When I started looking into oils, it quickly became clear that there were A LOT to choose from. So, I started reading and researching. I attended an essential oils class and learned a ton of info from that regarding oils, and the Young Living standard. It is truly above rest. All oils are NOT created equal. In this post, I will explain why I only use Young Living Therapeutic Grade (YLTG) oils.
About Young Living
Young Living has been in business for over 20 years. The company was started by Gary Young in 1993 when he developed his first organic herb farm and distillation operation. He grew from there with the development of more farmland in Utah and Idaho and the invention of the largest, most technologically advanced distillery for the production of essential oils in North America. Around the same time, Gary Young created and defined the therapeutic grade definition and standard that exists today. Many other companies now use the term that they originally mocked Gary for creating.
What does it mean to be therapeutic grade? It is described by Dr. Stewart in an article from Raindrop messenger Vol. 9, No. 4:
"With Young Living, "Therapeutic Grade" means there has been verification of the correct species when the seed was planted, the purity and manner of cultivation (no chemicals or nearby pollution, etc.), the proper time of harvest to optimize the healing properties in the oil, the proper manner of distillation to capture all of the therapeutic compounds, the right chemical composition as determined by sophisticated laboratory tests, and the purity of the packaging--i.e. nothing added, nothing taken away, stored in light-protected containers (amber or blue bottles) of glass, ceramic, Teflon, or stainless steel, and kept in a suitable environment of appropriate temperatures. All of this is taken into account with Young Living's definition of "Therapeutic Grade." No other company maintains or can claim such a standard, even though they may use the word."
Standards:
In 1926, AFNOR was founded to act as a standards setting body for a variety of products and services. These represent standards set for a specific group of essential oils. They set minimum standards by which quality, safety, reliability, and performance requirements described in French, European, and International Standards can be validated. The ISO is a worldwide federation that includes 130 countries and is based in Switzerland. It sets standards for a variety of products, not just essential oils. They are the same standards as AFNOR. (Essential oils pocket reference, 5th edition)
Dr. Stewart also comments on standard AFNOR/ISO testing that is done.
"Whereas meeting standards like those of the French AFNOR (Association Francaise de Normalization) or the ISO (International Standards Organization), ISO and AFNOR only consider whether an oil has sufficient percents of the main compounds to legally claim it to be the species on the label. For example, if an oil contains enough menthol, you can legally sell it as "peppermint" when, in fact, there may be no actual peppermint plant oil present whatsoever. Hence, an aromatic oil can be 80-100% synthetic and meet AFNOR/ISO standards. AFNOR/ISO only takes into account the end product by testing for the percents of a few compounds that account for flavor and/or aroma. These standards do not take into account the manner by which the oil was obtained nor whether any of the healing compounds are present. In fact, the compounds responsible for healing can all be absent and an oil can still meet AFNOR/ISO standards, which may be adequate for perfumes and flavors, but totally ineffective for healing."
Young Living has created its own standards based on the true medicinal effects of the essential oil in actual therapeutic applications. The YL research and quality control labs in Utah and Ecuador have the only GC-MS instruments in the world that are matched and calibrated to the instruments used at the National Center for Scientific research in France. As a general rule, if two or more marker compounds in an essential oil fall outside the prescribed percentages, the oil does not meet YLTG essential oil standards.
Adulteration is such a major concern that each essential oil Young Living offers is tested initially by independent European analytical laboratories, and every subsequent batch of essential oil is tested by Young Living's highly trained research and quality control scientists. Batches that do not meet established standards, are rejected and returned.
When describing Young Livings quality, the process of which they use to plant, cultivate, harvest, and distill their oils, speaks for itself. It is crucial in order for the oils to retain it's vital compounds that this process be done correctly. Otherwise, an oil can lose it's beneficial compounds and fail to create the desired effect. With YLTG oils, you can guarantee that you will get an oil that has the optimal naturally occurring blend of constituents to maximize the effect. The strict cultivation process ensures this.
