Where to start? I have been doing a lot of computer work as of late, just because it seems the right thing to do.  In doing so, I have been made aware of some disturbing things.  Now granted I am biased in my opinion but it took me YEARS to get to this point. 

A reminder of who I am.  I advocate wellness, I have for years.  I have been eating clean for more years than I can remember and I have been using essential oils for over 30 years.  In recent years, I have partnered with my fiancé in a spice and oil shop, even more recently became a distributor for essential oils and since then received my certification in Aromatherapy.

So over the years I have done my research and still do today.  In my findings today I came across an ad regarding dōTERRA and the FDA.  This is not news to me as many holistic type companies, especially essential oil companies, have been the target of the wrath of the FDA.  All have been asked to comply, some are, some not so much.  I found today that there is a lack of integrity from a company called Young Living.  Now this company was one I looked into but did not follow through with, now I know why, they have taken out an ad on Google, yes and ad, attempting to defame one of their competitors, dōTERRA International, with respect to the notices that were sent in September 2014.  The ad shows the letter that was sent to dōTERRA by the FDA, what the ad didn’t mention was that Young Living received the same letter!!

Now these two have had their share of differences, they both had law suits brought against each other – the result – no one won, there was not enough for damages on either side and they were told to play nice.  In my opinion this ad is not playing nice.

I had found more research that Gary Young had retired from control at Young Living and that his wife Mary has taken place.  The release stated that he wanted to pursue other ventures, wouldn’t you take your wife with you?  A little more digging found that he had been asked to step down apparently due to the lack of participation with respect to the FDA.  They say you can only trust 50% of what you read, well with actions such as the ad Young Living took out against dōTERRA I’m finding it difficult to find their name on Santa’s nice list.

So why all the animosity, Young Living is a 25+ year old company and had been only one of a handful of oil companies.  dōTERRA was found in April 2008, that same year they hit $1 million in sales, so not surprising that $1 Billion has already been hit.  The minds behind this creation had been past employees of Young Living but not all and are well respected in their fields.  And that might not have been so bad if dōTERRA had not taken the bull by the horns, if you will.  dōTERRA has made some pretty remarkable mild stones:  they are THE largest essential oil company in the world, they have recently hit 3 million in membership, their rate retention is over 65%, in 2015 they reached $1 billion in sales, they have achieved the 2013 Utah Valley Business of the Year, Mayor’s Award, and Business of the year.

“dōTERRA is a world leader in the sourcing, testing, manufacturing, and distributing…” of essential oils.  Currently over 75% of their single oils are proprietary.  They offer several lines of oil infused products.  They have a beautiful, state of the art facility in Pleasant Grove, UT that offers a spa, and dōTERRA is completely free of debt and ahead of their growth projections in size and production.

So now to the financials, I could not find 2015 financial for Young Living on the internet but dōTERRA’s were very impressive, so in all fairness I will not share the numbers I found, but I do know that dōTERRA’s compensation plan ranks on top for MLM’s, the numbers don’t lie. 

So in closing what did I find, the integrity of Young Living is suspect at best and dōTERRA is one to use as a standard.  For me the choice became very clear.  Whether you purchase at wholesale as a customer or a business builder dōTERRA holds all the cards.

Why I do what I do

Some of you know this story but for those that are unaware here is my story; not too long ago I was going thru life a bit stressed but muddling thru, Then in October of 2008 I started a series of emergency and non-emergency operations, 3 in 11 months.  Now today I have had 4 surgeries and 11 hospitals visits. Coming out of this was hard, memory issues, health problems, I finally put my foot down and said enough is enough!! How do I clean up?

My girlfriend invited me to check out this essential oil thing.  Well I knew that oils are good for you and I have used them for years.  There had to be an answer for me within the oils I just had to find it!  And find it I did.  It didn't take long for those around me to see the difference.  Before I “started cleaning house” I could not enjoy eating out because everything effected my tummy and I mean everything.  So to keep this story short, I have not seen the doctor, sans annual checkups, in two plus years, I look and feel younger and I can enjoy spicy food once again.

Essential oils have been around since before 2700 bc, when the Chinese used herbs and aromatic plants.  The Christ child received frankincense and myrrh at his birth and there are over 180 references to essential oils in the bible.

What are essential oils?  They are a volatile liquid extracted from plant parts. Essential oil is a contraction of the original “quintessential oil.” an Aristotelian idea that matter is composed of four elements, fire, air, earth, and water. The fifth element, or quintessence, was then considered to be spirit or life force. Distillation and evaporation were originally thought to be processes of removing the spirit from the plant; (this is also reflected in our language as the term “spirits” has been used, and still is today, to describe distilled alcoholic beverages i.e. brandy, whiskey).  Of course, we know that, far from being spirit, essential oils are physical in nature and composed of complex mixtures of chemicals.

According to Dr. Brian Lawrence “for an essential oil to be a true essential oil, it must be isolated by physical means only. The physical methods used are distillation (steam, steam/water and water) or expression (also known as cold pressing, a unique feature for citrus peel oils). There is one other method of oil isolation specific to a very limited number of essential oil plants. This is a maceration/distillation. In the process, the plant material is macerated in warm water to release the enzyme-bound essential oil. Examples of oils produced by maceration are onion, garlic, wintergreen....”

Although some are suspicious or dismissive towards the use of essential oils in healthcare or pharmacology,  essential oils retain considerable popular use and are growing in popularity.

Studies have shown that certain essential oils may have the ability to prevent the transmission of some drug-resistant strains of pathogen, specifically Staphylococcus, Streptococcus and Candids and are now being researched in so many more arenas for their support.  But to take this one step further, both over the counter and prescription medications have been derived from plant beginnings.  For example, the common aspirin (also known as acetylsalicylic acid or ASA) product and the medical use of it and related substances stretches back to antiquity, though pure ASA has only been manufactured and marketed since 1899. Medicines made from willow and other salicylate-rich plants appear in Egyptian pharonic pharmacology papyri from the second millennium BCE. Hippocrates the father of modern medicine referred to their use of salicylic tea to reduce fevers around 400 BCE, and were part of the pharmacopoeia (an official publication, of medicinal drugs with their effects and directions for use.) of Western medicine in classical antiquity and the Middle Ages.  The native Americans used the willow tree for medicinal purposes for many years.

So you see the oils are not something new and are the basis for many chemically reproduced medications used today.  

So why else do I do this, to be able to show other hoe they too can support their body for a healthier and happier body.

So for those of you that are concerned about “going green”, make your body green to because removing only the chemicals we breathe is only the beginning.

Now that you have an understanding of why I do what I do, stay tuned, you never know what might come.