Monday, January 16, 2012

Incense

Science confirms the wisdom of the traditional liturgy. (Via The Crescat)
Religious leaders have contended for millennia that burning incense is good for the soul. Now, biologists have learned that it is good for our brains too. An international team of scientists, including researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, describe how burning frankincense (resin from the Boswellia plant) activates poorly understood ion channels in the brain to alleviate anxiety or depression. This suggests that an entirely new class of depression and anxiety drugs might be right under our noses. (Read entire post.)
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hm, I didn't know that about incense/frankincense specifically but I'm not at all surprised! I was doing some reading about aromatherapy a while back and I was surprised at the amount of research on the benefits of aromatherapy with different essential oils. It's used effectively to treat things from sore muscles to agitation from dementia... really amazing stuff! I think lavender was mentioned the most.

Unfortunately I can't burn incense anymore because it bothers my eyes for some reason :/ But I may just pick up some frankincense oil and make a room spray or something! It's really amazing how powerfully scents can affect our moods.

~Keri