Essential Oils vs. Meds: Are We Missing Out on Nature’s Best Fixes?
Here Are My Top 8 Picks (and Why They’re Surprisingly Useful)
A friend told me how her cooky sister-in-law makes essential oils at home to replace traditional meds—think Motrin, Tylenol, even Zoloft.
I offered a courtesy laugh to my friend.
Clearly she thought this was super funny.
Who was I to deter her from some laughter?
But it got me curious: what’s so powerful about these little bottles that some people would ditch the pharmacy?
I decided to dig deeper because I don’t believe that popping pills is a risk free solution to symptoms.
If you’re living in the US, you know we see those never-ending pharmaceutical ads on TV, featuring the latest cool pill that promises to transform your life.
And they all have the same patterns.
Here it is:
A serene, sun-drenched field with happy people picnicking and strolling.
In the foreground, a cheerful narrator says, “Introducing Glumibright, the pill that could help you enjoy life again.”
Cut to a person doing a joyful spin on a mountaintop, while words flash on the screen about “side effects that may include extreme happiness, spontaneous laughter, and an unexpected zest for life.”
Then, without skipping a beat, the narrator’s voice takes on a faster, almost frantic tone as the real side effects list begins.
Suddenly, the visuals speed up to keep the pace: the spinning person is joined by happy dogs, smiling doctors, and someone inexplicably on a bicycle.
“Side effects may include dry mouth, headache, dizziness, mild nausea, occasional loss of left thumb sensation, and a deep, irrational fear of bridges.”
The narration keeps rolling, but now with fine print scrolling rapidly at the bottom: “Do not take Glumibright if you’re allergic to happiness, sunshine, or long walks on the beach. Consult your doctor if you suddenly grow a third eyebrow.”
The scene closes on a heartwarming shot of a group hug, with a final message: “Ask your doctor if Glumibright is right for you, because life’s too short to worry about pesky things like side effects. Probably.”
It’s even more fun to watch these ads with the TV muted.
Warning this experiment might put you in cognitive dissonance and as what you are seeing (happy people dancing) will seem unaligned with what you are reading (list of brutal side effects).
Meet the Oils
So after doing a little research of my own, I found that essential oils are not as “cooky” as my friend made them out to sound.
Okay, they won’t replace heart surgery, but they do offer natural, plant-based benefits for physical and mental well-being.
Curious? Here’s a rundown of the ones I use personally:
1. Lavender Essential Oil
In my time as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologist, I have witnessed many people try to climb out of the MRI machine due to extreme anxiety and claustrophobia.
Spiderman style exit with the speed of The Flash.
It can be a long, noisy, and tough radiology exam to endure if you have anxieties of any sort.
This sucks because these radiology exams are extremely important for the persons health diagnosis.
In comes the real superhero: lavender.
With the use of lavender eye patches and small patches I have been able convince many escapees to get back in and complete their exam.
If they presented with the anxiety from the get-go, I would just give them the option to use the lavender prior to getting into the room to get their minds in a calm state.
It worked like a charm to calm their nervous system.
Here’s more on lavender:
2. Peppermint Essential Oil
Peppermint has always been a favorite flavor of mine.
Growing up, those red and white candy canes were a winter staple, and let’s not forget the classic York Peppermint Patties.
Even today, I’m still all about a good mint tea.
And here’s my favorite little prank: hand someone a bottle of water right after they’ve eaten a breath mint. Whoops! Now there’s a “refreshing” bite.
Then, of course, there’s Vicks VapoRub—a home remedy go-to for congestion, with menthol (derived from peppermint oil) as the magic ingredient.
FYI—the same cooling benefits can be enjoyed by using peppermint oil in a diffuser nearby.
And hey, rather than popping a Tylenol for a headache, why not try peppermint oil?
It’ll ease the ache, and your liver will thank you for giving it a break.
3. Tea Tree Essential Oil
My son was experiencing a bout of dandruff. Those annoying uninvited hair snowflakes were sticking around like an eternal winter.
We tried all the conventional store brand dandruff shampoos with no luck.
It was time to go unconventional or cooky—tea tree oil.
I made him a mixture of some of our Pantene pro V with tea tree oil and had him shampoo with it and leave it in his hair for 5-10 mins in the shower.
Within a couple of weeks we noticed a significant improvement.
Turns out dandruff is fungal (yikes!) and tea tree oil is anti-fungal (yay!).
4. Eucalyptus Essential Oil
Dr Teal’s Eucalyptus Epsom Salt Bath Soaks are a regular for me.
I fill up the bathtub with some warm water and toss in a couple cups of the salt to soak.
