To understand how aromatherapy works, you have to understand where it comes from. Most of us, when browsing through the oils in Bath and Body Works at the mall, overlook the ingredients in the bottle and only focus on how good it smells. Fragrance is important, but what is really important is how the stuff inside the bottle will benefit you and your senses. Sophisticated Syrups has created edible aromatherapy – low calorie sugar substitutes for diabetics

The best part about aromatherapy is how it makes you feel and how far away it takes you from reality. Aromatherapy essential oil is the heart of the aromatherapy products. If you are interested in learning more about what you are spraying and massaging onto your skin, here are some basic facts about aromatherapy essential oil:

The Heart of It

Aromatherapy essential oil has its beginnings as a concentrated liquid from its plant of origin. Common plants used in aromatherapy are sage, rosemary, and juniper. Essential oil comes from such plants, and is mixed with water and other oils to be useable as oil. Too much concentration of essential oils can be hazardous to your health, so be mindful of the amount used.

What It Does

The uses of aromatherapy essential oil are many. This product can be used for therapeutic, emotional, physical and/or spiritual relief. Many use this product in meditation for spiritual awakening. Others use it for its soothing affect on sore muscles, or if they are stressed out and just need to take their senses on a journey. Whatever the need, aromatherapy essential oil is there to heal. When rubbed into the skin, the oils work their way into the bloodstream, creating a soothing atmosphere for the specific area.

Various Products

Aromatherapy essential oil can be bought at any natural retail outlet, but if you want the full benefit of this product, try going to a masseuse. There are masseuses that offer aromatic massages, using this product. Or, if you are a little more frugal with your money, you can have your significant other give you a relaxing massage after a hard day.

Or purchase a Sophisticated Syrup, and get the essential aromatherapy benefits in a low calorie sweetener that is actually good for you!

Try one of the Sophisticated Syrups as a healthy alternative to a sugar drink or diet soda.

Turbulent times and hectic, sometimes overwhelming schedules take a real toll on our bodies and minds. Prolonged elevated stress levels can adversely affect organ and brain performance, depress mood and significantly reduce sleep – all of which can have devastating effects on a person’s general health over time. Traditionally, the essential oils, or essences in aromatherapy have been a true respite for many who are wary of today’s often over-prescribed antidepressants and anxiety medications.

Aromatherapy at its basis, like the word implies,

works by stimulating nerves inside the nose to produce responses in the brain, primarily in the limbic system. Creating a calming effect in the limbic system is crucial because that area of the brain regulates emotion, motivation, and the release of chemicals and hormones. It also plays a large part in controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Scientists are not sure exactly how essential oils work to improve health, but they do say that aromatherapy ingredients are complementary modalities that likely trigger responses inside the body and brain to help the body heal itself.

Many essential oils have actual direct pharmacological effects when ingested or used as a part of a healthy meal plan.

A bit of caution is required when ingesting or cooking with essential oils however. Some oils can be toxic when ingested or applied to the skin in large doses, and some are not safe for ingestion at all. Check labels and/or seek advice from a certified clinical aromatherapist, pharmacist or physician, or consult the many essential oil low calorie recipe books available.

Another organic compound is now being widely used with essential oils to create naturally sweet recipes that have tremendous health benefits, in addition to being great tasting is  Organic Xylitol. Xylitol, which is a sugar alcohol, is mass produced from corn or birch trees and the result is a sweetener with 40% less calories than sugar and a host of health benefits. Oral health issues including cavities and weak enamel, bacterial infections, and bone health can all be improved with the ingestion of xylitol. And diabetics can use xylitol because of its low glycemic index and the fact that it does not cause an insulin release.

Foods incorporating xylitol and aromatherapy ingredients are beginning to take hold. There are numerous recipes incorporating essential oils, and ready-made products are starting to spring up in health food and specialty food stores. Syrups that can be put on breads and pancakes or added to recipes make featuring essential oils in your diet easy. These same syrups can also be used as flavored liquid sweeteners in hot or cold beverages, to make sodas with and to use in a myriad of other ways. Cancer patients and survivors can especially benefit from the syrups because xylitol does not feed cancer cells like regular sugar and does not promote fungal (yeast) or bacterial growth.

