The Natural Approach to 'The Poisons': Herb v Essential Oil, which is best? Paperback – March 12, 2026

Very often there is a confusion in the healing benefits of a herb and the resulting essential oil which has been extracted from the plant. Assumptions are made that if the herb does 'x, y, z' then the resulting Essential Oil will do the same. This is not always the case.By herbs, I mean plants which are used for their healing properties as in herbalism, not just the botanical group called herbs.There are many Essential Oils which, in the past, were not readily available to the general public, only to qualified Aromatherapists which are now accessible to everyone. Some of these Essential Oils are classified as hazardous, or toxic, are on official poisons and hazardous lists such as the NHS holds. In some cases I question and often shake my head as to why they are even extracted from the plant material at all. This always makes me think of Jeff Goldblum playing Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park saying "They were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they never stopped to think if they should."I want to point out, I am not a herbalist. My knowledge about the herbs comes from an Aromatherapy perspective, where we do look at the original plant to better understand the chemical components that are present in the Essential Oils. Some will even delve into the Doctrine of Signatures and more.Herbalists will often reverse the learning process or compare their herbs to the Essential Oils.For the public, the biggest mistake made is people thinking, for example "Well, I eat garlic to help my circulation and cholesterol, that's natural, so the essential oil is natural and must be safe." No, that does not follow, in fact quite the opposite is true in many cases.With this in mind, I decided to look at many available Essential Oils which are classified as hazardous or toxic and compare them to their herbal use for better understanding of which should or should not be used as Essential Oils.I'm hoping that the book will be a useful reference to the public, Aromatherapists, Herbalists, indeed anyone who has an interest in herbal/Essential Oil medicine. Read more