Which Essential Oils are Safe to Ingest? Can You "Eat" Essential Oils? (2024)

It’s been long on my mind to write an article about ingesting essential oils safely. There is a lot of marketing and information going around the internet about essential oils’ internal use – including recipes, DIY recipes and recipes outlining dietary benefits of essential oils.

But, I’ve found that people are still left wondering whether or not certain brands or types of essential oils are safe to eat.

The biggest concerns I’ve heard and want to address in depth, are:

• Can I eat essential oils? Should I?
• Which brands of essential oils are safe to ingest?
• Who doesn’t endorse ingesting essential oils

And then, of course, there are a few side notes and other valuable information to each topic – but in essence, this article will address these top 3 questions.

What is in an Essential Oil?

Essential oils are extremely concentrated natural essences and can quiteoften be a lot more powerful than expected. Even though a drop of oil might not look like much, it can be extremely potent in its effect. Please be aware of this fact always so that we can prevent misuse of precious oils – all the while ensuring you get to enjoy the maximum possible benefit from them.

Can I eat Essential Oils?

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration office (FDA) is the agency that protects and promotes public health through the control and supervision of food safety – including dietary supplements, drugs and cosmetics. However, since essential oils at large are neither a drug, cosmetic, or dietary supplement,there is really no one category for the FDA to approve or stamp the use of essential oils in general.

As far as I could find out, the categorization of whether an essential oil is deemed a “drug”, “cosmetic” or “dietary supplement” depends on how its use is being advertised. In 2014, Young Living Essential Oils actually received an official warning letter from the FDA, basically slapping their fingers for making strong health benefit claims that would usually have to fall under the “drugs” regulatory act, but the essential oils didn’t go through that approval process and were therefore in violation of the rules. Of course, Young Living has since made all of the necessary changes to remain in compliance.

Further to note, there is also the clause of essential oils being safe “for their intended use”. If you read up on what is actually implied by “intended use” on the FDA website¹, it is also again an area that leaves a lot of room for interpretation or marketing from essential oil brands, websites, and social media channels.

That being said, some brands definitely do advertise that their products are safe for internal use, and I will include them here for easy reference.

Just know that if you do ingest these oils, you are placing your trust in that company, their integrity and marketing ethics – and not in an officially approved safety stamp.

Which Brands of Essential Oils are Safe to Ingest?

The following brands offer essential oils safe for internal use.

• Young Living Vitality™ Oils
• dōTERRA
• Miracle Essential Oils
• Jade Bloom Oils

To repeat a summary of the information above, whether or not internal use is ok, is self-proclaimed information. These statements are not approved by the FDA and in my opinion – should be taken with a grain of salt. Use at your own risk.Good marketingshould not replace personal judgment nor medical treatment when indicated. Essential oilsare not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always talk to your health care provider or naturopathic physician about the use of essential oils.

Young Living Vitality™ Oils

Young Living has always been at the forefront of pushing the use of essential oils internally. All of their oils comply with a Seed to Seal® promise, basically stating that all aspects of the oils production are controlled and monitored under their quality standards. However, Young Living recently created the Young Living “Vitality™” label to help further and very clearly distinguish aromatherapy oils from oils intended for dietary or culinary use. Look for the label “Vitality™” on any Young Living bottle, and this means they suggest safe internal use for that particular oil.

Popular oils available in Vitality are Peppermint, Lemon, Orange, Lavender and Thieves.

Young Living Essential Oils Full Brand Review

doTERRA Essential Oils

The essential oil company doTERRA also openly advocates for the ingestion of essential oils in their “how to use essential oils” guide on their website. They advertise using essential oils in cooking and baking to replace dried or fresh herbs and spices, or using them in water or other drinks as dietary supplements.

All doTERRA essential oils include directions on how to use each oil internally. You can find the instructions on their website, on each page for the single essential oil (Example: Grapefruit Essential Oil here).

doTERRA advises that you strictly follow the dosing recommendations according to the labels, and any other professional or medical recommendation you’ve been given for your individual health.

doTERRA Essential Oils Full Brand Review

Miracle Essential Oils

Miracle Essential Oils is another brand that very openly promotes internal use of their essential oils.If you click”How to Use” on their website, you will see a paragraph on how their oils are recommended for dietary use.

I’ve also found this support desk ticketwith an answer from a Miracle Essential Oils staff member, directlystating their oils are safe for internal use.

Unfortunately, I don’t see any way that this information is clearly stated on each individual essential oil bottle. The website and online store does have a nice icon for dietary use, but what you basically have to do, is shop in the MEO online store, and look for that “Dietary Use” icon, and read the description to help you see that any particular oil of choice is good for adding to your food.

Miracle Essential Oils Full Brand Review

Jade Bloom Oils

You can safely ingest some oils from Jade Bloom Essential Oils. They are 100% pure but with that, also very potent. Please always follow proper dilution recommendations. Also consider special circ*mstances such as pregnancy, age, or other prevailing conditions you may have.

To find out which exact oils you can ingest, go to the Jade Bloom Official Oil Guide here. Click on “Oils” to see the index of all the oils they carry. Select the oil in question, and scroll down in the description until you find the Usage Instructions section.

If no instructions are given for internal use, this means your selected oil is not rated safe for ingestion. Choose another oil.

