By: Hettie Basil Lighttower
Every now and then when I order essential oils, I like to try different ones. Recently, I was drawn to one called “spruce”. I was thinking that it would be nice to have the scent of spruce on a sachet or to use in a diffuser to remind me of Christmas and my childhood when everyone had a real Christmas tree. The scent of pine is very comforting.
I was not disappointed when the essential oils arrived and I opened up and took a long inhale over the open bottle of spruce. Ahhhhhh. It was almost magical. What a great scent. Not quite pine, but very similar with mild undertones of pine. I have enjoyed its aromatic value and comfort. But this week I began to wonder about the spruce. I questioned if it was good for anything other than making me feel good nostalgically.
Sure enough, I found great answers about the essential oil of spruce! As a matter of fact it has quite a history with the native American Indians. Here is what I have learned and this first use is not a surprise. It helps with depression! The scent of it lifts the mood and boosts moral.
The second most important thing I learned is that it helps to balance hormones!! Especially if a man is having lower testosterone levels it is especially good for increasing those levels. One article said that you could ingest food grade spruce essential oil up to eight drops a day to make a big difference of 30% or more increase. That is significant. Also, you can use it topically for support of hypothyroid conditions. Wow! Who knew? You can steep the needles in hot water to make a soothing tea. And you can also do that with other pine needles as well. White pine in particular is good.
Have you ever heard of the ingredient pine tar in dandruff shampoos? Well guess where it comes from? You guessed it! Spruce contains special properties that helps clear up dandruff, psoriasis, and eczema. So, instead of buying chemical laden products, how about if you just add a few drops of essential oil of spruce into your shampoo?? Or into your lotion? I bet you could even add it to coconut oil and rub it into your skin for a quick relief of a flare up of psoriasis or eczema. I can’t wait to try it out in all these ways.
Besides all this, if you are having trouble breathing, it can calm and open air passages. It can calm a cough. So, a little in a diffuser or on a hot wash cloth over your nose and mouth to breath in sounds fabulous. Oh, and eucalyptus is good for this too. And so is camphor oil. Remember Campho-phenique? It is made with camphor. Those three combined would be great for sinus and cold issues. All natural.
In addition, back to topical use…. It has been known to help muscle pain to go away. Those achy joints don’t have a chance against spruce and turmeric essential oils! Yes. turmeric essential oil is a thing. Guess who has that one as well. And yes, I have made myself a salve with the turmeric and spruce. It is very soothing and relieves tension pain nearly immediately. Prevention of tetanic muscle contractions is also a benefit of this spruce oil. That is when a muscle contraction is sustained and very painful. Low blood calcium levels is usually the culprit for tetanic contractions.
Another benefit is a good night’s sleep. And if you put this spruce on a wound it helps to heal the wound. It is effective because it prevents infection but promotes restoration of damaged tissue. Which also is a great attribute as to why it is good for soothing inflammation of the stomach and digestive tract. It is especially conducive to healing tissue affected by Crohn’s disease.
But wait there’s more!!! I feel like I hit the jackpot with this little oil. And to think I just wanted it for its scent! Silly me. It is anti fungal! So, it can be used as a spray in your basement. It can clear up athlete’s foot or other pesky personal fungus issues!!
Then of course it is good for you brain too! And Your immune system. It should be ingested for both of these benefits to take full affect. Make sure you acquire the food grade oil. It has been recorded to help in memory and cognitive function. It is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral.. Could you ask for anything more from a little ol’ pine tree??
As always feel free to send in your notions and comments to [email protected]. I will include them in the next available column as per their arrival relative to the publication deadline of Tuesday by 12 p.m. of the same week. If you wish to be anonymous let me know. Kindness is contagious~*