Taken from a story here http://www.fgb.com.au/whats-new-archives/whats-new-eucalyptus-and-chocolate-cravings
Most of us have experienced the irresistible lure of the 3pm chocolate fix – but for some people, cravings lead to more than just a harmless, occasional indulgence.
Those who experience ‘pathological’ cravings find them constant and debilitating and may be at risk of serious health problems, according to new Australianresearch.
Psychology researcher Dr. Eva Kemps and colleague Dr. Marika Tiggeman examined the psychology of food cravings and found the use of counter-visualisation – in particular, imagining the scent of Eucalyptus Oil – was highly effective in curbing cravings.
Kemps, from Adelaide’s Flinders University, conducted a series of experiments in which chocolate cravings were induced in participants who were then asked to perform a series of tasks.
When they were asked to imagine the smell of eucalyptus oil, the chocolate cravings disappeared.
“When you are having a craving you are experiencing very vivid and clear mental imagery,” Kemp says.
“People’s mental capacity is limited in size, so if you are using it up to conjure up images of food, it can’t be used for something else.
“On the flip side when we got them to do another task, such as imagining the smell of eucalyptus they could not maintain the craving,” says Kemps.
“Engaging in a simple visual task seems to hold real promise as a method for curbing food cravings.”
The research is also relevant for people craving alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine and drugs, Kemp believes. “Smokers experience the smell of the cigarette,” she says.
She hoped further research would determine whether the technique could be used to modify eating and substance-abuse behaviour.
Steam Rooms Promote Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Wellness…Even Before You Add Eucalyptus
There may be some who will argue whether or not there are therapeutic benefits to steam rooms. There are even a few who might try to prove that there may be some dangers with steam rooms. After exhausting just about every well written (if not necessarily research based) article about steam baths available, and throwing in humidifiers to boot, here is the conclusion:
Steam Rooms May Provide benefits to circulation, detoxification, muscle relaxation, and respiration, or, maybe not. Here’s the dope.
Humans have believed for at least hundreds if not thousands of years that steam is good for the respiratory system, skin, and muscles. We lay people have observed that dry whether causes chapping of lips, skin, the inside of our noses and even our throats. We use steam baths, hot showers, facial saunas, and humidifiers (both room and whole-house) in our attempt to balance out nature’s dry climates or seasons.
While science seems to be having difficulty proving one way or the other whether steam might help with chapping, including the chapping of our throats that leads to sore throats and colds, lay observation seems to confirm for us enough relief or benefit to continue to use these methods. Open those pores – When we sweat, and sweating is the main activity in a steam room, our pores open wide and we sweat out water. This process is widely touted as a way to sweat out unwanted toxins and just plain dirt that we don’t want clogging up our pores. Science is mixed on this. But one might conclude that we would all stop doing it if there was no evidence of effectiveness. Soothe Aching Muscles – Heating our skin, increases blood circulation. The body’s response is to direct more blood to the skin’s surface and the muscles. With more blood flow, the build up of lactic acid from a muscle that has been worked will be expelled more quickly. The blood also bring oxygen and nutrients needed to help the muscle heal. Clean Out Your Nasal Passages – If you need scientific proof of this effect, you’ve never been in a steam room. Your nose will run, and your nasal passages will be clean afterwords. Does this help prevent colds, reduce cold symptoms, or speed recovery. Many websites point to a study at the University of Munich that makes multiple claims as to possible benefits related to respiratory issues. If you can find that original study, please send me an email or give me a link in the comments. I can find no evidence that the study exists.
One study that is showing up online is here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15106160 – General conclusion that steam helps common cold. “MAIN RESULTS: The results of a systematic review of six trials with 319 participants, support the use of warm vapour inhalations in the common cold in terms of relief of symptoms”
What do you think? I personally think that Steam Rooms are great. And if you want to be sure you are getting some of those therapeutic benefits, make sure your steam room has 100% pure, pharmaceutical grade eucalyptus oil in the steam. There are plenty of studies to show the benefit of the eucalyptus oil, and what a great way to administer this aromatic essential oil, than while relaxing in a steam room.
English: Eucalyptus polybractea, Blue-leaf Mallee, leaf and capsules, West Wyalong, New South Wales, Australia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
NYU Reports Multiple Scientific Studies Show Benefits of Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus Oil is getting more and more interest from the medical community. While eucalyptus and other essential oils, such as mentha arvensis (menthol), have long been used to help with symptoms of colds, now scientists are studying a particular blend of products called Monoterpenes. Monoterpenes combine cineol from eucalyptus, d-limonene from citrus fruit, and alpha-pinene from pine.
For example, a double-blind , placebo-controlled trial of 676 people with acute bronchitis found that 2 weeks treatment with essential oil monoterpenes was more effective than placebo and equally effective as antibiotic treatment for reducing symptoms and aiding recovery. 5
Also, a 3-month, double-blind , placebo-controlled trial of 246 people with chronic bronchitis found that regular use of essential oil monoterpenes helped prevent the typical worsening of chronic bronchitis that occurs during the winter. 4
Additionally, in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of about 300 people, use of essential oil monoterpenes improved symptoms of acute sinusitis . 2
One study weakly indicates that essential oil monoterpenes may be helpful for colds in children. 1
Essential oil monoterpenes are thought to work by thinning mucus.
