Re: [Everything doTERRA] Methyl Salicylate in Wintergreen

Hi Joni,

 

Back in the early days of doTERRA I asked Dave Stirling and Emily Wright about wintergreen because I'd heard it was toxic to the liver and not safe to take internally. They told me about the runner died after repeatedly slathering on large amounts of muscle cream such as Ben Gay and Icy Hot. Ben Gay and Icy Hot contain large amounts of methyl salicate, which is the main compound in wintergreen essential oil (it contains 98–99 percent), so it was determined that wintergreen essential oil was unsafe and toxic to the liver. Thus it became illegal to sell or use it. Then a couple of years ago a group of doctors appealed the FDA's decision and argued that Tylenol is known to have far more serious side effects than wintergreen and yet it is legal and so wintergreen should also be legal to use as a topical pain reliever. The doctors won their case. But still, by law, companies that sell wintergreen are required to label it "for external use only" and package it with a child-proof cap. Dave said that is the only reason Deep Blue and Wintergreen have different caps.

 

Then I asked Dave and Emily if it was OK to take wintergreen internally and if there was a threat of overdosing. Dave said if you were a two year old child and you drank two or more bottles of it at once it might be harmful. And Emily said it's great to take internally in a capsule becuse it is an excellent painreliever.

 

Something else Dave and Emily mentioned that day was that Icy Hot and Ben Gay and most other muscle creams contain large amounts of synthetic products. And you can bet that the wintergreen oil that's in them is not certified pure. Hope that's helpful.

 

Connie

On Tue, Nov 16, 2010 at 10:32 PM, Joni <wellnessessentials09@gmail.com> wrote:

Someone I follow on twitter posted this article from the NY times
dated June of 2007.   A young athlete died from over use of a pain
relief cream like "Icy Hot" or "Bengay".  She was poisoned from the
main ingredient of Methyl Salicylate which is one of the main
constituents in Wintergreen.  Obviously, moderation in all things, but
what are the precautions when using Wintergreen.  Is there anything
important we need to be aware of when using Wintergreen?

Here is a link to the article   http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/nyregion/10cream.html?_r=1

Thanks,

Joni

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