Many low calorie recipes could be made with Sophisticated Syrups.

You know as a cancer survivor that sugar is a no-no. Not only does it impede your immune system, it also feeds cancer cells, yeast and bacteria. Sophisticated Syrups are made with organic birch-sourced xylitol. Xylitol does not feed cancer cells, yeast or bacteria like sugar does. What’s also great about xylitol  is that it does not negatively affect your nervous system as artificial sweeteners do.

Sophisticated Syrups come in 4 aromatherapy created flavors and also an unflavored version. Order some xylitol based edible aromatherapy syrups today. Get creative and enjoy where they take you.

Low Calorie Ingredients:

• 6 cups apple juice
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 12 whole cloves
• 1 inch fresh ginger – peeled
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 6 cups cranberry juice
• 2 cups sparkling water or club soda
• 2 ounces Sophisticated Syrups “Citrus Sun” or “All’s Well”

Instructions:

In a saucepan over medium heat bring apple juice, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and cinnamon stick to a simmer. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain, cool and then refrigerate until cold (at least 2 hours). In a large pitcher or punch bowl combine apple juice mixture with cranberry juice and syrup. Top with sparkling water or club soda. Serves 8.

Variations:

Garnish individual servings with cinnamon stick and or/apple slice on rim of glass.

Does not have to be cooled, can add cranberry juice and syrup to hot mixture and serve warm.

Start your day out right, or take a break in the afternoon and enjoy this delicious hot beverage made from organic xylitol and unsweetened almond milk.

Ingredients:

• 10 oz boiling water
• ½ oz Sophisticated Syrup “All’s Well”
• ½ oz unsweetened almond milk

Combine ingredients into a 12 oz mug and enjoy.

Each  11 oz serving contains :
Calories: 10
Fat: less than ½ gram
Carbs: less than ¼ gram

Comparison to Starbucks Low Fat Milk Chai  8 oz serving
Calories: 131
Fat: 3.5 grams
Carbs: 18 grams

Order your low calorie syrups today and start enjoying your favorite Starbucks drink at 10% the costs in money and body intake! Consider using Healthy Syrups in all your recipes.

Sophisticated Syrup - Citrus Aromatherapy

Boost the Metabolism and Improve Liver and Digestion Functions With an Herbal Weight Loss Diet

Many diet supplements that are sold over the counter are herbal and are readily available in health food stores. Of the best known herbal weight loss supplements, ephedrine or ephedra, guarana, St. John’s Wart, and Senna, seem to stand out. This is primarily because these herbal weight loss supplements act as burners of fat through the process of boosting the person’s metabolism and, in the short term, act as successful herbal weight loss supplements.

It has also been found that diets which are low in calorie count may have insufficient amounts of vitamins and minerals, and added to this is the fact that modern living can often lead to having a diet of fast food as well as having quick energy needs, all of which may lead to increased obesity. The major cause of people putting on extra weight may be primarily due to that of inactivity and an eating of unhealthy foods and also comfort eating, which means eating to fulfill emotional needs.

Strange as it may seem, even though many people take to dieting, the numbers of obese and overweight people is steadily rising, and, even after years of dieting it may result in the slowing down of the metabolism which, in turn, may result in the gaining of more weight again.

Ecoslim is a healthy herbal weight loss supplement that can help to boost the metabolism, as well as help to better the functioning of the liver and digestive system in order to help the user reduce weight without any harmful health effects. Ecoslim, for instance, is a herbal weight loss supplement that contains the following herbs – fucus vesiculosis, gallium aperine, garcinia cambogia, taraxacum officinalis, glycorrizha glabra, erythrea centaurium, paulina cupana, curcuma longa, zingiber officinalis, as well as capsicum minimum.

