Howdy Jan,

> Is the hydrosol not effective?
>

The answer to that question .. according to ME .. and more importantly ..
according to many prominent Turkish Medical Doctors and Professors of
Pharacognosy .. is YES!

Martin Watt (a safety nut) was with me in Turkey .. meeting Professor Husnu
Baser .. when this was discussed. Baser stated that he and all members of
his family drink Oregano Hydrosol weekly. And back when I used to import
it by the ton it sold like hotcakes. I have not had it for a while now.
All major Turkish supermarkets have liter bottles of Oregano, Fennel,
Rose and Rosemary Hydrosol on their shelves .. normally in the fruit juice
section.

Before someone comes out with a claim that ingesting Hydrosols can be
harmful, etc., I ask them to stop and think about Herbal Teas. I guarantee
that we will get far more Essential Oil from a cup of Fennel or Rosemary or
Oregano Tea than we will from the Hydrosol. If we visit any government
office in Turkey .. especially the Ministry of Agriculture .. we will be
offered refreshments during our meeting .. Tea, Apple Tea, Oregano,
Rosemary and Fennel Tea.

The problem with drinking Hydrosols is purity .. folks might be shocked to
know how many Hydrosols are out and about that are so contaminated that its
likely that a cure for AIDS or a cause for major illnesses could be found in
the conglomeration of baddies they contain. Its a simple and inexpensive
task to have them tested .. and I have always done that. Some of those
tests produced shocking results .. check the info at the bottom of
http://www.av-at.com/hydrosol.html ... and keep in mind that those Hydrosols
that I tested and refused .. were still sold by the supplier. One does not
have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that they did NOT dump out
barrels of contaminated Hydrosols.

What they do attempt when I advise them that their product failed .. is ..
try to kill the baddies with a preservative of some sort. That treatment
is Too Late .. as useless as tits on a boar hawg or putting a Band Aid on a
sucking chest wound!

Request that folks read this entire article .. top to bottom ...
http://www.aromamedical.com/articles/hydrosols.htm

If I had the power to make three wishes regarding this industry .. knowing
that those wishes would become enforceable regulations .. Mandatory Testing
of Hydrosols would be the FIRST ONE! I would require that any seller
produce a valid and up to date copy of that test to any buyer who requested
it.

I would not include a demand for GC or GC/MS testing of ALL Essential Oils
in those three wishes because it is not logical to lay such a requirement on
small sellers. Those of us who purchase in bulk almost always demand this
prior to a purchase .. not for the consumer .. for our own damn self. Why
would we put out thousands of bucks and not want to know if that the product
we were buying was pure and high in quality? Fools we are not! On the
other hand, why would we pay $150 or so for a GC of an oil like
Cajeput (Melaleuca
cajuputi) when we have been purchasing it from the same producer for many
years .. and the cost in bulk is less than $15 a kilogram .. and there is no
logical or economic reason to adulterate it?

The other two wishes I would make would be:

1. That the industry be required to be informed of the totally useless
nature of generic Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). They provide warm
fuzzies to the buyer when they stash them in a file to collect dust .. but
they are otherwise useless CYA documents .. even to the folks they were
intended for .. the transporters and fire fighters. They are a necessary
and bothersome administrative requirement for some organizations .. like
hospitals and such .. but totally useless to folks like us.

2. That any seller of any natural product would be required to list the
Origin, Date of Production, Plant Parts Used .. and the Botanical Name of
that product on their web sites. Today, responsible sellers do list some
of these and some list all of them .. but I would require this of ALL
sellers. This is not just to protect your pocketbook from con artists ..
its also a matter of safety because plant parts used and date of production
can have a definite impact on the safe use of that product.

I know this is not Tuesday and the above information on Hydrosols might
appear to be an advertisement .. but that is not my intent .. I just know of
no other way to make my point. Hydrosols are products I have NEVER had to
push!

Jan .. the following is not based on your question .. it was a valid
question and I am glad you asked it.

I'll close this rant by saying that in the 15 or so years I have been in
this industry I've seen little improvement in the universal knowledge of
Essential Oils. Some folks could make a career out of writing on them 12
hours a day and the message would still not get out .. the following week
there would be forty eleven posts on any News Group putting out erroneous
information based on some Aromatherapy Novel that regurgitated previously
published un proved misinformation .. or on the marketing hype of some web
site .. especially those of multi level marketing groups like Young
Living.

Sweet Marjoram does NOT raise BP .. Pennyroyal is NOT an abortifacient ..
Rosemary, Cineole does NOT cause seizures .. Anise, Basil, Atlas Cedarwood,
Clary Sage, Clove Bud .. and dang near any other EO one could name (with a
couple of exceptions) are NOT harmful during pregnancy when used on the skin
.. though any product (including soap) can cause temporary irritation for
some ladies due to hormonal changes.

There are dozens of outstanding articles in Martin Watt's archive at
http://www.aromamedical.com/articlesarchive.html .. but some folks would
rather disregard this information rather than do more research on their own
.. or take the time to correct the wrong information on their web sites ..
or change the tone of their marketing spiels.

Sale of EO is a bit like politics .. it is not necessary that we know
what we are doing or that we tell the truth when we push an agenda.
Having a charismatic delivery and telling folks what they want to hear .. or
just what we want them to hear .. can be successful in both occupations.
Thinking on it .. I have come to realize that the main barriers
precluding me from running for President when I retire from this industry
are a bad memory (gotta tell it like you think it is all the time so you
don't step on it later .. this guarantees failure) and a sense of ethics ..
a major handicap for politicians. After observing the last two
presidents we have had in the U.S.A. I have concluded that qualification for
the job is not a requirement. ;-)


> Jan G in MI
>

Y'all keep smiling. :-)

Butch .. who is feeling ornery today cause he's gotta go sit in a Walmart
parking lot and try to find good homes for 5 cute little 7 week old Lab
puppies. :-)

http://www.AV-AT.com <http://www.av-at.com/> .. Wholesale / Retail GC Tested
EO, Tested Hydrosols, Turkish Rose Products and Other Goodies shipped from
our Store in Downtown Friendsville, MD .. Pop: 597