I called in to the program to ask Dr. Young which oils specifically are effective in protecting against chemical germ warfare.

This is a copy of the transcript:

(Bonnie:) Hi, Dr. Young. This might be an odd question, but President Clinton stated in January* that is highly likely that a terrorist group would launch or threaten a germ or chemical attack on U.S. soil within the next few years--and I would like to know what oils are effective to protect ourselves from germ warfare?

(Dr. Young:) That's an excellent question. I don't think we have to wait for terrorists to do it because I think that when people travel around the world it's very easy for them to bring microbes and viruses back with them from other countries where that has already taken place, and it has been said even 2 years ago there are already those very viruses and germs footloose in America today.

So we need to be concerned about it now--not if--but act as though it has, because there's certainly a lot of evidence with mutation that that's a possibility.

In answer to your question, about 12 years ago I spent some time at the British Museum Library studying on the legends of the plague of the 14th century. As a result of that plague, there were people that were arrested for robbing and looting the bodies and the homes of the dying people. And these people that were doing the robbing and the looting did not get sick or did not contract the plague.

When they captured them after the King issued a proclamation, they found that these people were perfumers and spice traders, and they would rub their bodies every morning with oils before going out amongst the sick, and when they would come back in at the end of the day, they would take all their clothing off outside the house, they would literally burn the clothing, and they would wash their bodies with oils again before entering their home, and they never ever got sick.

Well, as a result of that study and research, I made a formula consisting of the oils that the thieves used, and that formula I named "Thieves."

And we have had that tested at the University at Weber State, 4 yrs. in analytical tests for microbial action, antimicrobial action, anti-viral action, and antibacterial action, and we just published our research papers on that last September in the Essential Oil Journal; and it kills virus--in fact, the 4 colonies that we tested it against not only did it kill the viruses, but the viruses cannot mutate in the presence of certain essential oils.

So this formula is one that has been documented now and published research.

And it's very important, the use of the oils not only to rub them on your body, because it increases the oxygen and increases the immune defense system, but to diffuse the oils in your home so the oils will kill aerosols, virus and bacteria. And that's where I really like to encourage people to look at how they can diffuse the oils in their homes and clear up the aerosol problems that we deal with.