Can you ingest essential oils? Are Destination Oils ingestible? These are 2 questions we get all the time!! Here are the answers:
Can you ingest essential oils? Yes, but ONLY under the advisement of an aromatherapist or medical practioner. We DO NOT support adding lemon drops to your water and other methods of every day, casual ingestion of oils. We have all heard the argument that it is "just like adding lemon juice to your water". However, the lemon juice will combine with water while the lemon oil sits on top. Do not forget what you learned in school all those years ago: "Oil and Water DO NOT Mix." Just because companies promote ingestion does not make this statement untrue. It is a scientific fact that has not changed. A friend recently said that is is so diluted in water it is fine. Not true- see underlined statement above!
Also- essential oils are made with different parts of the plants, not the flesh which is where the juice comes from. For example- citrus oils are cold-pressed from the rind of the fruits. Would you want the rind of lemons in your water to flavor it? Me neither, I would much rather have a fresh-squeezed orange or lemon or lime (yum!) in mine.
A common experiment that some marketing reps use is showing the essential oil eating the plastic from a cup. Most of us know that you can't put citrus oils in plastic, they will break down over time. The kicker is that the same reps will tell you adding to your water is fine. The logical part of me NEVER understood this, if it breaks down plastic- why would I want it in my body? The "answer" (?) was because the cup is synthetic and we are organic so it will not have the breakdown affect on us. I also heard that it is breaking down the toxins in the cup and will do the same in your body. I don't believe this at all- the same oils you need to dilute to even add to your skin you can drink straight in a "shot"? Makes zero sense!
Our oils are 100% pure so there are no synthetics that will harm your internal systems, but oils are so concentrated and powerful that they have caused injury to esophageal linings when using internally. They also can cause stress to your liver and kidneys. It may also not show up immediately, but cause issues over time. Better to be safe than sorry.
Some companies will say "Our oils are the only ones PURE enough to be ingested". What a marketing ploy! Once you have a 100% pure oil like Destination Oils, you can't get any more pure. They are trying to get you to buy more expensive oils or perhaps sign up for a monthly plan by snowballing you with misinformation! Don't fall for it!
Instead of using internally, you can get the same benefits by using topically and aromatically. That is what makes these oils so fantastic.
It will take many to overcome the marketing blitz of late promoting unsafe usage- including internal use, using too many oils at once and not using proper dilutions. But together, we can start by telling our friends and family to do their research and not drink oils! There are much better things to drink- fresh lemonade, milkshakes, wine- the list goes on and on.