Essential oils contraindicated in chemotherapy

Essential oils are commonly used to accompany and limit the side effects of chemotherapy. However, some of them are not recommended or even totally contraindicated. Find out which ones to avoid if you need chemotherapy.

Aromatherapy is a branch of phytotherapy

She who uses the aromatic compounds of plants in the form of essential oil. A true concentrate of active ingredients, they have a high potential of action on all problems, whether physical or emotional. Their use must be done under the advice of a professional trained in this specialty: doctor, pharmacist, aromatherapist, naturopath...

As part of conventional cancer therapy support, they can help relieve some of the discomfort of side effects of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Thus, nausea, fatigue, immune weakness, loss of appetite, burns, mouth ulcers, mycoses and other pains will be relieved for the most part thanks to the use of certain very specific oils and according to a very precise protocol established by a professional in natural medicine.

Essential oil and hormone-dependent cancers

However, beware that not all essential oils are good to take, especially in cases of hormone-dependent cancer. The ARC Foundation defines this type of cancer as follows

"A cancer is hormone-dependent or hormone-sensitive when hormones play a role in the proliferation of cancer cells.[...] In the majority of cases, sex hormones are carcinogenic if the tumor cells have an abnormal amount of specific receptors on their surface . These cells are then said to have developed a hypersensitivity to hormones. When the hormone attaches to these types of cells, it stimulates their multiplication, which promotes the development of a tumor "

Indeed, cancers affecting the ovaries, endometrium, breasts, uterus, prostate, thyroid or neuroendocrine tumors are sensitive to the presence of hormones in abnormally high quantities.

For some of them including ovarian, endometrial and breast cancer, this sensitivity is related to the presence of sex hormones including estrogen. As mentioned in the article on xenoestrogens and endocrine disruptorsThere are foreign sources of estrogen in the body, either chemical or natural.

These are derived from so-called"hormone-like" or "estrogen-like"plants because the phytoestrogens present in their aromatic compounds have a similar action to estrogens already present in the body. Thus accumulated, their actions only further disrupt the proper functioning of the endocrine system while promoting the proliferation of cancer cells.

List of essential oils to avoid when treating hormone-dependent cancers

As a precautionary measure, these essential oils are not recommended even for non-hormone-dependent cancers.

Essential Oils and Blood Thinning

Some cancer treatments thin the blood. In this case, to avoid drug interactions, essential oils containing methyl salicylate such as the essential oil of Wintergreen as well as citrus, Angelica and Khella essential oils should be specifically avoided.

Chemotherapies are extremely powerful therapeutic procedures that wash away everything in their path. The use of essential oils must be done under control and not blindly because they - too - have a powerful force of action.

Accidents happen quickly with essential oils: intoxications are possible if you do not respect the prerogatives related to their use.

Alexia Bernard 6 August, 2019
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