We might first imagine a steaming cup of vanilla latte when we think of vanilla, however, this plant provides us with an essential oil that has a wide range of health benefits. In this article, we are going to be exploring some of these uses and benefits, showing you just how vanilla essential oil may have a positive impact on your health.
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What Is Vanilla Essential Oil?
Found widely through the island of Madagascar, vanilla is often used as an ingredient in fragrances and perfumes, this is because it has highly relaxing properties as well as a sweet scent.
Most essential oils are extracted in the same way, however, vanilla is extracted using a different method. Not only this but growing an cultivating the plant is notoriously difficult. For these reasons, vanilla is the second most expensive spice plant in the world, with saffron being the most costly.
Uses And Benefits Of Vanilla Essential Oil
Despite being widely used in the perfume industry, vanilla has a wealth of other uses, many of which can be extremely advantageous to your physical and mental health. Let’s uncover some of these uses now.
Invoke Relaxation
In our highly stressful day to day lives, it is often easy to become overwhelmed but vanilla essential oil can promote deep relaxation. Similar to why it is often used in fragrance, vanilla is widely used in products for a relaxing environment. This particular essential oil is responsible for bringing in an intense feeling of calm.
On top of this, the essential oil can be used for those suffering from anxiety and other conditions which may bring on anxious feelings – namely claustrophobia. This is evident in its use in certain MRI scans where aromatherapy is used to calm the patient.
Better Respiratory Health
Vanilla has been seen to aid in maintaining the good health of the respiratory system. When used on bedding or even simply within the bedroom, it has been noted that vanilla has the capability to affect the area of the brain associated with clearer, less obstructive breathing. For this reason, it is often used in products designed for use to aid sleep.
Encourage Better Sleep
A study, conducted in France demonstrated how vanilla essential oil was responsible for partially relieving symptoms of sleep apnea in babies who were born prematurely. This ties in with its ability to provide better respiratory health but also shows us that it can aid in a more restful night’s sleep.
It has also been shown that vanilla oil has the power to encourage those suffering from insomnia due to its highly relaxing properties. The way that vanilla oil works is down to its capability to relieve tension, providing a release from stress and therefore stimulating a more peaceful sleep.
Not only will vanilla allow you to fall asleep much more easily but it will also aid those who struggle to stay asleep.
Aids With Nausea
For many people nausea is a part of daily life, for others it comes only with illness, but no matter what the intensity, vanilla has been seen to easily relieve feelings of nausea. This can be achieved through inhaling the oil.
Improve Your Sex Drive
Men who have struggled with erectile dysfunction have found that vanilla essential oil can provide relief from this frustrating condition. This works when the vanilla encourages an increase in the production of testosterone, and not only improves problems with erectile dysfunction but can also bring back a diminished sex drive.
Most interestingly, when we look at the makeup of vanilla, we see that it is very similar to the makeup of pheromones found in humans, you might imagine it almost mimicking these naturally occurring chemicals.
Help Prevent Disease
One of the most important things in staying healthy is the prevention of illness and disease so it is encouraging to learn that vanilla has been scientifically shown to reduce certain bacteria including listeria and E Coli, which can cause serious infections in humans.
Not only this but it has also been noted that vanilla has the capability to stop the spread of disease and so may be useful in avoiding contamination.
Improve The Health Of Hair And Skin
Many people may spend a small fortune of skin and hair care products and yet see little or no result. However, vanilla is believed to play a very important role in keeping your skin and hair in a healthy condition.
You can thank the high levels of vitamin B which can be found in vanilla essential oil for this property and regular use may even help you to avoid hair loss.
What’s more, there are high levels of various chemicals in vanilla oil such as niacin and thiamin, both of which play a part in tackling skin conditions from a mild breakout all the way through to chronic acne.
Improved Women’s Health
For women suffering from intense PMS, vanilla may be the ideal companion. It is thought that this essential oil has the ability to reduce the intensity and pain of menstrual cramping as well as tackling any bloating associated with that time of the month.
Vanilla can encourage an increase in the amount of oestrogen which is produced and this can aid with relieving PMS symptoms. Many women also find that tiredness can be a problem around the time of their period but vanilla can also assist in this.
Safe Use Of Vanilla Essential Oil
As with all essential oils, it is important not to ingest vanilla oil or to use it on the skin without a carrier oil. There are also certain safety precautions that should be observed when taking advantage of this particular essential oil This will ensure that you have the most positive experience possible.
- Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should consult a medical professional before undertaking the use of vanilla essential oil.
- In some rare cases, skin irritation may be caused by the use of vanilla oil. For this reason, a patch test is advised before use.
- Vanilla oils can be synthetically reproduced and this is often the case due to the high price of true vanilla. However, it is important to make use of a high-grade product to avoid any unwanted side effects.
Summary
Vanilla oil is a beautifully scented essential oil which amongst other things can promote deep levels of relaxation, making it the ideal natural treatment for those suffering from sleep-related conditions.
However, vanilla has many other uses and benefits when it comes to health, for example it’s ability to help regulate and control symptoms associated with the menstrual cycle as well as being excellent at keeping skin and hair healthy.
In order to gain the best experience possible when using vanilla essential oil, it is imperative to follow the safety tips we have provided.