(Boswellia Frereana) is so valuable to our health and well-being that we should be incorporating in our daily lives. In this article I will talk about the uses, benefits and the chemistry behind WHY it is so good, and frankly necessary to have it in your daily routine, or at least in your medicine cabinet.
What is it / where does it come from?
The Essential oil of Frankincense I use is harvested from trees grown in Oman. It is a resin, and has a warm, comforting, rich, woody fragrance and as with all essential oils, it works on a physical, emotional and physiological level. One drop is all that is needed to bring about great changes in your life. Essential oils are given a Latin name, and there are over 25 strains of Frankincense, but we are focusing on "Boswellia Frereana" for the purpose of this article.
Why it's my favorite oil
Frankincense is my favorite oil at the moment, it's been like a valuable friend over the last 4 years! It has been instrumental in ridding my body of a particularly nasty bout of shingles, and helping me stay sane during my 3 house moves over the last 3 months. It helps boost my immunity, my cell repair, helps me sleep, to combat stress, to balance hormones, and to aid in skin care. Over the last 2 months, I have been putting a drop on my tongue morning and night to help keep my emotions stabilized enough to cope with the never-ending list of things to do. It has helped enormously.
My evening skin care regime as a Mum needs to be super quick, and after washing my face, I put one drop of Frankincense in a little coconut oil and voila - a brilliant anti-wrinkle, skin rejuvenating treatment that takes about 20 seconds and smells amazing. Also, I put 2 drops on the bottom of my daughter's feet before she sleeps, and it helps to switch her mind off, to calm and relax her, and she sleeps very well.
Note: do not ingest any essential oils without the guidance of a professional Aromatherapist. Not every oil is able to be taken internally, and you need to be very careful about the componenents of each oil, and how it has been sourced and the contra-indications/risks.
Why should we use Frankincense daily? I will go into a little more detail about the chemistry of oils and our bodies here, just to help you understand why it is important for you to care about what happens to your cells. We can't see our cells, so we often just forget about them. However, we HAVE to look after our cells, otherwise disease, inflammation and toxicity will creep in to our bodies and we will have to spend valuable time, money and energy trying to fix the issues.
Some will not be fixable and lead to more serious forms of disease such as cancer, so it makes sense to do some prevention work now, in order to help our bodies later. I've done a lot of research and tested my results. I find that Dr. Hill (at doTERRA) has researched and demonstrated that Frankincense (particularly Boswellia Frereana) is vital for, so will summarise his findings here. Frankincense essential oil can greatly assist with:
1. Cell Protection
NOTE: 95% of cancers are NOT genetic. They result from damaged DNA.
Our cells are damaged through:
a) Toxicity e.g. through environmental pollution and free radicals (a lot of which is beyond our control but is IS happening to your body)
b) Poor nutrition
c) Introducing stress and oxidation into our bodies
Free radicals is the metabolic waste/toxicity that is emitted from our cells. The enemy of free radicals are anti-oxidents (the good guys!). Anti-oxidents work by donating a missing electron and therefore neutralizing the free radical. Vitamin C, D, E are antioxidants. Polyphenols (in Alpha CRS, a vitamin product for doTERRA for example) are up to 70 times more potent/effective than vitamin based antioxidants.
The Boswellia Frereana strain of Frankincense contains 70% monoterpenes. We need to care because:
- Monoterpenes stimulate apoptosis (damaged DNA response)
- Monoterpenes increase the level of liver enzymes involved in removing carcinogenic toxins
- Monoterpenes have been shown to interfere with cholesterol synthesis, thereby slowing down and reducing potential tumor formation.
In the particular case of cancer, increased research (initially in Puerto Rico and more recently at UCLA Berkeley) has shown the ability to repair DNA once it becomes damaged. Frankincense greatly helps with this and stimulates the damaged cells to repair.
NOTE: many studies indicate the benefits of essential oils to protect DNA and even reverse DNA damage. NO traditional medicine is able to do this. Therefore essential oils give us highly therapeutic outcomes. So the moral of the story is.....even though we can't see our DNA and our cells, we need to actively look after them otherwise it could cause trouble for us later in life. Never too late to start……!
2. Mood stabilizer / anti-depressant
Medical doctors would routinely agree that major depression is the greatest single cause of disability worldwide.
"Stress is the most important precipitator of depression" Barry Jacobs, PhD, Princeton University.
Frankincense (particularly Boswellia Frereana) has a high concentration of Incensole Acetate. This has been studied and proven to reduce stress and anxiety, and activate the Ion channels which lead to increased mood. You can put a drop under your tongue morning and night, and/or diffuse the oil in your home/car, and/or put a drop on the back of your neck to help with depression.
3. Reduce/eliminate Inflammation
Inflamation destroys tissue. Medical professionals say that inflammation is the root cause of disease. It is relentless and very progressive in destroying tissue. Frankincense has been shown to inhibit the production of pro-inflammatory mediators in the body, e.g. in studies it has been proven that using Frankincense has helped those with chronic arthritic reduce inflammation, swelling and pain by up to 60%.
What other conditions does Frankincense help?
A very effective pain reliever, Frankincense helps the systems of the body to cope with Alzheimer’s disease, aneurysm, arthritis, asthma, balance, brain aging/injury, breathing, bronchitis, burns, cancer, coma, concussion, confusion, coughs, Crohns disease, depression, digestive conditions (both minor and chronic), fibroids, genital warts, hepatitis, immune system support, improve vision, infected wounds, inflammation, liver cirrhosis, Lou Gehrig’s disease, memory, mental fatigue and nervous tension, miscarriage (after), moles, MRSA, Multiple Sclerosis, nasal polyp, Parkinson’s disease, plague, postpartum depression, scarring (prevention and fading after surgery), tumor (lipoma), ulcers, uterus tissue regeneration, virus of nerves, warts, wrinkles. I have personally used it in many ways, and found it particularly helpful to facilitate my body's recovery of shingles, burns, and to aid in depression.
The Emotional Benefits of Frankincense
As well as helping to alleviate and eliminate depression, Frankincense is known as the "Oil of Truth", revealing deceptions and false truths. It invites the individual to let go of lower vibrations, lies, and negativity. This oil helps create new perspectives based on light and truth. Frankincense recalls to memory spiritual understanding, gifts, wisdom and knowledge the soul brought into the world. It is a powerful cleanser of spiritual darkness. Frankincense assists in pulling the “scales of darkness” from the eyes, the barriers from the mind, and the walls from the heart. Through connecting the soul with its inner light, this oil reveals the truth. Addresses emotions of abandonment, spiritually disconnected, distant from father, unprotected.” from Emotions & Essential Oils by Enlighten
As always, leave a message on this blog or email me if you have any questions.
ENJOY the wonderful benefits of FRANKINCENSE and all the essential oils…..ESSENTIAL for your life!
If you are drawn to essential oils or want to start using them, you can connect with me on nikkijordan3344@gmail.com or go to the "book a session" tab on my website. There is an "essential oil" session on there. Let's get things moving in your life!
Additional reference material for the above article taken from: "Modern Essentials - A Contemporary Guide to the Therapeutic Use of Essential Oils", "Emotional Healing with Essential Oils" by Enlighten.
Additional reference material for the above article taken from: "Modern Essentials - A Contemporary Guide to the Therapeutic Use of Essential Oils", "Emotional Healing with Essential Oils" by Enlighten.
Frankincense photo - Copyright: <ahref='https://www.123rf.com/profile_madeleinesteinbach'>madeleinesteinbach / 123RF Stock Photo</a>