Debunking the Essential Oils Alternative Medicine Claims

My son is only 11 years old, but aside from teaching him ways to manage his mental health since he was about 5 through practices like meditation, my other goal is to help him become a critical thinker. Critical thinking is a skill that needs to be developed through practice, and while I’m not teaching my son about all of our inherent cognitive biases and various mental models, I have taught him the golden rule of critical thinking, which is that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Recently, my beautiful girlfriend Tristin and I binged watched the new Netflix docuseries Unwell, and I just can’t help but think how different these peoples’ lives would be if they learned the same golden rule. In the series, they do a deep dive on the wellness industry, and they cover topics from bee sting therapy, to 28-day fasting, and even people who buy breast milk online. But today, we’re going to be taking a look at the specific wellness industry of essential oils.

You may have heard of essential oil MLM’s like doTerra and Young Living when a high school friend you haven’t talked to in years tries to get you in their downline, but today we’re taking a look at a different angle. We’re going to look at essential oils through the lens of critical thinking as it’s presented as an alternative medicine. As a recovering drug addict…