Welcome to my essential oils blog! The purpose of this blog is to document my family's experience with dōTERRA oils and to share them with others. We've been using these oils for over two years now and I am convinced they are superior to any other EOs I have used before. Over the past 10+ years, we've been intentional towards living a more holistic and wholistic lifestyle, through both diet and medicinal approaches. Relying less on Western thought and practice toward medicine and overall well-being.

Essential oils have been used for thousands of years by the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Indian Ayurvedic, Persians and widely throughout Europe. Historical uses include treatment of illness and injury, food preparation, beauty and hygeine practicies, religious ceremonies and aromatherapy. So, they can be used topically, internally and aromatically; often times most effective when all three methods are used simultaneously.

dōTERRA essential oils are beautifully pure and their potency and effectiveness is unmatched. They are certified pure therapeutic grade (CPTG) and are the only oils on the market that can be safely taken internally. I have seen remarkable results therapeutically, as well as medicinally and continue to learn more ways to integrate these oils into our lives. I hope this blog is helpful to you and provides inspiration to explore natural medicines and to live better.

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Studies/Testing/Review

For those of you who need more than  anecdotal tidbits...








On Guard research:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2994788/pdf/1472-6882-10-69.pdf




"The Effect of Essential Oils on Work-related Stress in Intensive Care Nurses” by E. Pemberton and P.G. Turpin in Holistic Nurse Practioner. 2008 Mar-Apr; 22(2): 97-102.



“Essential Oils for Management of Symptoms in Critically Ill Patients” by M.A. Halm in the American Journal of Critical Care, 2008 Mar; 17(2): 160-3.





What makes dōTERRA different... 

dōTERRA® essential oils are first and foremost, Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade®. There are plenty of different oils available that advertise therapeutic grade, but they are not certified pure therapeutic grade. dōTERRA has trademarked and patented this process and it involves 3rd party testing (for each and every batch), by independent labs, to ensure the oils are at peak potency and do not contain contaminants or fillers. In this way, dōTERRA certifies their oils internally and they do not claim any certification by the FDA. Because of their purity, dōTERRA essential oils are the only oils on the market that are safe to ingest and use dietarily.




Organoleptic testing by a seasoned professional and the Gas Chromatography (GC) and Mass Spectrometry (MS) tests provide a means of knowing if an essential oil is pure of all contaminants and adulterants and meets the accepted standard for that oil to be considered therapeutic. Every essential oil has a unique content and range of chemical constituents which gives it active properties. If it falls within the standard for that particular oil then one can assume it will not only be effective but that it will act on the body in a predictable manner, with no surprises. Because, separate batches of the same oil from the same source can be different depending on numerous factors: harvesting time, when distilled, distillation temperature, storage to name a few–each batch can vary in quality. Just because you get a good batch of oil from a supplier doesn’t mean that the next one will be as good. Most companies do not do this testing because of cost but there has been an increase in companies stating that they test their oils, but do not say what standard they use, how they test, and what that really means.



dōTERRA CPTG Testing Methods


 
 

dōTERRA’s CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade® quality protocol employs five different analytical methods to ensure dōTERRA’s essential oils are both pure (extracts contain only the volatile aromatic compounds of a plant), and potent (extracts have consistent chemical composition from batch to batch). The CPTG quality protocol requires the use of independent laboratories for standardization and testing.


 
 

Test 1: Gas Chromatograpy


After the aromatic compounds (also called essential oils) are carefully distilled from plant material, samples are tested for chemical composition using gas chromatography. In gas chromatography, volatile essential oil compounds are vaporized and passed through a long column called a gas chromatograph. Each individual compound travels or “elutes” through the column at a different rate and is measured as it exits the column during the testing period. Using gas chromatography, quality control engineers can determine which compounds are present in a test sample and, as importantly, at what levels.



 

Test 2: Mass Spectrometry



In addition to gas chromatography, essential oil samples also are tested for composition using mass spectrometry. In mass spectrometry, samples are vaporized and then ionized and each individual compound in a sample is measured by weight. Mass spectrometry provides additional insight to the purity of an essential oil by revealing the presence of non-aromatic compounds, such as heavy metals or other pollutants, which are too heavy to elute along a gas chromatograph. The combination of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry is sometimes referred to as a GC/MS test.



 
Test 3: FTIR Scan (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy)


After an essential oil passes the gas chromatography and mass spectrometry tests, it is transported to a manufacturing facility for filling. Before being released into the facility, the essential oil “batch” is held in quarantine while additional quality tests are performed. Those tests include an FTIR Scan which, similar to GC/MS testing, is also a analysis of material composition. In an FTIR Scan, a light is shown at the material sample and the amount of light absorbed by the chemical constituents of the sample is measured. Results are then compared against a historical database to ensure adherence to composition standards.



 

 Test 4: Microbial Testing



Before a batch of essential oils can be released from quarantine to manufacturing, it must be tested for the presence of bio-hazards such as bacteria, fungus, and mold. In microbial testing, samples are drawn from each batch of essential oils and applied to growing mediums in dishes or “plates.” After an incubation period, each plate is analyzed for growth of microbes. This test is performed on all incoming material to the manufacturing facility, and also performed on finished product to ensure no harmful organisms have been introduced to the product during the filling and labeling process, and to ensure shelf-life stability.



