About two years ago, after careful thought and research, Wild Workouts and Wellness decided to make the switch from Young Living to Nature’s Sunshine (NSP) authentic oils product line.

As usual, we don’t make these decisions lightly. Essential oils, after all, are some of the most valuable tools in Mother Nature’s pharmacy!

The truth is, there’s a lot of hype around essential oils these days. You hear about the benefits EVERYWHERE! Which is great, but just like supplementation, there’s not a lot of regulation when it comes to the essential oils industry. Terms like “Certified Therapeutic” or “grades” assigned to essential oils are strictly marketing language created by the corporations that sell them. In reality, there is no independent, third party body that evaluates essential oils and assigns them a rating or a “grade”, so how meaningful are these certifications? Not very.

And you know what? Quality matters. Quality matters because quality gets results. With the scrutiny surrounding some of Young Living’s products and practices at that time, it made us take a closer look at what we putting on the shelves at the gym.

Nature’s Sunshine provides a SureSource Guarantee on their essential oils line. What does that mean? Once again, it’s all about quality control. Nature’s Sunshine provides transparency through the complete product life cycle and supply chain. From cultivation to harvest, from distillation to delivery.

Most oil companies skip steps when they receive essential oils from large brokers, they only look at a couple of compounds that the industry consider important. For example, they will only look at menthol levels in peppermint, cineole in eucalyptus or d-limonene in grapefruit. Focus on these individual markers has lead to many companies tweaking the essential oil profile with adulterants, synthetics or lower grades of plant species, ultimately altering the oil and compromising the authentic properties that make it so valuable. This is why Nature’s Sunshine SureSource Guarantee is so important. It provides tangible proof that the oil that leaves the distillery matches the oil delivered to your doorstep. There is nothing added, altered or taken away.

If you’re looking to expand your holistic approach to include essential oils make sure you are doing your homework and choosing a product with integrity. We are constantly re-evaluating different product lines to make sure that we are offering the best options to our clients. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!