Is Ingesting Essential Oils Safe?

ingesting essential oils

The world of essential oils is a confusing one. There are different messages on essential oil uses and benefits and whether or not they are safe for ingesting. We don’t think using essential oils should be confusing and are on a mission to change that.

So are essential oils safe for internal use? Our answer is no. We do not recommend ingesting essential oils. Here are the considerations we looked at before we made this decision as a company. You should look at these considerations too when making the choice whether or not to use essential oils for internal use.

First, let’s get some clarity on what internal use is.

The phrase “internal use” refers to ingesting (swallowing or eating) something. 

Using essential oils for internal use means adding the oil to a drink or food and consuming it, swallowing drops of essential oils raw, or swallowing it as a capsule.

Let’s take it back to high school chemistry (don’t worry, this will be an easy lesson 😉). Oil repels water and loves to absorb into fat. If you try and mix oil and water, the oil will float in little blobs on top. If you put it on a fatty substance, it will quickly absorb it.

Your body is protected by fatty tissues. Essential oils love to absorb into your body’s tissues. When you swallow essential oils, they try to absorb into the first tissue they come into contact with aka your tongue, mouth, throat, and stomach. 

This can cause irritation and possible damage to these organs. 

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In this case, the first place the oils come into contact with is your stomach, causing irritation and possible damage there. 

When using essential oils in cooking, they do become more diluted. However, they are still not diluted enough to be considered safe. Essential oils are also likely to be more expensive than the ingredient you are substituting it with. 

The FDA lists some essential oils as generally regarded as safe (GRAS status). However, this does not make it safe to consume for personal use.

When the FDA describes essential oils as GRAS status, they’re measuring them as percentages in parts per million (ppm). This measurement is the same thing as 1 milligram of something per 1 liter of water. To give you a visual, one grain of sugar among 273 sugar cubes is about 1 ppm. 

One of the common ways people choose to ingest essential oils is by adding them to their water. To do this in the way the FDA considers generally safe, you would need to fill a 60-gallon tub with water, add 7 drops of essential oils, and add other ingredients to make the oil dissolve into the water, not just float on top. This is not a practical way to flavor water.

In summary, essential oils generally regarded as safe, generally refers to using very small amounts of essential oils in large amounts of commercially created foods and drinks. 

Some essential oil users would argue that if a company doesn’t recommend ingesting their oils, they are not pure.

Our recommendation of not ingesting essential oils is based on safety. 

Simply Earth Essential Oils are pure, and they are backed by our Simply Pure Promise. All of our essential oils are produced where they are best grown. We bottle them personally in our Simply Earth facility to ensure quality. All of our oils are GC/MS tested (a test which measures all of the chemicals in essential oil, so we can be sure that it is pure). You can find the GC/MS test results on our product pages. 

Essential oils are highly concentrated natural substances. They are helpful in supporting your body’s wellness. The benefits you want for your body using essential oils are likely achievable by using essential oils diluted, topically on the skin, or through aromatherapy. 

Ingesting essential oils, instead of topical application on the skin or through aromatherapy, is more likely to cause irritation and possible damage. It’s not worth ingesting them when you can get their natural benefits through a safer route.

Essential oils that are ingested are more likely to interact and cause adverse effects with those who take medications.

Some essential oils are poisonous if swallowed. Some can even be fatal when swallowed by pets or young children. 

The only situation in which we can see where ingesting essential oils may be valuable is when dealing with severe health issues under the supervision of a medical doctor who is versed in pharmaceutics and who is an experienced aromatherapist. 

ingesting essential oils

As a company, we do not recommend the casual ingesting of essential oils. It can cause irritation and possible damage to your organs. Please do not ingest essential oils unless under the supervision of a medical doctor who is versed in pharmaceutics and who is an experienced aromatherapist. 

If you want to know more about our oils, check out our Essential Oil Recipe Box! Each month, you can receive four full-size 100% pure essential oils, six natural recipes, plus the ingredients you need to make them in our Recipe Box.

With the box, you’ll learn new ways to use essential oils, make more essential oil roll-on recipes, and have the peace of mind that you are making your home toxin-free. This month of April, we focus on Home Detox. This box is worth over $150 if priced from the Big Essential Oil Companies. You get all those goodies from Simply Earth for only $44.99. Go get it!