Episode 275: Supporting Your Respiratory Health, Plus a Look at Douglas Fir

Did you know that people usually breathe an average of 13 pints of air every minute? Which means that day after day, we need to make sure that we're doing what we can to support clear and easy breathing.

Welcome back to Essential Oil Solutions with doTERRA^®, the podcast where you'll hear exciting, useful and simple everyday uses for essential oils from experts in the field.

Today's episode is brought to you by the doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation^®. It's the holiday season, a time of thankfulness and giving. In honor of it we're partnering with the Maui community to raise $100,000 toward replanting 10,000 trees all over the island. You can make a lasting impact by donating. Just click the link in the episode description. $10 plants a tree and your gift to Maui will echo for generations.

Today, we're excited to talk to Samantha Lewis, a member of the doTERRA product Marketing team, about how you can support a healthy respiratory system. And then we'll take a look at the history of Douglas Fir.

doTERRA: Samantha, thank you so much for being here with us today.

Samantha Lewis: Thanks for having me.

doTERRA: Can you start us off by just explaining a little bit about why our respiratory health is so important?

Samantha: Absolutely. So, from comfort to overall health, there are so many reasons why respiratory health is important. According to the American Lung Association^®, every single cell in your body needs oxygen to live, which I feel like we all hopefully learn that.

But the air we breathe contains oxygen and other gases, and this respiratory system that we all have, that's main job is to move fresh air into your body, while we're moving waste gases. So we connect poor respiratory health to low oxygen and even possibly poor waste gas removal.

I mean, our lungs, they keep us alive and well for the most part. We don't really need to think much about them, but when we can, I think it's super important to support the overall respiratory system health. It's vital to our cells. It's vital to every piece of our being. So, I hope we can, you know, focus on that a little bit more today. I'm excited to talk more.

doTERRA: Absolutely. So that leads directly into what I wanted to ask you about next, which is: what are some of the things I can do to support that respiratory system? What are some of the lifestyle changes I could be making?

Samantha: Yeah. So, I feel like there are some simple changes we can make. We often talk about, just in general, reducing our toxic load. It's actually one of the key pieces of the doTERRA Wellness Pyramid: reduce toxic load. And in my opinion, respiratory health starts there.

Now, I'm not a medical expert, but as an average consumer, I know that a lot of what I breathe in daily can impact my systemic wellbeing. If I can reduce my toxic load, meaning removing or avoiding things that impact my respiratory system negatively, it's one step closer to supporting my respiratory system health as a whole.

We know the obvious things like secondhand smoke, radon, carbon monoxide, etcetera: those can impact our respiratory health negatively. But what isn't discussed enough, in my opinion, are the chemicals in our home and the mold that can often be found in homes. According to the American Lung Association, these—all of them can cause or worsen existing lung disease, and they can impact overall respiratory health.

Now, with these hazards in mind, we then should look at how we can remove them from our day-to-day lives. Is that maybe replacing harmful chemical cleaners with healthier alternative options, using those same healthier alternative options to get rid of the mold in our homes. Or even going into the scent devices that we've seen all over social media. We see them in the grocery store. We know those are harmful in more ways than just our respiratory system. So, why are we using those? Let's replace them with natural alternatives that smell great and do great things for us.

And we know we can't avoid toxins completely. It's not realistic to stay inside and avoid everything out in the world. That's why this step is reduce your toxic load. So let's find ways we can support our respiratory health, because we know we're only able to reduce that toxic load. Not completely eliminated.

doTERRA: Absolutely. And I think that's a key thing to remember, that no one's going to be perfect at this all the time. We live in the world and that means we're exposed to things. And that's okay as long as we're doing what we can.

Samantha: Exactly.

doTERRA: Now for that extra bit of support, what are some of your favorite doTERRA products to help support those feelings of really clear airways and that easy breathing that we're all looking for?

Samantha: Yeah. So, doTERRA Breathe^® is our breathe blend, really. That's the first and simplest option. We've pulled together the best supportive essential oils all into one incredible blend. And I think it smells pretty good for a more like functional aromatherapy blend. But we also have some incredible essential oils and another blend that I want to talk about that really helps support these same feelings.

My next go-to is the updated Eucalyptus essential oil. And now technically it is a blend—a blend of different varieties of eucalyptus. It's completely one of a kind, and it's been optimized very intentionally to give you a consistent level of therapeutic 1.8-cineole or eucalyptol in every single bottle. So, eucalyptus is one that I am diffusing all throughout these kind of colder seasons.

Speaking of the colder seasons, though, if you want something more, "'tis the season," if you will, our fir essential oils can be very supportive for airways when diffused. I often reach for Black Spruce, but there's Douglas Fir, Siberian Fir, and even our Northern Escape^® blend—they have very refreshing aromas that I think are perfect for this kind of thing.

doTERRA: I love that there are so many options and like you said, if you're just looking for the benefit, we have options. But if you're also looking for something that smells a little more festive, smells a little more appropriate for the time of year, we have options for that as well.

