The reader is not a textbook requiring arduous study. It is a review of old aromatherapy topics from a 21st century perspective and a casual introduction of many new and exciting topics.
Below you will find descriptions of what the chapters of Book 1 The Reader contains
Chapter 1) Modern Aromatherapy A critical review of aromatherapy in the last 30 years, retiring hyped controversies about safety, undiluted oils, ingesting and other unfounded scares. What is an Essential Oil The Safety Issue Why authentic essential oils are safer Chapter 2) Authenticity and Efficacy Authentic vs. adulterated essential oils. Truly authentic essential oils have layers of activity not found in industrial/brokered essential oils. Chapter 3) How to Apply Essential Oils Discussing the value and efficacy of topical, internal and inhalation application. Chapter 4) From Many Origins A key strength of aromatherapy is the diversity of its influences: Germ Theory French Aromatherapy and the Structure Effect Model. Introducing Chinese Medical Aromatherapy. Findings of cellular and evolutionary biology: Essential oils and - liver detoxification enzymes, - inhibition of cholesterol synthesis - cell membrane and surface - receptor proteins - inflammation mediators California Style Aromatherapy Chapter 5) Treatment Strategies Reflecting the diversity of influences essential oils can be used according to multiple paradigms Immuno support (modern aromatherapy) Viral conditions (research turned aromatherapy) Brochitis (French style aromatherapy), Candida and cystitis (western aromatherapy), Eczema and Psoriasis (comparing western and eastern approaches) Skin regeneration (French/California), Allergy relief (French/TCM) Chapter 6) Aromatherapy and Cancer Debilitating side effects of chemotherapy and other cancer treatments can be eased with essential oils, improving patient survival rates in the process. Original research on cancer and terpenes. TCM, essential oils and cancer Anne-Marie Giraud-Robert: Aromatherapy parallel to cancer treatments. Essential oils to reduce chemotherapy induced Nausea and Vomiting (CINV) Chapter 7) Autoimmune Conditions A Chinese medical perspective. Jeffrey Yuen offers a unified concept to understand, ease or resolve auto immune disease. Chapter 8) Why Essential Oils Work Reviewing classic research by - Paul Belaiche (antibacterial effects) - Hildebert Wagner (sedative and spasmolytic effects) - Rolf Deininger (antiviral effects) Significant new research on essential oils for - osteoporosis - progesterone and estrogen imbalance - induction and inhibition of Phase I and Phase II Liver detoxification enzymes.		Chapter 9) Looking to Nature Exploring essential oil properties beyond pharmacology's active ingredient paradigm by integrating the concepts of organicism and evolution. As plants need to defend against many different attackers, they developed Secondary Metabolites (SM) which modify molecular targets within the attacker. To be effective against diverse challengers required broad activity. This was best achieved by components which non-selectively modified multiple molecular targets simultaneously. The diverse medicinal effects found in a single essential oil arise from this interaction not with one but multiple targets (for instance membrane, receptors and liver enzymes). The very non-selective qualities of essential oils that have pharmacologists shake their heads in disbelief, are finally recognized as the decisive, evolution engineered advantages of natural multi-component mixtures over single target mono drugs. Beyond active ingredients A quantum leap: organicism Secondary Metabolites and defensive strategies Molecular targets of secondary metabolites: - Receptor- and enzyme proteins - DNA - Cell membrane Evolutionary advantage of multi component multi target essential oils over single target drugs. Essential oils are effective against bacteria, yeast and viruses at the same time. Areas of therapeutic SM efficacy - antimicrobial - cancer - Inflammation: Reactive Oxygen Species - Inflammation: Signal Transduction - Inflammation Cascade: Cyclo oxygenase, Cytokines, NF-kappa - Gene expression Chapter 10) From Evolutionary Biology to Aromatherapy Essential oil activity arises from their evolved ability to attack molecular targets in attacking organisms and how we can utilize these processes to defend against these same organisms. But humans also had an evolutionary response to eliminate essential oil SM: Liver detoxification enzymes. Essential oils triggering Liver Detoxification Enzymes adds another set of medicinal benefits. Clinical benefits from liver detoxification enzyme induction Removing carcinogens Inhibiting tumor growth Benefits we do not even know Essential oil life style promoting the full potential of health Appendix Pharmacology cannot show essential oil efficacy Metaphysics of information Limiting aromatherapy with science Science claims the act of creation The role of sensory impact
About the Reader Sample Pages
The Reader is structured text book style, with a main running narrative interspersed with anecdotes, excerpts from relevant scientific publications and short paragraphs giving hommage to the great innovators in aromatherapy. One string of side panels summarizes the most crucial steps in plant evolution to provide a factual and intuitive reference to the enormity of the concept of evolution, which is so necessary to expand our understanding of the activity of secondary metabolites. Another set of side panels spells out aromatherapy phenomena related to the theoretical issues discussed in the main text. Short paragraphs titled Plants in Arts and Culture are inserted occasionally to reiterate that we relate to plants at levels of organization infinitely more complex than that of molecular composition. The reader comes equipped with a thorough index and, most importantly, a glossary of all the relevant terms of cellular, evolutionary and molecular biology.