by Diana Rajchel 
Aromatherapy is described as the use of essential oils for therapeutic (read: stress) treatment. While still labeled an alternative therapy—code for “superstition”—a growing body of medical research consistently finds that the right essential oils reduce cortisol levels, improve sleep quality, and ease the process of aging. The most researched oils are well known: lavender, rose, black pepper, mint, and jasmine.
While aromatherapy these days refers to oils, initially it meant simply the use of fragrance for healing. If oils are beyond your pay grade, you can use the food and spices in your kitchen. You may unwittingly experience aromatherapy in your day to day already. When cutting a lemon, the citrus scent releases a flood of physical and emotional associations. A bottle of lemon essential oil might do the same thing, but essential oils, because of their chemical concentration, require different handling from the lemon juice you use to flavor your lemon pepper chicken. If you cook, enjoy tea, or garden at all, your home already has the benefits of aromatherapy waiting for you, in forms very different from the usual online recipes.
Home cooks often collect soul-soothing wonders just waiting for aromatherapeutic use. If they don’t, one trip to the grocery store will fix that. Starting with your fruit-and-vegetable crisper, you might have lemons or lemon juice and other citrus, strawberries in the right season, and cucumbers. They offer many benefits to go with the great smells.
Citrus
The scent of lemons and oranges, along with having that “clean” scent, combats depression and reduces blood pressure. If you save orange peels and boil them in water on the stove, they release the scent into your home, reducing anxiety and promoting a convivial feeling.
Strawberries
While strawberries keep poorly, their leaves tincture well, accruing a sweet but not cloying scent that blends well in homemade scent sprays. Strawberries offer several medicinal benefits: they can calm the stomach, they can reduce anxiety, and a tea from the leaves makes a wonderful skin toner.
Cucumbers
Cucumbers, popular for reducing eye puffiness, also reduce blood pressure and may regulate diabetes. They make a potent anti-inflammatory. Add them to salads, eat them with a favorite dip, and enjoy the way their scent promotes a sense of calm and relaxation. You can take in the scent as you use slices to cover your eyes.
Beauty Mask
One of the best ways to enjoy the therapeutic benefits of cucumbers and strawberries is with a succulent beauty mask. The astringent in the cucumbers helps tighten pores, while the strawberry’s natural salicylic acid can treat blemishes.
1 cup strawberries, hulled
1 medium cucumber, sliced but not peeled
¼ cup water
In a blender or food processor, mix all ingredients until smooth. Transfer to a bowl. Apply to clean skin, leave on for 20 minutes, and then rinse off.
Vanilla Extract
Any baker knows the worth of high-quality vanilla. It adds depth of flavor to cookies and breads, can reduce the need for more sweeteners, and has a documented aphrodisiac effect. While its medical applications have been mostly forgotten, vanilla’s history includes its use for treatment of hysteria and mild fevers. These days it’s known for increasing penile blood flow and reminding most people of grandparents who bake cookies. If you want to add a romantic mood in your kitchen, but have enough dishes for a meal, try using this recipe to add a little scent and mood to your space.
Stovetop Potpourri
Here’s one aromatherapeutic recipe that can add a little calm to your home:
1 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Peelings from 1 orange
Peelings from 1 cucumber
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pour 1 cup water into a saucepan and add the other ingredients. Stir. Turn on low heat and allow to simmer. The fragrance should fill your kitchen within 20 minutes, and you can transform your kitchen into an aromatherapy engine.
Garlic and Onions
You may not think of these ubiquitous members of the genus Allium as aromatherapeutic since their pungent scent doesn’t fit with typical aesthetics of scent therapies. They and their distinct fragrances offer medical benefits such as possible cancer prevention and, more immediately, relief from allergies and breathing ailments. Garlic and onions are often the first go-to add-ins for chicken noodle soup when someone has a cold, and for good reason: the anti-inflammatory effects clear sinuses and the throat by thinning excess mucus.
Mint
Mint stimulates our minds while settling our stomachs, and it gives a lovely “clean scent” alternative to lemon. Its stimulating properties do come with an advisory: peppermint can raise blood pressure, which may create stress rather than alleviating it. Other mint-family herbs are popular in cooking and aromatherapy. Sage is well known for its purgative properties and for raising basal body temperature, thyme treats mucus-heavy coughs, and oregano provides an excellent antiseptic.
Keep an eye out for bodegas and smaller grocery stores—many stock fragrant items you might never find in a supermarket!
Cinnamon
Cinnamon oil is volatile, is acidic, and can cause phototoxicity. Working with it still in plant form is safer and easy to do when using kitchen spices. Its warm scent adds a social feel to any home—one reason for its popularity as a fragrance agent in so many holiday candles. It also tastes wonderful when sprinkled in coffee grounds and run through a coffee maker. Along with making people feel a bit happier, it regulates blood flow in women and regulates blood sugar.
Wake Up Tea
1 tablespoon mint
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup water
The mint gives you a lovely wake-up kick, while the cinnamon balances your blood sugar. Heat water to simmering and pour in a mug. Place herbs in a tea strainer, and place strainer in water. Allow to seep for 4 minutes. Add sweetener as preferred.
Experiment with Scent in Your Kitchen
These common kitchen spices, herbs, and fruits are only the beginning of what’s possible with your kitchen goodies. It’s well worth the time to research your favorite flavoring agents for their uses in both traditional folk medicine and modern aromatherapy. You’ll find a host of old tools made new again as you mix and match the possibilities.
Resources
Calderon de la Barca, Pedro. “Cucumber Oil.” Avurvedic Oils. September 11, 2017. http://ayurvedicoils.com/tag/5-health-benefits-of-cucumber-oil.
Chang, Ying-Ying, Chao-Ling Lin, and Li-Yin Chang. “The Effects of Aromatherapy Massage on Sleep Quality of Nurses on Monthly Rotating Night Shifts.” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2017 (2017): n.p. doi:10.1155/2017/3861273.
Chen, Pau-Ju, et al. “Effects of Aromatherapy Massage on Pregnant Women’s Stress and Immune Function: A Longitudinal, Prospective, Randomized Controlled Trial.” The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 23, no. 10 (October 2017): 778–86. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2016.0426.
Keville, Kathi. “Aromatherapy: Lemon.” How Stuff Works. Accessed January 10, 2018.
Monica. “Medicinal Strawberry—Root, Leaf, and Fruit.” The Herb Nerd (blog). Accessed January 10, 2018. http://www.theherbnerdpodcast.com/medicinal-strawberry-root-leaf-and-fruit/.
Rose, Jeanne. The Aromatherapy Book: Applications & Inhalations. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 1992.