The concept of Nature Made Candles was to “educate candle lovers on the importance of knowing what is in the candle. Everyone should know what they are inhaling...no matter how nice (or not) it smells. Earth needed a candle for enjoying scents and sights without hindering health, so we made…
The concept of Nature Made Candles was to “educate candle lovers on the importance of knowing what is in the candle. Everyone should know what they are inhaling...no matter how nice (or not) it smells. Earth needed a candle for enjoying scents and sights without hindering health, so we made one.” The objective evolved into educating the student population of Arizona State University (ASU) about what ingredients go into commercial candles, with a particular focus on the wax and scent, as well as giving students a free candle that emulated the holistic ingredients they were educated on. This project was designed to be a quality improvement and health promotion project with an emphasis on the ASU student population. The purpose of the project was to find a type of candle that was friendly to the lungs of all individuals who wanted candles in their household.
There are many claims made in the essential oil industry, and not all of them are backed up by a sufficient amount of peer-reviewed research. Thus, the purpose of this thesis project was to sort through the claims made in the essential oil industry and present an evidence-supported review of…
There are many claims made in the essential oil industry, and not all of them are backed up by a sufficient amount of peer-reviewed research. Thus, the purpose of this thesis project was to sort through the claims made in the essential oil industry and present an evidence-supported review of the health benefits of lavender, peppermint, and citrus essential oils. Interviews were conducted to compare the literature findings to the knowledge and experiences of individuals using essential oils in their daily lives. Lavender essential oil was shown to improve agitated behavior, fatigue, cardiovascular parameters, sleep quality, anxiety, PONV, and quality of life. Peppermint essential oil was shown to improve cognitive performance, reduce mental fatigue, and reduce PONV and antiemetic drug requirements. Finally, Citrus aurantium can improve anxiety, mental symptoms of PMS, and quality of life, and Citrus sinensis can reduce postoperative abdominal pain. All of these results were achieved in medical settings with low costs, little to no reported side effects, and generally high participant satisfaction with each intervention. By comparing the literature findings to the information collected from interviews with current essential oil users, it can safely be assumed that essential oil practice and research align in many relevant cases. Most notably, lavender essential oil aids in sleep quality and anxiety disorders and peppermint essential oil aids with cognitive function and gastrointestinal concerns.