PLANT:
YLTG oils are made using the seeds from the proper species, grown in the proper location, using top quality soil, and harvested at the exact time of day. Only the plants yielding the widest and most active array of therapeutic compounds are selected.
PREPARATION:
Once the above conditions have been adhered to, the plant must then be distilled properly in order to meet YLTG standards. They use a gentle steam extraction method that produces the most potent oils. Proper temperature, pressure, length of time, equipment, and batch size are strictly monitored.
PURITY:
Acceptance of any adulterated, cut, or diluted oils is prohibited by their therapeutic grade standards. Every product produced by YL meets strict standards ensuring purity. Every batch undergoes rigorous testing done in YL's chemistry lab. They are subjected to Gas Chromatograph and Mass Spectrometer testing, and heavy metals analysis and any oils exhibiting even the slightest hint of adulteration are rejected.
POTENCY:
The final step in this process, potency, is described as such: each essential oil products are of the highest and most consistent bio-active levels. Without strict adherence to the YLTG standard in the preceding three stages, the final product would not have the necessary potency to create the effect desired.
Here are some more reasons I believe Young Living is the best.
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| Their seed to seal promise. |
- People from all over the world use Young Living.
- Gary Young is a Christian and recognizes that oils are gifts from the Lord. In the Young Living groups I am in on Facebook, I have met some wonderful God loving people and truly treasure the community of believers I am apart of with Young Living.
- They own farms in Utah, Ecuador, two in Idaho, France, and Oman.
- They are the only company in the world to obtain permission to export the Boswellia sacra, also known as Sacred Frankincense, from Oman to the Western world.
- All of the farms bought by Young Living were free and clear from chemicals for at least 50 years before they agreed to buy.In fact, the land in Idaho had never been farmed on before and the land in Ecuador was cleared from primitive jungle, free from human contamination.
- Young Living owns their own expertly staffed, fully equipped laboratory.
- Young Living also has small labs on their farms to test the plants right from the field as they mature to determine the exact season and time of day to harvest the crop for the best oil. This is necessary because plants change their chemistry throughout the season and throughout the day, varying from week to week and hour to hour.
- Young Living markets more than 100 species of oils and cannot possible raise them all on their own farms. When they purchase from other growers and suppliers, they not only make initial site visits to verify that the oils are being produced and packaged properly, but they have a program of making repeated visits from time to time to make sure the standards are being upheld.
- Young Living distills oils at minimum pressures and temperatures to gently coax the oil and all of its compounds into the finished product, even though significant money, time, and labor can be saved by distilling at high pressures and high temperatures, like many companies do. High pressure/high temperature distillation may produce an oil with the fragrance compounds of an oil, but not with the therapeutic compounds. Young Living never uses solvents to finish off the distilling process as many companies do.
- Gary Young climbed inside an actual cooker to note the patterns of steam flow. He was able to determine that a dome-shaped lid caused the oil-bearing steam to curl and back flow into the plant mass, thus altering the chemistry and losing some constituents, while a cone-shaped lid allowed the steam to spiral directly up, out, and into the condenser without turbulence.
- As the oils emerge from the distiller, they are bottled in their complete natural state without adulteration or refinement.
- In a few instances when mistakes were made and a batch of oil grown and distilled by Young Living did not measure up to Gary Young's standards, the oil was discarded, and poured out on the ground. Some companies would have sold such oil anyhow, if not to their customers, then to another retailer. Young Living will never do that. They would rather be in short supply of a given species than to market an inferior product.
- Distributors are welcome to visit the farms and distilleries at anytime.
- The Essential oil desk reference is a comprehensive book on essential oils and was not published by Young Living. However it only recommends YLTG oils.
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| "CARE, Inc., is a separate independent entity with no legal or formal relationship to Young Living Essential Oils, Inc" -However they only recommend Young Living. |
- airase.com is another site that is completely separate from YL, yet only recommends YLTG oils.
- Imitation is said to be the best form of flattery. Other companies have taken our blends and put a different name to them.
(Some of these points and more can be found here )
When looking into other oil companies, here are some questions that are recommend as listed here.