The bath salts have their own benefits but eucalyptus in there makes is super refreshing and helps soothes my muscles.
I halfway expect the bath to start narrating calming affirmations at me.
Highly recommend these baths as a little “me time,” especially if your body’s sore from a workout… or, you know, just from the trek to the fridge.
I also love using it in my diffuser to freshen the room I am in.
5. Lemongrass Essential Oil
If you have read any of my previous articles you might know that I recently walked out on a 6 figure salary due to a toxic boss.
Now that I think of it—I really should have left him essential oils as a gesture of goodwill to help with his viral behavior.
Well since then, I have taken a fond interest in writing online.
And if any of you reading this are writers—you know this stuff can take time.
Some days you bang it out of the park and others you run to the park to try to get the mental juices flowing.
Well in comes lemongrass (conduct the orchestra please).
For the past couple months, I have been putting lemongrass in a diffuser in my workspace as I begin my writing.
The aroma of lemongrass has been lighting up my focus and I am getting so much more done in one sitting.
It’s like getting a small zap of electricity when you push a fork into an outlet.
Okay don’t do that—I did that once as a 5 year old, not fun.
And definitely not energizing in a good way.
However, I did live to be the gutsy hero of all the kids watching me that had dared me to do it.
“Do it, do it, do it” I can still here the chanting as I jabbed that 4 pronged fork into the outlet in our the hallway during a big family party.
It made a huge zap, the kids screamed, and my finger went black.
And in good desi tradition I got in big trouble from the grownups rather than anyone asking how I was doing—sorry, this story can wait for my therapist.
Back to lemongrass:
6. Frankincense Essential Oil
In Christianity, frankincense was one of the gifts brought to the infant Jesus by the Magi, symbolizing divinity and sanctity.
Even today frankincense is used across various religious traditions, valued for its purifying and calming properties.
In Catholic and Orthodox Christian services, it’s burned in censers to symbolize prayers rising to heaven.
Hindu rituals use frankincense to honor deities and purify spaces, while Buddhist temples burn it to enhance meditation focus.
In Islam, it’s used to scent mosques and prayer areas, enhancing the environment for worship.
It is also used in spiritual practices aimed at enhancing intuition and opening the third eye, which is associated with insight, clarity, and spiritual awareness.
I take a couple drops of the oil and rub in the center of my forehead for the purpose of improving calm and raising my intuitive clarity.
7. Sage Essential Oil
You do not want to get me started on sage.
Too late, here it comes.
This is my absolute favorite herb!
And not one that I eat but set ablaze—also called smudging.
I do this to clear out my auric energy field and stagnant energy in my house.
Not gonna lie, I am that mom that follows my kids with it too shooing away any yucky energy that might be around them.
They used to run away but now they just stand still and let me do my mom thing.
Now before you judge, hear these facts: sage contains antibacterial compounds, like rosmarinic acid and cineole, which can inhibit the growth of certain oral bacteria.
This is why sage has historically been used in natural remedies for oral health, including for sore throats, gum inflammation, and overall mouth freshness.
These compounds have been shown to exhibit antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal effects.
So if sage can clear the bacteria in my mouth, why wouldn’t it be able to clear the bacteria in the air?
And maybe let’s swap the word bacteria with energy.
Energy exists everywhere and in everything.
There are infinite frequencies of energy: some are higher and some are lower.
The act of smudging can clear a space and people of the lower frequencies.
I also use the Trader Joe’s sage cleaner—only the best for my home, like Neiman Marcus meets Whole Foods.
8. Mugwort Essential Oil
Mugwort is known to help people lucid dream if ingested.
I made mugwort tea to see if I could get some of that dream action—but let me tell you my tea making skills were way off that day.
Not having any clue about proportions I added way too much of the mugwort leaves to the boiling water to steep.
It came out incredibly bitter.
I took 3 sips and could not drink the rest.
The tea leaves are still in my pantry for tea sequel but until then I have been using the essential oil in my diffuser to create a sense of calm—and it does.
I might decide to use it next summer if the pesky ants show up under my front door.
So, there you have it—my not-so-cooky dive into essential oils.
Turns out, these little bottles pack quite the punch!
Adding essential oils to your daily routine is an easy, natural way to support both body and mind.
No, they’re not replacing the pharmacy anytime soon, but they come with fewer eyebrow-raising side effects than “Glumibright.”
From lavender that keeps even the most escape-prone MRI patients calm to peppermint oil that gives your liver a break from the usual headache meds, these oils offer real benefits—minus the ingredients you need a chemistry degree to pronounce.
And let’s be honest, if you can get medicinal results just by smelling nice, I say that’s a win
Thank you for this!! I love my essential oils 💛