Holiday scents that can help your health

Cinnamon
Cinnamon has a sweet, spicy aroma and is considered a "warm" spice, says Herz. It causes a feeling of warmth and cosiness, which enhances the memories you have associated with it. "Warm" spices such as cinnamon actually bring blood from the centre of the body toward the skin. This action disperses blood throughout the body more evenly, which may decrease blood pressure. When it's diffused, cinnamon is also thought to act as a fumigant and to clean the air.

At home: Bake holiday cinnamon-spiced cakes and cookies, sprinkle cinnamon on top of eggnog and use cinnamon sticks in mulled wine, hot chocolate and coffee. Use potpourri, mister sprays and candles that contain cinnamon.  

Cloves
The powerful spicy-sweet aroma of cloves is a favourite during holidays in Scandinavian countries. Dr. Johan Lundstrom, a doctor of neuropsychology at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, researches how odours affect us. He grew up in Sweden and says, "we have a tradition there, where we stick cloves through the skin of an orange. Today, the odour of cloves always takes me back to Christmas memories and doing that with my mother. It's a joyful memory for me."

Using a preparation of cloves topically is a remedy for easing tooth pain, and aromatherapists often use the essential oil to reduce drowsiness, irritability and headaches. But clove oil can burn the skin, so use only one drop blended with a teaspoon of vegetable oil. 

At home: To make your own orange-cloves ball, buy oranges and stick whole cloves through the skin, covering the entire orange or making a holiday pattern. Put the aromatic balls in bowls around the house or attach ribbons and hang the oranges.

Eucalyptus
Maryann McKinnon, 45, of Ottawa, who lost her mother a few years ago, has poignant childhood memories of her mom making holiday centrepieces with pinecones, brightly coloured baubles and small branches of eucalyptus. "When I smell cool, refreshing eucalyptus today, I always think of her." Eucalyptus, considered an uplifting scent, is also often used to relieve symptoms of respiratory problems such as nasal congestion, sore throat and colds, says Sara Rankin, a registered aromatherapist at Aromatica, a school in Lions Head, Ont., for natural therapies and holistic study.   

At home: Buy Christmas wreaths that contain eucalyptus, or make your own. Eucalyptus is in many skin and bath products and potpourri. To make a massage-oil blend, add two or three drops of eucalyptus essential oil and two drops of lavender oil in one teaspoon of vegetable oil.

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