Who Doesn’t Endorse Ingesting Essential Oils

Most essential oil brands advertise the more conservative and safe way of using essential oils by saying to NOT ingest them. Some customer service answers I’ve received in the past state that their brand officially doesn’t recommend internal use, but that their consumers do so anyways at their own risk and while working with their healthcare team.

If you like a particular brand of essential oils, and would like to take them internally, I would recommend you search the FAQ or customer service database of your exact brand of choice really well to find some good answers on this question. You can’t go off of general information here as no such thing exists and no one-size-fits-all general approval to use oils internally exists in this industry.

For your convenience, I have included some other popular essential oil brands‘ statements on internal use of essential oils.

Rocky Mountain Oils

Published in their March 2018 Newsletter

“Essential oils are very potent. Even though our oils are 100% pure, it is dangerous to provide information on ingestion because we do not have a complete understanding of your medical history, or know the medications you could be taking. Also, due to FDA regulations employees of an essential oil company are not allowed to provide answers to medically related questions. We recommend consulting with an independent aromatherapist or trusted health professional for guidance.”

Eden’s Garden

Initially published as a newsletter from Eden’s Garden & reprinted with permission.

“At Edens Garden, we do not recommend the internal use of essential oils without consulting with your medical doctor and an experienced aromatherapist, and here’s why. Undiluted, pure essential oils are highly concentrated substances. For example, 250 pounds of steam distilled Lavender may yield 1 pound of Lavender essential oil. If you convert this number down to a drop, you will find that there is about ⅓ oz of Lavender per drop of Lavender EO. Thus, adding 3 drops of Lavender EO to a cup of water equates to adding one ounce of Lavender plant.

When added to a drink or swallowed directly, essential oils come into straight contact with vital organs such as the tongue, mouth, esophagus, stomach, etc. Because essential oils are miscible with fats, they attach to the mucous membrane which lines these organs leading to irritation and possible damage.”

More Eden’s Garden specific internal essential oil use information can be found in this article here: Is It Safe To Ingest Eden’s Garden Essential Oils?

Plant Therapy

Excerpt from a blog post on www.planttherapy.com.

“This is why Plant Therapy’s official stance is to not ingest essential oils unless under the supervision of a medical doctor or an aromatherapy practitioner. It is not that we don’t recommend ingesting essential oils, it is just that there is so much information that needs to be taken into consideration before ingesting essential oils. There can be a time and place for oral use of essential oils but you need to make sure you are educated on the whole parts of essential oils. That is where Plant Therapy wants to help. We want to help our customers become educated in everything they need to know about essential oils so that they can make the best-educated decision for themselves and their family.”

Further Considerations to Essential Oils Safety

In addition to the main questions on eating essential oils, here are a few more notes of what can help you use essential oils safely:

1. Dosage:Harmful effects might arise when certain essential oils get used in the wrong doses or too high of a concentration. Remember, oils are highly concentrated and potent, so there is no need to use a lot of them.While one drop of a certain essential oil might not cause you problems or harms, an excessive dosage might. Always choose a conservatively low dosage to air on the safe side. This usually means just a few drops in your diffuser, and a few drops mixed into a massage oil only for example.
2. Purity:Look for essential oil labeling that has language indicating 100% oil purity. You do not want any oils that have been altered by adding synthetic chemicals or other, similar smelling additives.
3. Application method:Someessential oils may besafe when applied in one way, but not when used in a different way. For example, Thyme, oregano, clove and cinnamon bark oils are considered safe if used via inhalation, and yet may be irritating if applied to the skin, even mixed with carrier oils and in concentrations as low as 3-5%. As another example, several of the citrus oils (lemon, lime, bergamot, or orange) can cause severe burns or skin cancer (phototoxicity) if there is exposure to natural sunlight or sun-bed radiation following an application of the oil to your skin – butthis would not result from inhaling the same oils.
4. Possible drug interactions:There is very little research published on how essential oils react with pharmaceutical drugs. Given how chemically complex essential oils really are, a cross-reaction or sensitivity between classic pharmaceuticals and essential oils is quite possible if not likely. It is important to discuss essential oil use with your health care provider to ensure your health care teamis fully in the loop of everything that goes on with your body at all times. Only this way can you properly assess any potential risks and benefits fully.

In Summary

In summary– personally – I never ever recommend ingesting essential oils – because ingestion of essential oils is NOT approved by the FDA. There are ways that certain companies market internal use, and it might very well work for some people. But while I love essential oils and their use in my daily life – I don’t ingest them or say that you can, should, or would be ok to do so.

If you choose to ingest essential oils, it is recommended that you only do so under the supervision of a licensed healthcare provider.

What about Lemon Essential Oil in my water?

Think about this: if you want the benefit of lemon essential oil in your drinking water – why not use a real lemon from the produce isle and squirt a bit of it into your water? You can even buy organic lemons, and be sure that the product you’re using is actually its full, intended, product from nature. I’m not saying essential oils aren’t – but since this article is on essential oil safety and ingestion, I just want to point out that the most commonly desired dietary additives (lemon, peppermint, orange, etc.) are also quite readily available to us in their fruit form. I do see how convenient (and exponentially more concentrated), it would be to just use a few drops of lemon oil out of a bottle. But call me a naturalist – I still prefer the “real” food when it comes to consuming it in my diet.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree?

Let us know in the comments below! I look forward to reading your thoughts and being part of this discussion.

Further Reading

¹ FDA Statement on Aromatherapy Regulations

Young Living Essential Oils Safety Guide

Are essential oils safe? An article by the University of Minnesota