Samantha: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. I mean, there's so many opportunities to really cocktail and create a fun, aromatic experience that also supports your well-being.

doTERRA: Absolutely. Now, with all of these different options in these products, how do I incorporate those into my daily routine so that I have that support all day long?

Samantha: This is the simplest answer, and truly it's the simplest way to use, but diffusion. Diffusion is the most simple way to incorporate essential oils daily. All the oils I talked about are incredible when diffused, and this delivery method really helps you breathe in the scent deeply so you can experience the refreshing, comforting aromas.

But also, if you're not really looking into diffusion or you've already got that covered and you want to find a different way to support your system, we also have the doTERRA Breathe Vapor Stick, which for me is a daily staple in my house, especially during the colder months. It's such an easy delivery of a very powerful, supportive essential oil blend, smells great, easy to use, it's non-greasy. I love the doTERRA Breathe Vapor Stick. We have multiple in our house. That's another super simple way.

And you can also take some of these other essential oils that we've talked about and apply them topically, diluting them with a carrier oil, bringing them along with you in a roll-on when you need that respiratory support.

doTERRA: Yes, and I love that you emphasize that, that there are more ways than just one. Find what works for you, find what works for your family, and use the oils in whatever way is best for you.

Samantha: Yeah, just find what feels right, what makes sense for you and your routine because everyone lives a different life. So, don't make it too hard. There are simple ways to use the essential oils you already have. Use that toolbox at your fingertips.

doTERRA: Absolutely. Samantha, thank you so much for talking with us today and teaching us a little bit more about how doTERRA can help support our respiratory system.

Samantha: Thanks for having me.

doTERRA: Tall and majestic, the Douglas fir stands as one of the largest trees in North America, and also one of the most popular. Today, we're going to talk about some internal historical uses for this plant.

Any internal benefits discussed are not applicable to aromatic or topical use. Also, various plant parts such as the leaves, bark, flower stem, fruit, peel, bud, resin, etcetera were often used for many different practices and benefits. These historical uses are mentioned here to offer insight as we explore the history of oils and plants. As such, these ancient uses are solely for informational purposes and are not being advocated or recommended by doTERRA. Proceed at your own risk with such uses.

Despite being named as a fir, Douglas fir is not actually a true fir tree at all. It's a species in the pine family, and the story of how the tree got its name is an interesting one, and one with a little bit of controversy.

You see, the Douglas fir was named after the Scottish botanist David Douglas in the early 1820s. David Douglas was incredibly influential and would pave the way for many of the global botanical explorations that would define much of the Victorian era.

However, David Douglas was not the first European who discovered the Douglas fir. The tree was actually first documented by Scottish physician and rival naturalist Archibald Menzies on Vancouver Island in 1791, when he was appointed as naturalist to accompany Captain George Vancouver on his voyage around the world. Menzies name does show up, however, as part of the scientific name of Douglas fir: Pseudotsuga menziesii.

The Douglas fir has a long history with Native American groups. Many would use the bark, resin, and needles for various wellness practices. Some tribes used the foliage as a freshener in sweat baths, and the leaves were used as a coffee substitute.

The Douglas fir has long been associated with protection, specifically by the native cultures of the Pacific Northwest. Native folklore tells a story of a great forest fire and a small mouse who sought refuge in the canopy of a Douglas fir tree.

The Douglas fir thought its thick bark would protect it from the ravages of the fire below, and invited the mouse and those that would follow to climb into its massive canopy and find shelter in its cones. The mice did so, leaving their feet and tails exposed beneath the thumb-shaped scales of the cone. In the folk tale, both the tree and the mice survive the Great Fire.

Other versions of this fable portray mice seeking shelter from a dire storm or deep snow or famine. And to this day, people say that when you look closely at a Douglas fir cone, the mouse's back, legs and tail are still visible beneath the cone scales.

Native Hawaiians also utilize Douglas fir, building double-holed canoes from Douglas fir logs that had drifted ashore.

The wood has historically been favored as firewood, especially when it is the coastal variety. And early settlers used Douglas fir for all forms of building construction, including floors, beams, and fine carving. Even today, much of the northwest chainsaw art is completed on Douglas fir logs. And the structures built from fir have been known to last 150 years or more.

With its incredible history and beautiful fragrance, we know you'll love Douglas fir. It's the perfect essential oil to help capture the spirit of the holiday season.

Thanks for joining us and congratulations on living a healthier lifestyle with essential oils. If you want to try any of the products you learned about, click on the link in the episode description or find a Wellness Advocate near you to place an order today.

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