For those who get frustrated by the results of weight loss diets there is a simple solution available in the form of an herbal weight loss diet. First and foremost, there is the need to reduce calorie and fat intake, followed by plenty of regular exercise and lastly, using principle nutrients for reducing appetite, burning excess fats as well as eliminating extra water. In addition, there is the need to follow the instructions of the herbal weight loss diet carefully and properly. Some popular herbal weight loss herbs are: bitter orange, cayenne, coleus, ephedra, green tea and guggul.

By substituting your current sweetener with a sophisticated syrup, containing organic xylitol, you can have a low calorie recipe for anything you sweeten!

Low Calorie Quinoa Salad

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk
• 2 fresh peaches (canned in juice if fresh not available)
• Sophisticated Syrups – Citrus Sun, lavender Lull & All’s Well 

Sweeten the almond milk with Citrus Sun to taste.

Sweeten the chocolate almond milk with Lavender Lull to taste.

Pour each into freezable containers for portion size – 2 oz portion cups work well but bigger is fine. Put into freezer.

Dice peaches and divide into 2 bowls. Drizzle All’s Well over 1 bowl, Citrus Sun over the other. Stir, cover and refrigerate.

When ice milks are frozen, put 1 of each flavor into a bowl and let them sit for a few minutes to soften. Spoon peaches over and enjoy.

This recipe also works well with blueberries and strawberries.

When people think of aromatherapy, the image of candles burning with a piney fragrance or perfume reminiscent of spring flowers probably comes to mind. Those are some of the most popular uses of aromatherapy. At Sophisticated Syrups, we provide edible aromatherapy in the form a syrup made with natural organic xylitol.

But there are medicinal or therapeutic uses as well, like personalized aromatherapy skin care. See our aromatherapy syrup recipes to see how they can be used on your skin. Let’s take a look at how essential oils can help refresh and heal your skin.

Essential Oils

Sophisticated Syrup - Lavender Aromatherapy

Some essential oils can soothe chapped skin on elbows and lips. Others function as astringents or antibacterial agents. So take a moment to consider what sort of aromatherapy skin care you need, and then select the essential oils accordingly.

Chamomile and rose essential oils work well to soften dry skin.

Perhaps your skin is too oily. Diluted tea tree oil could be a good choice. This essential oil is very drying, so it’s often used to clear up blemishes. Lavender oil is also a drying agent.

Trying to heal a small scrape or cut? Diluted clove or eucalyptus oil might help, as both have antiseptic properties.

Never apply undiluted essential oils to your skin – you could cause serious skin irritation, just the opposite of what you want to achieve with aromatherapy skin care.

Carrier Oils

The choice of carrier oil is also important to get the maximum benefit from aromatherapy skin care. This is the main component of any aromatherapy product that will be directly applied to the skin.

Jojoba and apricot kernel oils work well as carrier oils for massage lotions or moisturizers. So does cocoa butter.

You can skip choosing and buying carrier oil when making your own aromatherapy skin care lotion by purchasing unscented body lotion at any drugstore. Then all you need to do is add a few drops of essential oil to the bottle.

Hydrosols

For personalized facial aromatherapy skin care, the hydrosols – or flower waters – are popular options for moisturizing toners and lotions.

Hydrosols consist of the water left behind by the distillation of an essential oil from a plant, and can also be combined with a carrier like glycerin to create a particularly rich moisturizer. Rose water plus glycerin, for example, is a good option for facial aromatherapy skin care if you already like using rose oil as a lotion on other parts of your body.

One safety tip to keep in mind: Aromatherapy skin care products can cause allergic reactions just like any other kind of lotion. Apply a small dab of a new product to your skin and wait 24 to 48 hours before using more. Any signs of irritation could indicate an allergy to the ingredients.

Edible Aromatherapy

At Sophisticated Syrups, we provide edible aromatherapy in the form a syrup made with natural organic xylitol.