Essential Oils for Metabolic Syndrome: Balance Blood Sugar, Pressure & Cholesterol

With all the talk about how to use natural solutions for obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, it’s interesting to note that most people haven’t heard about using essential oils for metabolic syndrome.

When I wrote this article, there was literally just one blog post about essential oils and metabolic syndrome online! My hope and prayer is that you find this report helpful, and that you share it with your loved ones because the information that I share below can spare someone a lot of pain and needless suffering.

Why Metabolic Syndrome Is a BIG Deal!

Metabolic syndrome is a combination of various risk factors that together create the perfect storm for increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and death. Not clearly defined in the literature, I’ve narrowed the main contributing risks down to these four:

1. Excessive weight gain (abdominal obesity)
2. Elevated blood sugar (insulin resistance)
3. High blood pressure (hypertension)
4. Imbalanced blood cholesterol (dyslipidemia)

Truth be told, we really don’t even know how far-reaching metabolic syndrome can be. It wasn’t too long ago, for example, that science uncovered that these four associated factors are linked to autoimmune disease. (1, 2, 3) What we do know, however, is that metabolic syndrome is quite pervasive.

Who has metabolic syndrome? 

• Nearly 35% of all U.S. adults.
• 50% of those are 60 years of age or older.
• Gender: women are affected more.
• Race: Hispanics, followed by non-Hispanic whites and then blacks.

What are the risks from developing metabolic syndrome?

• Increases the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus 5x.
• Increases the risk of cardiovascular disease 3x.
• Associated with a number of cancers including breast, colon, liver and pancreatic.

Not to mention that obesity, heart disease and diabetes are among the leading causes of deaths worldwide!

Maintaining a natural, holistic lifestyle is absolutely crucial to being healthy, and the key to preventing and treating metabolic syndrome is to approach each of the contributing risk factors individually. Meaning that you need to target weight loss differently than how you will balance your blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Please keep this in mind as you dive into the ways you can use essential oils for metabolic syndrome below…

Losing Weight

Nearly 1.5 billion are affected by obesity around the globe and this number is rising year after year. Affecting all races and genders indiscriminately, abdominal obesity is the primary prerequisite for metabolic syndrome.

The bottom line is that, to beat metabolic syndrome, you need to lose weight. It’s as simple as that. And I’m not talking about short-term diet solutions. I’m referring to sustainable, life-transformation!

When using essential oils for weight loss, you’ll want to keep these on hand: lime, grapefruit, cinnamon, peppermint, cardamom, cumin and black pepper.

Take grapefruit, for example. You’ve likely seen it recommended in popular diets, because virtually every part of the fruit benefits your body composition – especially the essential oil!

One reason is that the scent basically tells your body that it’s time to burn fat. According to one study, “Olfactory stimulation with scent of grapefruit oil (SGFO) excites the sympathetic nerve innervating the white adipose tissue…” It can also reduce appetite and body weight (5) Pretty cool, huh?

Before you dive in, though, remember that eating at McDonald’s every day and using essential oils is like taking one step forward and two steps back! Be sure to focus on abundant life-giving eating and exercise habits when incorporating essential oil therapy into your life.

One of my favorite tricks is to drink matcha green tea and make my favorite fat-burning matcha green tea latte! It tastes great and has been proven to help people lose weight and burn fat.

To try matcha green tea out for yourself, you can try Pique, my favorite supplier.

The Weight Loss Essential Oil Blend – equal parts of:

• Grapefruit
• Peppermint
• Lime
• Cinnamon bark

Application: Try this stimulating, appetite-curbing combination around workout times, when cravings hit, or during mealtimes. Add 2 drops of the following oil blend in a gel cap for occasional support. Be sure to discontinue use immediately if acid reflux develops (this can sometimes happen with peppermint).

For the inhalation benefit, add 5 drops of the blend into your favorite room diffuser and enjoy!

For more information on using essential oils to lose weight, be sure to read my report 7 Essential Oils For Weight Loss.

Balancing Blood Sugar

One of the most intriguing things about essential oils is their ability to synergize – the phenomenon in which combinations of oils work together to create even more potent healing properties than they contain individually. This is a fundamental concept behind creating blends.

In 2005, Georgetown researchers took note of the benefits of synergy when they studied essential oils for lowering elevated blood sugar. Instead of isolating a single oil for their research, they experimented with blends of multiple oils that have been suggested as beneficial for diabetes. Oils named in the summary were (6):

• Cinnamon bark (Cinnamomum zeylanicum)
• Cumin (Cuminum cyminum)
• Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum)
• Oregano (Origanum vulgare)

The blends were able to improve insulin sensitivity when taken internally, which can be replicated by including oil blends diluted into a carrier and consumed in capsules, drinks, and recipes. Alternatively, you can create a body oil and apply for similar results!

Application: Make my Blood Sugar Balancing Body Oil and use twice a day!

Blood Pressure Control

In 2012, Korean researchers evaluated how inhaling essential oils could benefit 83 pre-hypertensive and hypertensive patients. They created a blend of lavender, ylang-ylang, marjoram, and neroli (20 : 15 : 10 : 2). They chose these oils because they suspected they would do the following: (7)

• Lavender – alleviate cardiac excitation, lowers BP, and is effective in hypertension and palpitations.
• Ylang-ylang – lowers BP, alleviates palpitations and nervous system excitation, and promotes emotional relaxation.
• Marjoram – lowers sympathetic nervous system activity and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, resulting in vasodilatation to reduce cardiac strain and decrease BP.
• Neroli – brings forth emotional soothing and comfort and is effective in cardiac palpitations secondary to shock or fear.

As the method of intervention, the study group was provided with an aromatherapy necklace containing an essential oil-soaked stone, while the placebo group was given a necklace with artificial fragrance. Instructed to wear the necklace during the day, they were told to place an aroma stone with two oil drops by their bedside to ensure 24-hour inhalation.
Researchers discovered that by inhaling this special essential oil blend, patients were able to enjoy immediate and sustained blood pressure reduction – as well as lower stress levels!

Application: Try my Essential Oil Inhaler for High Blood Pressure and enjoy reduced blood pressure throughout the day!

Lower Blood Cholesterol

Since the groundbreaking 1975 paper that evaluated how onion and garlic essential oils could lower blood cholesterol levels in rabbits, people have been trying to find ways to use oils to prevent heart attacks. (8)

Much more recently, the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology published an article showing how lemongrass oil can not only reduce elevated cholesterol levels but is quite safe to use!

According to the study:

“No significant changes in gross pathology, body weight, absolute or relative organ weights, histology (brain, heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, stomach, spleen and urinary bladder), urinalysis or clinical biochemistry were observed in EO-treated mice relative to the control groups.”

“Additionally, blood cholesterol was reduced after EO-treatment at the highest dose tested [~2 drops].”

“Similarly, data from the comet assay in peripheral blood cells showed no genotoxic effect from the EO.”

“In conclusion, our findings verified the safety of lemongrass intake at the doses used in folk medicine and indicated the beneficial effect of reducing the blood cholesterol level.” (9)

At roughly 2 drops per day, taking lemongrass essential oil is a superbly effective and simple approach to balance your cholesterol levels!

Application: Consume 2 drops of lemongrass in a gel capsule filled with olive oil twice a day for one month between blood work evaluations.

Have you ever used essential oils to help you with metabolic syndrome? Let us know about it in the comments below.

References: