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More information about emu oil

The emu (Dromaeus novaehollandiaeis) is a three-toe bird which lives in Australia and Tasmania. This cousin of amongst others the casuaris and the ostrich is very desired for its’s meat and skin. The oil, which is a by-product, has very specific properties.

Where does it’s oil come from?

To survive in the extreme desert climate, the aboriginals have been using the fat of the emu amongst others to protect themselves against sun, joint pain relief and wound healing. The healing properties of emu oil have been discovered for more than thousands of years ago. Emu oil is very suitable for therapeutic as well as for cosmetic purposes. The oil has been gained from a fat hump on the back of the bird. Similar to the fat hump of the camel the hump of the emu is meant to protect the animal against extreme temperatures. The fat will be rendered and refined carefully. About 100 kilo fat will finally be processed to a 50-90 kilo light yellow oil.

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Essential fatty acids.

The major part of emu oil is oleic acid (± 40%) which acts as a carrier to penetrate the active ingredients deeply into the skin layers. Besides that the unsaturated fatty acids contain an considerable amount of linoleic and alpha linoleic acid, the so-called essential fatty acids. These fatty acids are not being produced by the human body itself, but play an important role by the regeneration of new skin cells.

According to Dr. Leigh Hopkins, Pharm. D. in the US all cells produce hormones which are coming from these fatty acids. These hormones affect all aspects of the activities of a specific cell. They play a role in inflammations, the healing process and the dying of a cell. If you don’t consume sufficient of these “good” fatty acids, your body cannot work efficiently. The oil supplies through it’s essential fatty acids the need to have the cells function normal. If you see the skin as the largest cell wall there is, you can say that a dry, raw skin is a sign of a lack of essential fatty acids

Emu oil contains for more than 70% of unsaturated fatty acids, of which 20% essential fatty acids. The remarkable aspect of emu oil is the ratio between the saturated, unsaturated and essential fatty acids which matches closely the ratio of the fatty acids in the human skin.