A little drop of lemon

It came as no surprise to me that Doterra source their lemon oil from Sicily. The company believes in getting their product from sustainable sources, and they don't take the product back to America for production either, they work with people in countries where the product is abundant, for reasons I don't need to explain. Not only that, but Doterra spend time and money, with people and resources, in the countries where they source their product. In a nutshell, they "Give Back". One more thing I love about this company. So, to find their lemon oil is made is Italy seemed just obvious.

Every 15ml bottle of Doterra oil contains approximately 250 drops of oil. It takes around 45 lemons to make one bottle of lemon oil. That's a lot of lemons in one tiny bottle!

Lemon oil is Doterra's top selling oil.

This also came as no surprise to me. It's so versatile.

One drop of this oil in a glass of water is enough to calm the stomach. I've always thought that lemons were highly acidic, but in fact they're not only a high alkaline food, but they are an acid neutralizer. This makes them good for the stomach, and your skin.

I've suffered from dermatitis my whole life. When I first moved to Christchurch at the age of 18, I used to break out all over in itchy, red, scaly patches that would weep at night, my skin cracking painfully. I had it on my arms, behind my ears, even in the corners of my eyes. I was using steroid creams to try and heal it, but my doctor at the time said it was stress-induced, and that no amount of cream would actually fix it. Then I met someone who told me that diet could help, and I went on a low-acid diet, cutting out anything that was high in acid. I drank Pineapple juice, cut out things like Tomato Sauce, beer and wine, etc, and eventually my skin began to clear. I've never had the problem quite so bad again, but occasionally I do break out, particularly during the changing of the seasons: spring and autumn.

This year I had a particularly bad breakout and nothing seemed to help, even when I cut out the things I had in the past that helped. Then I learned something slightly different from what I had been told. It's not actually low-acid that helps, it's high-alkaline.

Out came the Lemon oil. I'd already found this helpful for my stomach and treating IBS. Now it was also proving to be good for my skin. Probably for the same reason. Skin conditions, it seems, can be linked directly to your gut health. Everything you consume, in some form or another, comes out through your skin. If you look after your stomach, you also look after your skin.

Ways I use Lemon Oil:

• 1 drop in a glass of water throughout the day and after meals is refreshing, aids digestion, and keeps your skin clear (from acne too!)
• 2 drops in a spray bottle with white vinegar and water will clean glass to sparkling - and is much kinder to the environment than the chemical-filled sprays you get from the optometrist.
• 1 drop in your cup of tea--most teas go well with lemon. Gumboot tea, green tea, licorice tea... and the list goes on.
• Use it in cooking to neutralize acid--I put a drop in my spaghetti bolognese, along with a little brown sugar to take the acidity out of the tomato sauce. 
• 2 drops of Lemon, Lavender and Peppermint oil in a capsule is a great sinus treatment. I've also found this really helpful when battling eczema/dermatitis
• 2 drops of Lemon, On Guard and Peppermint oil in honey to treat a sore throat
• Diffuse with other uplifting oils--Lemon oil is known to promote a positive mood (this is the same for most of the citrus oils)
• Use in baking and cooking, anywhere you'd use Lemon essence or lemon juice. Remember, 45 lemons in every bottle, it's very potent.

There are many, many other ways I use Lemon oil.

It comes as no surprise that Doterra recommend this in their starter kit. After all, it's their top selling oil for a reason. Plus, it's one of their cheapest oils.


Here's the official low-down from Doterra on Lemon oil:

If you're interested in trying this, or other oils and blends from Doterra, just drop me a line...

Crazy Doterra Lady xx

Doterra Beginnings

September 2017 and I've been living in the world of Doterra for almost a year now.

It seems like a whole world ago that my friend Jodie introduced me to these products. I'd been using essential oils for many years. I was a true advocate of healing naturally, and always reached for my Tea Tree or Lavender whenever I could to treat common ailments as they arose.

I didn't expect to have my world turned around when I saw these products. I'd used single oils before, but nothing of this quality. And then I saw the blends... Motivate, DigestZen, Breathe... carefully thought out and directed blends for specific purposes. The moment I tried DigestZen in water, I knew I was hooked.

I've had IBS for about six years now, so my digestive system just shuts down periodically when I'm not eating properly, or eating foods that I know trigger bad responses in my body. When I was first diagnosed, my doctor wanted me to take Losec (Omeprazole). It helped, but then she said that I'd have to take it ongoing for the rest of my life. That didn't sit well with me. There are multiple side-effects that are possible with this medication, and the long term implications of using it are not good. When someone I worked with at the time suggested I try a diet based solution, I jumped at the chance. I went gluten free for six weeks, and my symptoms almost cleared up. Then I heard of something called the FODMAP list. A dietician suggested that my triggers may be found on this list, not just the whole gluten range. She was right. I cut out every food on the FODMAP list, and gradually went through each one to find my triggers. It's tough doing this, but worthwhile. If you have any stomach issues, I would highly recommend doing this. I've linked some information about this if you want to find out more:

http://www.ibsdiets.org/fodmap-diet/fodmap-food-list/


When I found DigestZen, and tried one drop in water, I went home hungry. My stomach was growling. It never did that! I knew I'd found a product I wanted... needed!

Doterra's product is CPTG - Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade. If you go looking for this you'll find out that Doterra developed this standard, because there was no minimum standard within the oil industry. You may shrug your shoulders and say "Pfft, doesn't mean anything then." What it means is you can rest assured that what you're getting with Doterra is pure products that are what they say they are.

I love the philosophies of this company, which I won't go into here because that's not what this is about, but from the moment I began to hear about Doterra and how they operate, I knew this was a company I wanted to be involved with. It just made their products even more special to me.

What I'm going to share with you on this blog is my experiences with Doterra, and those of others I have personally shared this product with.

Now I've introduced you to DigestZen, here is some information about it:

How do I use this product?

• One drop in a glass of water when I feel bloated or uncomfortable. The taste is like drinking a glass of licorice. If you don't like the taste, you can take in a capsule. Doterra have empty capsules (really cheap I might add. We looked into sourcing these capsules in NZ and the price was over double) that you can make up your own blends with
• Sometimes I mix with carrier oil and rub directly onto my stomach if I'm getting cramps or feel bloated
• I've mixed with other oils in a capsule for sinus. Yep, sinus!

It's so hard to just stop there, but I can't talk about all the oils at once! Next time I'll pick another oil and tell you all about it.

If you want to know more about how Doterra can help support your health, please let me know.