbox. Thank you Dr. Z and Mama Z for caring enough to share....Iron sharpens iron... May God continue to richly bless you both.

A great resource to oils; as a beginner in this area the information was easy to understand. Dr Z's format is easy to follow for success.