As more people look at natural therapies that they can use to improve their lives and even their diet and overall health, they wonder if essential oils help. And what is the difference between an essential oil and an extract?
Both essential oils and extracts are plant fruit, herb, and bark-based, but their extraction is entirely different even though they may use similar plants. Essential oils use the distilling process, whereas extraction uses a soaking process. Both of these methods have been used throughout civilizations for hundreds of years. They both have medicinal and other properties that help maintain your low-carb lifestyle.
Table of Contents
- What Is An Essential Oil?
- What Are Extracts?
- Differences Between Essential Oils and Extracts
- Using Essential Oils For A Low Carb Lifestyle
- Related Question
What Is An Essential Oil?
Essential oils are highly concentrated liquids extracted from plants, fruits, herbs, and barks through distillation. Essential oil molecules contain the natural chemicals that give these plants distinctive fragrances and many other beneficial components.
Essential oils provide various potential health benefits and can be used in aromatherapy or topical application.
Using essential oils is not new; essential oils are a very ancient practice that many civilizations across the globe have used. Many cultures have extracted a plant’s essence and placed them into oils.
Here are some of the main ways that essential oils have been used in ancient times and are being used today:
- Aromatherapy
- Personal care
- Healthcare
- Religious ceremonies
- Beauty treatments
- Food preparation’s
- Natural remedy for weight loss and addictions
- Cooking foods
- Household cleaning
- Personal hygiene
One of the great things about essential oils is that you have a more natural solution to a health problem because you are using a natural plant.
Used correctly, essential oil can be a powerful tool to help you maintain a healthy lifestyle.
What Are Extracts?
Extracts also come from a plant, but making essential oils and extracts is different.
Extracts are substances created by extracting various components from plant material by soaking it in water or another solvent such as alcohol or vinegar. Extracts can be less concentrated than essential oils and may not contain the same beneficial components found in essential oils.
An example of a commonly used extract would be vanilla extract. The vanilla is extracted to make vanilla extract that many of us use for baking.
Differences Between Essential Oils and Extracts
Both essential oils and extracts come from natural plants. But the main difference between essential oils from extracts is in the process.
Essential oils need to be extracted through the distillation process. With essential oils, you get a very concentrated plant form due to the distillation process.
In producing essential oils, the flowers, roots, leaves, and other plants are placed inside a steam chamber. Steamers are released over the plants’ parts, and the oils are collected by squeezing under the steam pressure.
The extracted substances are collected in the steam changer and are cooled in the condenser. This cooling in the condenser causes the water to add the oils to separate so that the oil can be found in a concentrated form.
In extraction, the plants are soaked in a liquid substance. Then the plants go through a straining process where the substance is collected and becomes a concentrate. Sometimes the plant is ground up to help make the extract.
An example of this would be herbal tea, which could require that the plant be soaked in alcohol for an extended period to remove all the essential compounds.
Both extraction and essential oils help remove the essential components from a plant so we can be left with the concentrated substance. This means that we can use the plant substance more simply and easily.
Listen To Our Podcast About From Plants to Products: The Science Behind Essential Oils and Extracts by clicking here.
Using Essential Oils For A Low Carb Lifestyle
Using Essential Oils to support a low-carb lifestyle is an easy way to get the most out of your diet changes while helping to maintain balance in your daily routine and your new healthy way of eating.
Here is what I use to help me with my weight loss:
- Lime Essential Oils – Lime has been shown to help weight loss.
- Lemon Essential Oil – if you do not like Lime, then try Lemon, as that also was shown to help aid in weight loss.
- Doterra Meta PWR – I use a drop of the Doterra Meta PWR in my water daily. The Doterra Meta PWR is shown to help support a healthy metabolism.
Essential oils can help you with your weight loss but can also help promote relaxation, improve digestion and provide other benefits that may support a low-carb lifestyle.
Essential Oils are also a great way to add natural flavorings to recipes without adding calories or carbohydrates.
Essential Oils are highly concentrated liquids extracted from plants through distillation and offer numerous potential health benefits that may support a low-carb lifestyle. Extracts are substances created by extracting components from plant material by soaking it in water or another solvent and may not contain the same beneficial components as essential oils.
Essential oils can be used for aromatherapy or topically to promote relaxation, improve digestion, and add natural flavorings without adding calories or carbs to recipes.
Understanding the difference between Essential Oils and Extracts allows you to make informed decisions about which products to choose when creating a low-carb lifestyle. Essential oils may provide the natural benefits you need to help maintain balance in your daily routine while supporting your low-carb goals.
If you want to purchase some Doterra, you can find my Doterra Website under Reluctant Low Carb Life, Anita L Hummel, by clicking below.
Reluctant Low Carb Life explores all aspects of keto and low-carb lifestyle, fitness, health, wellness, and aging gracefully. At the Reluctant Low Carb Life, we strive to give honest and accurate information to people trying to live the low-carb and keto lifestyle while improving their fitness and health.
We have a free monthly newsletter that is filled with information and helps you remain updated. Subscribe to the Reluctant Low Carb Life newsletter by clicking here.
Listen to our weekly podcast, Reluctant Low Carb Life, on all the major podcast platforms by clicking here.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook by clicking here.
Related Question
What Is The Best Substitute For Cane Sugar?
We consider Monk Fruit sugar one of the best substitutes for cane sugar. There are many reasons we feel that Monk Fruit Sugar is among one of the best sugar substitutes; Monk Fruit sugar has 0 cal at no carbohydrates. Monk fruit sugar has medicinal properties, making it a healthy alternative to cane sugar.
You can read more about What Is The Best Substitute For Cane Sugar? by clicking here.
How Long Does Sugar Stay In Your System?
When you eat something sugary, sugar will stay in your system for a few hours; this is because your sugar will then spike and then go down again for a certain period; if you want to get sugar entirely out of your body, then you need to go on a sugar detox which can take between three and 3 to 4 weeks to get the sugar out of your body.
You can read more about How Long Does Sugar Stay In Your System? by clicking here.
