What Therapeutic Grade Means
When It Comes To Essential Oils
"Reprinted from The Raindrop Messenger, a free eline newsletter, with
permission from Dr. David Stewart. To subscribe or download back issues,
visit the archives at www.RaindropTraining.com."
Partial reprint from: Volume 9, Number 4 (July - August 2011)
Anyone Can Claim Their Oils to Be "Therapeutic Grade" . . .
But Only Young Living Can Claim "Young Living Therapeutic Grade!"
by David Stewart, PhD
The term, "Therapeutic Grade," applied to essential oils was originally
coined and defined by Gary Young and Young Living. Years ago some
aromatherapists and competing companies criticized Young Living for
using this term saying, "There is no such term." They were right in that
no government or regulatory agency had defined the term, but Gary and
Young Living did define it. You can use any word or term you like so
long as you define what you mean by it.
You will find "Therapeutic Grade" defined, not only in Young Living
literature, but also in CARE Publications such as "Statistical
Validation of Raindrop Technique," "Healing Oils of the Bible," and "The
Chemistry of Essential Oils Made Simple." Since Young Living adopted
the term and defined it, after first criticizing Young Living for using
it, many companies are now using it for their own oils without defining
what they mean by the word, thus implying that their oils are "just as
good as Young Living's oils." That is why Young Living has modified and
Trade Marked the statement that YL oils are "Young Living Therapeutic
Grade Oils?" No one but Young Living can use that phrase to describe
their essential oils.
Whereas meeting standards like those of the French AFNOR (Association
Francaise de Normalization) or the ISO (International Standards
Organization), ISO and AFNOR only consider whether an oil has sufficient
percents of the main compounds to legally claim it to be the species on
the label. For example, if an oil contains enough menthol, you can
legally sell it as "peppermint" when, in fact, there may be no actual
peppermint plant oil present whatsoever. Hence, an aromatic oil can be
80-100% synthetic and meet AFNOR/ISO standards. AFNOR/ISO only takes
into account the end product by testing for the percents of a few
compounds that account for flavor and/or aroma. These standards do not
take into account the manner by which the oil was obtained nor whether
any of the healing compounds are present. In fact, the compounds
responsible for healing can all be absent and an oil can still meet
AFNOR/ISO standards, which may be adequate for perfumes and flavors, but
totally ineffective for healing.
By contrast, Young Living's "Therapeutic Grade" standard takes into
account everything from planting the seed to marketing the oil. With
Young Living, "Therapeutic Grade" means there has been verification of
the correct species when the seed was planted, the purity and manner of
cultivation (no chemicals or nearby pollution, etc.), the proper time of
harvest to optimize the healing properties in the oil, the proper
manner of distillation to capture all of the therapeutic compounds, the
right chemical composition as determined by sophisticated laboratory
tests, and the purity of the packaging--i.e. nothing added, nothing
taken away, stored in light-protected containers (amber or blue bottles)
of glass, ceramic, Teflon, or stainless steel, and kept in a suitable
environment of appropriate temperatures. All of this is taken into
account with Young Living's definition of "Therapeutic Grade." No other
company maintains or can claim such a standard, even though they may use
the word.
When people come to you saying they have found "cheaper oils that are
just as good," ask if they know how the plants were grown, cultivated,
harvested, distilled, tested, and packaged and if a true "therapeutic"
standard was held and maintained throughout the process. You won't find
another company that maintains such meticulous standards from "seed to
seal" as does Young Living. Gary Young and Young Living stand alone in
the world of essential oils in measuring up to such standards. You can
visit the Young Living farms, distilleries, laboratories, and packaging
facilities to verify these standards for yourself. Anyone can. Is this
possible with any other company?
The following article can be found at https://www.youngliving.com/en_US/discover/seed-to-seal. There are so many competing essential oil companies these days, it is
important to know how Young Living oils are different than any other
brand and have superior attributes that no other brand can rightfully
claim. Most companies claim that their oils are "100% pure, Therapeutic
Grade, Organically grown, etc." But most of the time their claims and
labels are misleading and do not fulfil the standards they claim.
One thing we all know: Young Living oils work and do so reliably year
after year. So how do we convey to others, who have heard claims of
other companies, that our oils are the best and have no equal? The
following article may help. It breaks down the key qualities of Young
Living oils into four "Ps" which are easy to remember and present.
They are 1. Plants, 2. Preparation, 3. Purity, and 4. Potentcy. You
might also visit the archives of The Raindrop Messenger and read the
first two articles in the July-August 2008 issue, Vol 6 No 4.
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
Factors that Make YL Oils a Cut Above All Others
The process Young Living uses when planting, cultivating, harvesting,
and distilling a batch of oil is crucial to retaining its vital
compounds. Without the exact blend of naturally-occurring plant
chemicals, an essential oil can lose its beneficial properties and fail
to produce the desired effect.
Young Living Therapeutic Grade (YLTG) means that every essential oil
Young Living distills or sources has the optimal naturally-occurring
blend of constituents to maximize the desired effect. Young Living is
able to make this assertion because of our strict cultivation
process?illustrated by the Four Ps?that guarantees the optimal potency
of every Young Living essential oil.
1. PLANTS
An oil's potency can be affected not only by selecting the proper plant
to cultivate, but also by where the plant is grown, the quality of soil
in which the seed is planted, and even the time of day it's harvested.
Young Living has extensive experience selecting the correct species of
plant for desired oil potency, planting under optimal conditions, using
ideal soil and natural methods to encourage growth, and knowing the
precise time to harvest each crop. Only those plants that produce the
most active and widest array of therapeutic compounds are selected.
2. PREPARATION
Once the optimal soil, plant, cultivation, and harvesting conditions
have been adhered to, the plants must be distilled properly in order to
meet Young Living Therapeutic Grade standards. Young Living uses a
gentle, proprietary technique for steam-extracting the most potent
essential oils, which remains unmatched throughout the essential oils
industry.
To meet Young Living Therapeutic Grade distillation standards proper
temperature must be maintained throughout the distillation process, and
pressure, length of time, equipment, and batch size are strictly
monitored.
3. PURITY
Young Living Therapeutic Grade standards prohibit the acceptance of any
diluted, cut or adulterated oils. Every product Young Living
produces--essential oils, oil blends, nutritional supplements, or
personal care--meets strict purity standards.
Every batch of essential oils is subjected to rigorous, state-of-the-art
analysis at the Young Living chemistry lab. Using some of the most
advanced equipment in the world, our scientists subject every batch of
essential oils to Gas Chromatograph and Mass Spectrometer testing, and
heavy metals analysis. Oils that exhibit even the slightest hint of
possible adulteration or tampering are rejected.
4. POTENCY
The culmination of the preceding three stages, Potency means that the
naturally occurring compounds contained in each essential oil product
are of the highest and most consistent bioactive levels. Without strict
adherence to the Young Living Therapeutic Grade standard in the Plant,
Preparation, and Purity phases, the final product would not have the
necessary potency to create the desired effect.
Find Out More About Therapeutic-Grade Essential Oils
Essential Oils You Can Trust
Antibiotics and Essential Oils Compared
The Transience of Drugs and Permanence of Oils
Oils and Allopathy: Permanent Medicine vs. Temporary Measures
Disclaimer: The information provided here is for educational purposes only, and is not intended as diagnosis, treatment or prescription for any disease. The decision to use, or not to use, any of this information is the sole responsibility of the reader. Please consult with a licensed health care practitioner if you are dealing with a serious disease or illness.
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