Emu oil, that is. Can you massage it all over your body, hair and joints and feel safe doing it? Absolutely, say the distributors of Montana Emu Oil who have brought this highly-refined oil to GreenAcres’ attention.
For those of you who have visited zoos, you’re probably familiar with the buggy-eyed, long-necked, flightless bird from Australia. The emu is the largest bird down under and second only to the Ostrich.
A good runner, he can sprint up to 50 miles an hour, but most in captivity spend their days walking endlessly and picking on their relatives and neighbors. Don’t get too close, though, as they are known to chase after visitors…and they can kick down a metal fence with a single blow of their clawed feet.
Emus can go forever without drinking, and once thirsty can drink copious amounts of water, for 10 minutes at a time, without coming up for air. They are good swimmers and feed on plants and insects, but Emus can digest almost anything including chards of glass, rocks and cacti.
Emus don’t smell too good either, but many a rancher has tried to cash in on this often ornery bird, spending endless resources trying to educate a populace about the nutritional value of their lean meat, mostly to no avail.
Some ranchers about the prairie states have just given up and use them as wild, fenced-in pets. Others, though, like those distributing emu oil, see all kinds of benefits from their fat such as Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids, and as a moisturizer for skin and natural healer for joints that contains Oleic acid.
Wikipedia says this about the emu and its nutritional and moisturizing properties:
“Emus were used as a source of food by indigenous Australians and early European settlers. Aboriginal Australians used a variety of techniques to catch the bird, including spearing them while they drank at waterholes, poisoning waterholes, catching emus in nets, and attracting them by imitating their calls or with a ball of feathers and rags dangled from a tree.
“The indigenous Australians used a kind of poisonous plant to contaminate water supplies and were easily able to catch disoriented emus that drank the water. Aboriginal Australians did not kill the animals except to eat them, and frowned on peers who hunted the emus but then left the meat unused. (As the Indian revered the buffalo, the Aboriginal peoples used every part of the carcass for some purpose.) Aside from the meat, the fat was harvested for oil used for polishing their weapons, and the bones and tendon were used as makeshift knives and tools, and for tying, respectively…”
Some sources say there’s not near enough science to support its arthritic benefits; others say there are myriad sources that attest to the oil’s anti-aging benefits.
One thing it has been found to be very effective on is burned skin, including both sunburn and first and second-degree burns. As the Aloe plant, emu oil is highly effective at reducing scarring.
Emu oil has found its way into massage parlors and sports’ training rooms. Some say it’s an excellent treatment for muscle strains, sprains and injured ligaments and heel spurs.
Beauticians use it as a fortifying agent for limp, dry hair. They say it eliminates split ends and restores a natural, healthy shine. Although no medicinal claims for emu oil can be made in the US, Australia’s Department of Health has classified it as a pharmaceutical.
Only time will tell if it catches on in the Midwest, but if you’re game, give Montana Emu Oil a try and let us know what you think!