                                                        

Test 5: Organoleptic Testing


Organoleptic testing brings a human touch to each step of the CPTG quality control process. Organoleptics include those attributes of an essential oil that can be tested with taste, sight, touch, and smell. From growers and harvesters to essential oil chemists; from manufacturing engineers to essential oil practitioners; dōTERRA’s global network of essential oil providers carefully monitors the quality of each CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade essential oil. The extraction of essential oils is very much an art form that can be enhanced by, but not replaced with, mechanical analytics. The wisdom and experience of dōTERRA’s essential oil experts are an indispensable part of the CPTG quality control standard. (Clark, 2012)



* CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade is a registered trademark of dōTERRA Holdings, LLC representing internal standards of quality assessment and material control. The CPTG testing protocols require the use of independent laboratories for CPTG standardization and quality testing. The CPTG protocol is not administered by government or industry regulatory agencies and does not imply regulatory approval of dōTERRA products.
(www.doterraeveryday.com)


Below are the grades of oils (as understood within the EO industry), in order of purity:


 
 

"Grade A essential oils are pure therapeutic quality (highest grade) and are usually made from naturally (often organically) grown plants distilled at the proper temperatures using steam distillation. This is the category that all of dōTerra's essential oils and essential oil-enhanced products start from. Beyond this they are tested and certified as described above.
Grade B essential oils are food grade; they may contain synthetics, pesticides, fertilizers, chemical/synthetic extenders, or carrier oils.
Grade C oils are perfume grade and may contain the same type of adulterating chemicals as food grade oils. They also usually contain solvents which are used to gain a higher yield of oil.
Floral Water is a byproduct of the distillation process and can be very high quality if it comes from a Grade A distillation process. Accordingly, it is of very low quality if it comes from poor quality raw materials and/or poor distillation processes.


Certified Pure Therapeutic GradeTM is the label you will see on dōTerra Essential Oils. Of  
lesser-guaranteed purity will be those with labels such as “Pure Essential Oil or “Pure Therapeutic Grade”."



Honestly, if you have any prior knowledge or experience with essential oils, you will notice a difference when you open a bottle of dōTERRA. You can smell, taste and feel the superior quality and potency.


 


 

Comments from Mark Wolfert, General Counsel for dōTERRA, concerning the CPTG label, trademark and industry regulations, as a whole:


"dōTERRA does not claim that the FDA, AFNOR or ISO has certified, registered or somehow approved its essential oils. Although AFNOR and the ISO have monograph standards for certain plant extracts in different industries, it is my understanding that they do not have standards for grades of essential oils. In fact, there are no current regulatory standards for the use of the descriptor “therapeutic grade” in the industry. Any one term to describe their essential oils regardless of their purity or potency.

CPTG®” and “CPTG – Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade®” are terms that has dōTERRA trademarked. As such, the words shown together are registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), meaning the words in that phrase are registered, not the oils. Another example is Visa Card’s registered trademark: “Bring Home the Gold.” No one should mistake dōTERRA’s registered intellectual property right as somehow a registration of the essential oils.

As set forth in instructional materials for dōTERRA ’s distributor’s:
“dōTERRA’s CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade® quality standard is more rigorous, yet very different in nature and function than the ISO monographs for aromatic extracts. This statement, however, should not be interpreted that AFNOR or the ISO has a standard for “therapeutic grade” essential oils or that any essential oil product has AFNOR or ISO certification or approval. They do not certify brands nor do they grade essential oils as therapeutic, grade-A, premium, etc. The ISO monographs for essential oils are not comparable nor serve the same quality control function as the dōTERRA CPTG standard.”

….continuing with dōTERRA’s official statement:
“Please do not promulgate any claims involving AFNOR and ISO standards for essential oil quality grades–there are none. And please take the opportunity to educate your friends and customers about AFNOR and ISO when you are asked the question if dōTERRA oils meet their standards for quality grades.”

….continuing:
“The absence of regulatory standards regarding the use of the terms ‘essential oil’ and ‘therapeutic grade’ are the very reason for developing a higher standard of quality control we have branded CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade®. Although there are good essential oils available to consumers, many products claiming to be essential oils often are not pure aromatic extracts and often contain fillers and non-aromatic compounds. The dōTERRA name and CPTG registered trademark represent our guarantee of 100% pure essential oil extracts and accurate product labeling.”

….the end of the statement says:
“Part of our mission at dōTERRA is to be a leader and educator in the essential oil industry. We look forward to working with other responsible industry leaders and standard setting bodies to establish high standards for products labeled as pure essential oils. In the mean time, the dōTERRA name and CPTG registered trademark will continue to reflect our unyielding effort to provide you with the safest, purest, and most potent essential oil products available to consumers today.”

In summary, dōTERRA has not and does not claim any certification, registration or approval of its essential oils by the FDA, AFNOR, ISO, or any other regulatory body. We do believe that the CTPG standard supports dōTERRA’s effort to bring to market only the most pure essential oils."




  
 

dōTERRA's Mission

* Discovering and developing the world's highest-quality therapeutic-grade essential oil products through a leveraged network of highly-educated and experienced botanists, chemists, health scientists, and health care professionals.

*Producing our essential oil products to the highest standard of quality, purity, and safety used in the industry-CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade®.

*Distributing our products through Independent Product Consultants who, working from home, introduce, educate, and sell dōTERRA wellness products locally through person-to-person contact and globally through personalized web shopping sites.

*Providing educational opportunities for all people interested in learning how therapeutic-grade essential oils can be used as a self-care wellness alternative.

*Bringing together health care professionals of traditional and alternative medicine to encourage further study and application of therapeutic-grade essential oils in modern health care practices.






 





 






















 
 

www.doterratools.com
www.doterraeveryday.com
www.everythingessential.me