Absolutely. I didn’t mean to imply that they are useless. I wholeheartedly believe in plant-based medicines and holistic wellness. I’ve been studying herbalism (just for my own purposes) since I was a teenager, before all these companies came in and did what they did, and I have used these oils for particular purposes based on the studies I have read.

I tried to make it clear that essential oils really haven’t been the subject of major medical studies and as such, we really just don’t know one way or other — meaning they could be way MORE effective against certain diseases and viruses than what we currently know. I think I included a quote to that effect. (I hope we DO get to that point of studying them more in depth.)

My point is only that these companies are predatory and don’t care what misleading information they feed to the public, and many people buy into what they say without doing any research and then spread it on social media, and I’m concerned with the number of people I know who just signed on with these companies to become consultants so they could buy a bunch or Thieves and OnGuard formulas and who are now talking a lot about using these products to prevent the spread of this virus which isn’t necessarily true. We just don’t know at this point.

P.S. On another note, entirely, it irks me to no end that companies like these have co-opted folk terms (like “thieves oil”) and trademarked them, preventing herbalists from using these common use terms. Thankfully, a lawsuit regarding the trademarking of “fire cider” just ended, and common use won over trademark, so there’s a precedent, now. But watching these companies take these common use folk names and trademarking them and using them to push products…and during a pandemic. UGH! Makes me crazy mad.