We are often asked whether or not it is safe to ingest our essential oils.
PureNature does not promote the ingestion of essential oils for therapeutic purposes. Essential oils are highly concentrated, chemically complex products. Whilst they may contain many beneficial compounds, they can also contain potentially harmful compounds.
But if your oils are pure, natural or even organic why can't they be taken internally?
Not all products that are natural or organic are necessarily safe to ingest for example arsenic, belladonna and cyanide are all natural. They’re also deadly.
The natural constituents present in some plants can be toxic if ingested, or at least cause extremely undesirable reactions.
The purity or grade of an essential oil has no bearing on whether or not it can be ingested for therapeutic reasons. Conversely, because PureNature essential oils should not be taken internally does not mean our oils are somehow of a lesser quality - our stance is that no essential oil from any company should be ingested for therapeutic purposes.
What about Food Grade Essential Oils?
Food grade oils have been processed by ABP under HACCP and come with appropriate paperwork that food manufacturers generally require.
However, food grade oils are still essential oils and should not be taken internally for therapeutic reasons.
What about cooking with essential oils?
Essential oils are very commonly used in the food industry for flavouring and you can use essential oils in your home baking and cooking as well. There is a big difference between adding a couple of drops to your cupcake icing and putting a drop of oil under your tongue or adding it to a glass of water.
When used in cooking, the oil will be very diluted and the actual amount ingested per serving will pose no risk or irritation or toxicity.
Our final bit of advice is to be wary of misinformation, there is a lot of it out there!
Copyright, PureNature. This information is intended for personal use of PureNature customers and may not be reproduced, shared or used for commercial purposes without written consent.
