Yes, I was posting this in the context of a clinical study. A good study will try to account for its controls, that was my point. The only problem is in the wide variability of the actual product to be used. There needs to be information on a manufacturer/producer and the form of the lavender oil/extract and application. Taking a bath, topical application, alcohol based mist etc..
The in-between shouldn't be health enthusiasts or exclude the scientific method. Upthread is someone linking research that lavender includes compounds which significantly impact endocrine function in a way that is just starting to be studied.
It is hard to tell which is worse, if these non-pharmaceuticals are completely ineffective or potent medicines.
Given lavender's known negative effects on developing boys, I think it should only be available in a medical environment, or extensively labeled and regulated.
If this destroys the oily-MLM huns, that would be a side benefit.
There are no known negative effects on developing boys. See my comments down-thread. The "studies" purporting to show hormonal effects were extremely low-quality, and have not been reproduced. Other more recent studies are only in-vitro, and in-vitro hormonal effects do not translate well in living humans.
Besides, lavender shares a chemical makeup with many other common herbs and foods, or combinations thereof, and nobody is claiming that those disrupt our hormones. The whole hypothesis doesn't pass the smell test.