"1. Does their company own any farms on which to raise herbs for oils? And if they do, are they new farms on land formerly polluted with herbicides, pesticides, and chemicals that contain residuals from the past, or are they farming land that is clean, which has never been cultivated or has been untilled for at least the last 50 years?
2. Does their company have their own fully equipped testing laboratory to verify an oil's composition?
3. Do they have anyone on staff with a trained nose who can analyze oils by their smell? (There are less than 200 people in the world with noses sufficiently trained to discern the chemistry of a fragrance.)
4. If their company purchases oils from outside suppliers, do they visit the distilleries and farms of those suppliers periodically to observe if the herbs are grown organically, i.e. without pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers?
5. Do they know if the grower has a testing laboratory on the farm to determine when the crop is at its peak for oil harvesting?
6. Do they know if the crops were actually harvested at their peak time and, if so, was there an inordinant delay in taking them to the still and into the cookers?
7. Do they know if their distillery personnel understand the art and science of distilling, exactly how to pack the cookers, how to administer the steam, how to maintain minimum temperatures and pressures throughout the cooker, and how to continuously monitor the process throughout distillation to make sure the oil produced contains all of its components in the proper proportions?
8. If their supplier makes a mistake in the distillation or harvesting processes that results in an inferior grade of oil, does that supplier sell the oil anyway or do they discard it?
9. Do they know if the the cookers in the distilleries of their suppliers have domed lids or cone shaped lids? Most stills use dome-shaped lids. Cone topped cookers deliver a better grade of oil than dome tops.
10. Do they know if their suppliers supplement the distillation process with solvents to exatract additional oil from the plant matter?
11. Do they know if their suppliers bottle their oils directly from the distillery without modifying the composition of the natural oil by adding anything or taking anything away?
12. Do they know if their company has tested their company's oils side by side with Young Living oils in the same lab to make a fair comparison? And if so, where is the data?
This is not a comprehensive list of questions you could ask, but if their answer to any or most of the above is "no," or "I don't know," then how do they know their oils are "pure therapeutic grade" and that they are "as good or better than those of Young Living?" Without such knowledge, how can they make any verifiable claims that compare Young Living Oils with their brand?"
With Young Living, the answer to all these questions is YES.
Watch out!
Much of the lavender sold in America is the hybrid called lavandin. It is grown and distilled in China, Russia, France, and Tasmania and brought into France and cut with synthetic linalyl acetate to improve the fragrance. Odorless solvents are added to increase the volume and are sold as lavender oil. Often times, lavandin in heated to evaporate the camphor and then is adulterated with synthetic linalyl acetate. Most consumers don't know the difference and are happy to buy it for $7-$10 for a half ounce in stores. Young Living will NEVER do this.
Frankincense is another commonly adulterated oil. It takes 12 or more hours to to properly steam distill this oil from the resin making it very expensive. Frankincense oil that is cheaply distilled with gum resins, alcohol, or other solvents goes for $25 per ounce or less. The oil is laden with harmful chemicals and can cause rashes, burns, or other irritations.
In France, production of true lavender oil (lavendula angustifolia) dropped from 87 tons in 1967 to 12 tons in 1998. During this same time period, the worldwide demand for lavender oil grew over 100%!
Fragile aromatic chemicals are easily destroyed by high temperature and pressure, as well as contact with chemically reactive metals. This is why all therapeutic grade essential oils should be distilled in stainless steel cooking chambers at low pressure and low temperature. The plant material should also be free of herbicides and other agrichemicals. These can react with the essential oil during distillation to produce toxic compounds.
Not convinced? I encourage you to do your own research and ask your own questions. I am a strong believer in Young Livings quality and these reasons and more are why I only use YLTG oils.
Young Living Therapeutic oils WORK. They have changed how I live day to day and love sharing the healing power with family, friends, and everyone I come in to contact with.
Want to order or become a distributor? Go here. Please contact me with questions on how to order or become a distributor, wholesale or retail customer.
Giuliana Heath distributor #:1535634
