The Healing Intelligence of Essential Oils

The author Kurt Schnaubelt presents an entirely new take on the theory of aromatherapy, exploring recent findings at the interface of evolutionary biology, cellular biology, and pharmacology, and shedding light on the role of secondary metabolites in human health. He points out that thanks to recent breakthroughs in our biological understanding of essential oils, we now know that the effectiveness of essential oil treatments stems from our common biochemical and cellular heritage with plants. Because the multilayered activity of plant essences helps maintain the integrity of our genetic code, essential oils are an effective and sustainable form of treatment for a variety of health problems.
Included are practical guidelines for determining the authenticity of an essential oil and techniques for safe use. As well, those essential oils most helpful for specific conditions and their methods of application are set forth. In addition to the main text there are numerous side panels and boxes that relate short topics of interest.
These are distinguished according to 6 categories: plants in arts and culture, scientific context, contributors to aromatherapy, background information, understanding aromatherapy, and recipes.