Essential Oil Salesman Josh Axe Posing as Dr.of Functional Medicine?

So today I decided to spend a little time in school.  Today that meant watching a very long presentation from the annual National Association for Holistic Therapy on Essential oils.  It was fascinating and well worth my time.  When it was over,  another video popped up for my viewing pleasure.  It was how to make an anti aging serum. So naturally this interested me. It was a well branded video, very professional By Dr.Josh  Axe.

So I watched... sigh... I watched as he laid out the ingredients.  The first was Jojoba Oil.  I can not explain to you how he shredded the pronunciation of this word.  Which was the first red flag. He went on through the rest of the ingredients.  Vitamin E oil,  Pomegranate Oil,  Frankincense and Lavender Essential Oil. By the time he reached the last ingredient I had already googled his name and found his "pedigree" which you can read Here  He is a chiropractor and he has a certificate in nutrition. But he claims to be a Dr.of  Functional Medicine, However, I have not been able to find where he has studied Functional Medicine and it is not on his resume.

 I have come to understand this form of medicine over the past month as I have been doing a lot of reading and then came across a youtube channel and website by Dr. Justin at Just In Health.  The difference is,  Dr. Justin States clearly that he is a Chiropractic Dr, His list of accomplishments are quiet long.  It is very clear in watching him that he is very well versed in functional endocrinology, auto immune disease and how to find the root cause of these issues. He studied under Dr Datis Kharrazian  DHSc, DC, MS, MNeuroSci, FAACP, DACBN, DABCN, DIBAK, CNS  who is considered one of the leading experts in non-pharmaceutical applications to chronic illnesses, autoimmune disorders, and complex neurological disorders. - You can Read More about him Here and Here And find Dr. Justin Marchegiani's resume Here

Dr Axe also sells DoTerra Essential Oils. It appears that he is using his popularity to pitch oils but he does it undercover.  I have discovered lately this is the newest MO of both Young Living Oils and the DoTerra Brands. Recently many of the oil reps for these two companies go to great lengths to hide the branding. As Dr Axe does on his pages. I have come across videos about upcoming seminars on essential oils and holistic living.  But I know the players now, so when I see who is giving what talk I can tell who the real company is.

You can see Dr. Axe's resume here.  While it is a bit more flashy, and he did come up as one of Nashville's ten most sexiest men, that really does not help those suffering from serious medical conditions. So I have to wonder what this guy knows when he is basically doing a DIY video straight off the Mommy Blogs and Pinterest. He does not give the amounts of each ingredient to use in his anti aging serum, and refers people to his blog sight,  From there, anyone requesting information on where to obtain the essential oils or what brand he is using, he request them to email him or his "oil team."  But in each of his videos he is clearly using the DoTerra brand.

So I poke around some more,  The next video was on the use of peppermint oil.  Peppermint oil is the one oil that even in the products I make, I have to use with caution.  It is easily overused and comes with a host of safety precautions.  Which include: Not to be used on children under 30 months old, neat, or orally for the most part.  You can read precautions in their entirety here. Just scroll to Peppermint Oil.

In short, I kinda flipped a lid.  As I have said many times before in other blogs and videos.  Essential Oils must be used with the same caution that you would use with any medication.  And here we have a chiropractor / nutritionist posing as a Physician, What people would consider equal to their family practitioner and recommending the use of oils to people that do not know better, They don't know because they are taking the "Dr" for granted, they are in the midst of a serious health concern and looking for relief from what ever ails them.

He is recommending the use of Peppermint orally and neat and never once saying that this could interact with medications, age restrictions, the issues of peppermint oil being a dermal irritant, the possibility of esophageal burns, or those with gallbladder and liver issues should not use it.  Nope Nothing!  100% irresponsible with no consideration of those who are NOT like me and research everything to death, These people just run out and start using it with out even knowing the very basics of essential oil safety.  It just made my blood boil. And this is the reason that the FDA has come down so hard on both DT and Young Living oils sending out warning letters to cease these kinds of claims and promoting these products to heal Aids, Cancer, MRSA even Ebola. (True Story)

In another video Dr. Axe recommends the use of frankincense to re-balance hormones and to heal a thyroid gone awry..  Really?  He does not say to have your thyroid and hormones checked.  This is a very serious health issue and he just says to slap on some essential oils.  Seriously!  This is how people get really sick and this is simply just irresponsible.

Over all I found that in most of his videos he is promoting oils, diets and supplements without ever telling the viewer that what is critical is to see your Dr and to have lab work done.  How in the heck are you going to treat a thyroid or hormone problem if you don't know where you are deficient?  Here is his 6 minute video on Thyroid and Hashimoto's

Here is a Video from Dr. Justin on the same subject,

I know that there are many wonderful uses for essential oils and I am sure they can aid in re-balancing a lot of things in the body. Cure ailments, ease pain and inflammation.  But you first have to know WHAT to treat. You have to start at the beginning of your health issue and uncover the real source of what is ailing you.

I get private messages almost daily about essential oils. Sometimes it is something simple. What kind where to buy them, what to look for.  Other times I have to tell them do see their Dr and do lots of research and provide them links to national and global organizations that will teach them how and when to use an essential oil.

It is up to each one of us to take our health in our own hands and not just accept another prescription to stop a symptom and never address the root cause of that problem.  After watching Dr Justins video (above) again, I realized that I can never have gluten ... not once a week or even special occasions. NEVER...

So Dr. Axe?  I just see a big fake that got lucky with making all the right moves and had a great marketing plan. Kinda like Thomas Kinkaid.  He was a mediocre artist at best but he was a brilliant marketer and his art, for a time was, in one form or another, in every home in America.  I know I sold it.

Josh Axe really does not have any substance. He too is mediocre. He fails to show research even when he quotes it from a document and leaves some important stuff out.  He takes tiny bits of information and skews it knowing that most people will not check the sources.  He can't teach me anything about autoimmune disease or leaky gut or because he doesn't know and that is clear when you compare the two videos above.  He is simply regurgitating the mommy blogs, others work and succeeding because he has a better marketing strategy than those with better education and over all knowledge. Sadly people will waste precious time, money and energy on him and his nonsense.

The 'DR' in front of his name is meaningless. Not because he is a Chiropractor.  But because he has not respected that term and understood how the word "doctor" impacts people lives,  They trust that when a person says he or she is a Dr. that they have your best interest at heart, and that they "Will do no harm." The Dr in front of his name is fraud  because he leads people to believe that he is a "Physician". without knowledge and experience and he is playing with the lives and well being of others for the sake of self interest.

I hope you will always give deep thought to what is best for you in your journey to good health, and dig just a little deeper.

Wishing you Good Health

Stay Beautiful!