Marjoram is also commonly known as “wintersweet” or even “joy of the mountains” as it was meant to symbolize happiness in Greek and Roman history. Marjoram was widely used in major ceremonies during those times to celebrate life, such as weddings. Even during death, marjoram was used because it meant that there would be happiness in the afterlife.

Marjoram is also highly valued now for its uses in cooking and in culinary dishes, as its unique flavour adds spice to soups, stews, sauces and different dressings.

The essential oil of marjoram is obtained from steam distillation of the fresh and dried leaves of the marjoram plant, scientifically known as Origanum Marjorana which is native to the Mediterranean region. You might confuse marjoram with its close cousin, the more well-known oregano and although they are similar, marjoram essential oil has unique properties that make it slightly different from its cousin in terms of its health benefits.

Notably marjoram essential oil provides relief to numerous aches and ailments and has been used precisely because of its medicinal benefits for many years. Read on to find out more about how this powerful medicinal herb can have a drastic, positive impact on your health today!

Health Benefits of Marjoram Essential Oil:

1. For Pain Relief

Marjoram essential oil is a potent analgesic and an antispasmodic, which means it offers comfort from pain associated with colds, inflammation, aching muscles, toothaches, headaches, fevers and many more.

It helps to relax the muscles and gets rid of involuntary spasms which can contribute to pain and discomfort. Due to this reason, it is often commonplace for massage therapists to include this oil in their lotions so as to offer some relief to the various knots, cramps and pains within the body.

Therefore, this oil offers an all-natural and viable alternative to the prescribed painkiller drugs available in the drugstores as those might have negative side effects!

2. For Menstrual Relief

Related to its property of providing pain relief, marjoram essential oil is also an excellent oil to regulate menstrual flows. Being an emmenagogue, marjoram essential oil helps to solve the problem of irregular and obstructed menstrual flows which can be painful and potentially dangerous. It helps to stimulate menstruation and relieves problems associated with menstruation, such as headaches, abdominal cramps, dizziness and even mood swings.

Furthermore, a 2012 research study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research found that when marjoram essential oil was combined with lavender and clary sage essential oils to be applied onto the lower abdominal area of the patients, the massage blend provided immense relief to menstrual pain and dysmenorrhea.

3. Protects You From Infection

Being an antiseptic, antiviral and bactericide, marjoram essential oil is a good agent to protect yourself from incurring various infections, both within your bodies and on the skin. It effectively cleans out bacteria and virus from wounds, cuts and scrapes on the skin, thus protecting them from becoming septic or developing tetanus.

It is also an antiviral agent, meaning it serves to prevent you from getting infections caused by various viruses such as influenza, mumps, measles and pox. Its bactericidal properties means that it not only cleans your external wounds, but it can also protect you from bacterial infections within the body and kill off those dangerous compounds found in your colon, digestive system, urinary tract and other areas. Thus, it can inhibit the onset of food poisoning, typhoid, malaria and colic.

With its antifungal properties, marjoram essential oil serves to counter the growth of fungal infections on the skin as well, thus ensuring that you have healthy skin constantly!

4. For Digestion Relief

Marjoram essential oil also has carminative properties, which means it can help to relieve of your stomach from any excess gas and prevents the formation of more gas. Coupled with its antispasmodic properties, marjoram oil facilitates improved and smoother digestion as the muscles become more relaxed. As such, this helps to get rid of numerous stomach-related problems such as indigestion, vomiting, nausea, flatulence and stomachache.

Furthermore, it facilitates the proper secretion of digestive enzymes and bile in the stomach and intestines, thus helping to promote better digestion. This helps to cure the stomach of any disorders and ulcers. Additionally, the oil stimulates the peristaltic movement of the intestines. This therefore helps the ingested food to travel smoothly through the digestive tracts to be absorbed into the bloodstream and to promote regular as well as smoother bowel movements.

5. Aids in Detoxification

Besides that, marjoram essential oil is also an efficient toxic removal agent. It induces sweating, which might be discomforting and uncomfortable, but is actually very helpful because it removes out toxins, excess water and salts that may be trapped within your bodies. As such, it can help to reduce fevers and aids in weight loss.

Not only that, the oil is an excellent diuretic, meaning it increases the frequency and quantity of urination. This too helps to remove excess water, fats, salts, uric acid and urea as well as other harmful substances within the body. As such, it helps to lower blood pressure and cleans the kidneys.

6. Protects the Cardiovascular System

Marjoram essential oil also contains numerous antioxidant properties, thus offering a natural remedy from high blood pressure and protects your cardiovascular health. Being a good vasodilator and anti-spasmodic, marjoram oil helps to widen and relax the blood vessels and prevents them from being constricted. This thus contributes to the smooth, unobstructed flow of the blood in the bloodstream. As such, it helps to lower blood pressure levels.

With blood pressure levels at a healthy rate, you can ultimately avoid the risks of getting strokes, experiencing blood hemorrhaging or incurring heart attacks. It effectively regulates blood circulation, thus keeping the cardiovascular system running in good shape and reduces the risks of getting hypertension.

In fact, a 2012 study published in the Journal of Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that the inhalation of a blend of various essential oils that included lavender, ylang-ylang, marjoram and neroli resulted in stress reduction and lower blood pressure levels. This hence raised the conclusion that such essential oils can possibly be effective in controlling hypertension.

7. For Stress and Anxiety Relief

Marjoram essential oil, with its woody and herbaceous aroma, helps to induce feelings of calm and tranquility as it wards off stress and anxiety after a tiring and exhausting day. It also serves to uplift your emotional spirits and gets rid of negative feelings of self-doubt, low self-esteem issues and feelings of depression. This hence helps for people who have encountered and experienced a depressive or traumatic episode.

How to Use Marjoram Essential Oil?

• Aromatherapy - Marjoram essential oil can be diffused in a diffuser, vaporizer or distiller as it is safe to be inhaled. You can diffuse marjoram on its own or it can be blended with other essential oils. It blends well with eucalyptus, bergamot, chamomile, cypress, cedarwood and tea tree essential oils.

• In the Bath - You can also add a few drops of the marjoram oil (4-8 drops) along with a teaspoon of carrier oil (such as coconut, jojoba or almond oil) into your daily warm bathing water to relieve sore muscles and to promote relaxation.

• Topically - You can blend marjoram oil with a carrier oil to create a massage blend to be gently rubbed onto the affected areas.

• Hot Compress - By adding a few drops of marjoram essential oil into a hot compress, you can relieve menstrual pain by pressing the compress lightly and gently onto the lower abdominal area.

Marjoram essential oil is generally safe and non-toxic to be used but as with all essential oils, be sure to mix it with a carrier oil before applying it topically onto the skin and perform a skin patch test first to ensure there are no allergic or sensitive reactions.

Do not ingest marjoram essential oil. Be sure to consult your doctor first before using marjoram oil as a form of treatment, especially if you are pregnant, nursing or on any other prescribed medication drugs. This is because the properties of marjoram oil can negatively interfere with such drugs to induce adverse effects.

References:

Ou MC, et al., “Pain relief assessment by aromatic essential oil massage on outpatients with primary dysmenorrhea: a randomized, double-blind clinical trial”, The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research (2012); 38(5)

In-Hee Kim, et al., “Essential Oil Inhalation on Blood Pressure and Salivary Cortisol Levels in Prehypertensive and Hypertensive Subjects”, Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2012)