Have you ever wondered what the difference is between the modern treatments and the natural remedies? Do you think of them as complete opposites and, therefore, feel like only one can work?
At the farmers market last weekend, I had jars of bath soak for sale. One was for muscle aches and contained wintergreen and other essential oils in the epsom salts and baking soda.
A lady with problem knees asked about it, and as I was telling her about the essential oils in it, she skeptically asked, "Do they actually work?"
I was caught off guard and didn't have a good answer on the tip of my tongue, other than, "Yes, they do." I mean, I wouldn't make them and sell them if they didn't work, but I didn't figure that would convince her.
Afterward, I wished I'd told her how it actually worked – how wintergreen is the natural compound that all the common pain creams aim to copy.
You see, the main constituent in wintergreen is methyl salicylate. Please don't get intimidated by the big words and check out – that's just what it's called, and you can abbreviate it any way you like for the purpose of this blog. Methyl salicylate is a compound commonly used to soothe aches and discomfort. It is an active ingredient in products like Bengay, Icy Hot, and other pain-relieving liniments.
In fact, Bengay original is 18% methyl salicylate, and Bengay ultra strength and Icy Hot are 30%.
What I wish I'd asked this lady at the farmers market is, "Why would it work in over-the-counter creams but not in an essential oil?"
You cannot reasonably claim that one works and the other doesn't. It defies logic.
Furthermore, if you're using a top-quality wintergreen essential oil (as I do), it is 100% natural, whereas the methyl salicylate in the products you'll find in the pharmacy will almost always be 100% synthetic.
Naturally occurring versus synthetic is another topic for another day, but suffice it to say for now that natural is more easily recognized by your body and will have fewer detrimental effects. The essential oil also does not contain all the other ingredients of the pain creams, which may include preservatives, fragrances, and fillers.
So when you're wondering about the effectiveness of natural remedies, just remember that the OTC or prescription products are often based on recreating the effects of those natural remedies. Why on earth would companies copy and make millions off of them if they didn't work?
I have a video about pain creams in my Facebook group. In it, I talk more about synthetic versus natural and how an athlete actually died from a pain cream. Join the group to watch.
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