1 Benefits were seen in such symptoms as nasal congestion, headache, and overall malaise. Because the participants in this study suffered, in particular, from sinus symptoms, this study has been used to indicate that cineol may be helpful for viral sinusitis . Few significant side effects were seen in this study, but the product used was of pharmaceutical grade,… (emphasis added)
Note here that the NYU article above specifically points to pharmaceutical grade eucalyptus oil. Now it is possible for owners of managers of commercial steam rooms to add pharmaceutical grade eucalyptus oil directly into the steam through the use of the Mystifier Automatic Injection System offered by Eurospa Aromatics. For as little as $750 and a few dollars per day, spa and gym owners can add the deliciously fragrant aroma of eucalyptus to their steam rooms, and simultaneously provide their guest with multiple, scientifically proven, health benefits. Just Click to Tweet NYU Reports several studies showing benefits of Eucalyptus Oil for Common Cold – Now EO available for home shower use
Call today for more information if you’d like to have the healing benefits for your guests in a commercial spa or gym, or if you’d like to try a bottle for home use. 1-800-395-6478
For Just $600 Up, You Can Get the Health Benefits of a Steam Room in Your Home
Here is an example of an inexpensive ready-to-go steam room
I love a steam bath. Others prefer Sauna. It isn’t that I don’t like a sauna, but I do prefer the cooler, wetter, effect of steam. Do you know how cheap and easy it is to add a steam room to your home? You can do it as a stand alone or part of a remodel. On another day, we’ll look at the sauna or even a combination.
I know a little bit about steam rooms, since I once had one built into my home. It was a combination double tub with concentrated jets, twin shower heads, and a dry or wet rock pile for sauna or steam. This was all enclosed in a tiled room about ten-by-ten. It was beautiful, fun, and great for skin, and the respiratory system . The cost of all that was a lot less than you might think.
I’m thinking about putting a steam room in my new home. The master bath has a full sized tub, glass sliding doors, and is quite separate from the rest of the room. I can easily add to the top of the glass slider enclosure and create a decent seal. Or I could take out the sliders and replace with a unit that would completely seal that side. The other three sides are all tile. For under $1000, I can buy a steam generator, and Voila, I have a steam room.
Alternatively, I could take out the tub (there are other tubs in the house), and buy an enclosed unit that is all prefab and ready to install. And those start at around $1400 or you can spend $5000 for a really elegant unit. For around $3000 you can buy a very nice one. Depending on the spot you want to place the unit, you may have some plumbing expense and then you have some minor construction costs Tweet this by clicking Adding a Steam Room with Eucalyptus Oil to Your Home Will Give you Enhanced Physical and Emotional Health
Eucalyptus in Steam Rooms Have Been Curing Folks for Centuries
If folk remedies didn’t work on some level, folks would stop using them and calling them remedies. In the case of essential oils like eucalyptus oil, the curative power has been known and in use for centuries. And no place was the eucalyptus plant more ubiquitous than in the steam rooms of Northern Europe.
Now a half century of scientific evidence is backing up what the “folks” have known intuitively and by their own observation: Eucalyptus oil is an extremely powerful essential oil that can provide wellness on many levels.
Mildew and mold and their associated smell are frowned upon as part of the spa experience. Steam born eucalyptus oil wipes out bacteria and microbes before they can get a foothold in your steam room.
It is widely reported that essential plant oils including and/or especially eucalyptus oils have outstanding anti bacterial, anti microbial, and anti fungal properties. According to a report from the Cornell University Department of Animal science: The essential oil from the fruit, buds, and branches contain from 15-57% 1,8-cineole. Activities attributed (ed) to this compound include: anesthetic, antibronchitic, anticatarrh, antilaryngitic, antipharyngitic, antiseptic, antitussive, cns-stimulant, choleretic, counterirritant, dentifrice, expectorant, fungicide, hepatotonic, herbicide, hypotensive, pesticide, and sedative.
Conclusions: The eucalyptus extracts and three compounds from E. maculata were found to be effective against micro-organisms that cause food poisoning, acne and athlete’s foot. Significance and Impact of the Study: This study shows potential uses of extracts from E. globulus, E. maculata and E. viminalis, and antimicrobial compounds isolated from E. maculata.
You want your steam rooms to be clean, free from microbes, infectious matter, or bacteria that might result in guest contracting athletes foot or other infections. Moreover, in any moist environment, the potential for unpleasant odors is a constant threat. While the delightful and uplifting scent of eucalyptus can mask odors quite well, the real benefit is that this essential oil actually kills such steam room enemies on contact.
If you would like to learn how easy and inexpensive it is to add eucalyptus to your stream rooms, go here.
Eric Snyder at Eurospa Aromatics explains that their 100% natural eucalyptus oils do not cause allergies or sensitivities. Its medicinal and therapeutic uses go back to ancient Egypt.
There may be some steam rooms that are not using the 100% oils available from Eurospa Aromatics. These products are cheaper to produce because the pure oil is diluted with other chemicals. These chemicals reduce the benefits and might, in some cases, cause irritation.
The cost of pure Eucalyptus Oil is under $3 per day. It is penny wise and pound foolish to use products that might save pennies per day, but which reduce the benefits intended by the product. Moreover, some of the chemicals used will definitely damage pumping equipment and reduce the lifespan of the pumps, resulting in higher costs of repair and replacement.
You might like to watch a video with more details about how the Mystifier Automatic Injection System works to keep your steam room smelling great, eliminate mold and mildew, and contribute to the wellness of your guests. See the post and video here. http://eurospaaromatics.blogspot.com/2011/07/pump-aromatic-eucalyptus-oil-directly.html
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Taken from a story here http://www.fgb.com.au/whats-new-archives/whats-new-eucalyptus-and-chocolate-cravingssomething else.
