D. Gary Young

Donald Gary Young (D. Gary Young) was born July 11, 1949, and is the founder and president of Young Living Essential Oils, which was founded in 1989. He is also the founder of The D. Gary Young Foundation, a nonprofit charity that lends aid to the underprivileged people and communities worldwide

In 1973, Gary Young was working as a logger when he sustained an injury that crippled his legs and left him comatose for four months. After coming out of his coma, doctors told Gary that he would never walk again. Physically disabled but undeterred, Gary was committed to walk again and not allow his injury to negatively affect his life.

Travels

For several years following his injury, D. Gary Young traveled throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East, India and Pakistan, to find answers that would allow his body to heal and ease the pain in his legs. After researching different methods of natural healing, such as naturopathy and herbology, he found that certain plants contained healing properties when concentrated into the form of essential oils. Gary Young discovered that many commercial grade essential oils were diluted or contained additional chemicals that limited their purity and effectiveness. He embarked on a personal journey to harness the full potential of essential oils from from seed selection, crop management, and harvesting to the distillation process.

Practice

His determination and immersion in the field of natural healing led him to receive a master’s degree in nutrition and doctorate in naturopathy from Bernadean University, an unaccredited diploma mill, in 1985. Soon after he opened a family practice clinic in Chula Vista, California, and a research facility to develop and refine natural healing techniques in La Mesa, Mexico. As his understanding of essential oils grew, he improved techniques for refining the pure essential restorative and medicinal oils from plant sources.

Gary Young was able to slowly regain use of his legs over time. After 13 years, he was able to walk again and eliminate the pain through a combination of using essential oils and sheer determination.

The First Young Living Farm

Knowing that many commercial-grade oils are altered by the addition of synthetic materials, Gary decided in 1989 to purchase and farm a quarter-acre lot in Spokane, Washington. The farm was used to harvest and distill lavender and other herbs in a way that would harness the total purity of the essential oils. The farm became the first of many living laboratories for refining the growth and processing of essential oils.

Gary Young built his first distiller by welding two pressure cookers with the swan neck of copper tubing. He was then on the way to providing authentic therapeutic-grade essential oils to the world, and the Young Living Essential Oils company became the distribution vehicle for these oils.created.

In 1993, Gary Young developed a proprietary process that preserved the highest level of integrity and purity of essential oils. He redesigned and built the largest and most technologically advanced distillery in North America for the distillation and production of the first 100 percent pure therapeutic-grade essential oils, a term coined by Young for defining the essential oils he grows and distills.

Young Living Essential Oils Company

D. Gary Young and his wife, Mary, created the Young Living Essential Oil company in 1989. Since then, it has become a world leader with essential oils sold throughout world, including in Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Young Living Essential Oils products are not sold in retail stores. The company utilizes relationship marketing as their model for driving sales and promoting its products, which include essential oils made from a single source, such as lavender; essential oils made from blends of two or more oils; and a full line of other products infused with essential oils, including lotions, lip balms, supplements, and a goji berry juice named NingXia Red. Young Living claims to have 250,000 independent distributors. Because Young Living is a private company, this figure cannot be verified.

Gary Young’s Young Living Farms

D. Gary Young and his company maintain four farms for the production and distillation of essential oils. The farms are located in St. Maries, Idaho, Mona, Utah, Simiane-La-Rotonde, France, and Guyaquil, Ecuador.

At the farm in Ecuador, where Gary and his family spend much of the year, Gary is actively involved with locals in researching plants that have historically been used by native communities for a variety of healing and supportive properties and then bringing the oils of these plants to market.

Humanitarian Efforts

Gary Young has led several humanitarian efforts including:

In 2004, Gary and several Young Living Essential Oils employees traveled to Copper Canyon in Durango, Mexico, to build two schools and put in a water system for a remote Tarahumara Indian village.

· Gary Young launched The D. Gary Young Foundation: Young Living Outreach, which supports philanthropic causes worldwide, including the Cinterandes Foundation and its own Chongon School Project.
· Through Young Living Essential Oils, Gary and the company also support multiple charitable efforts including the You Can “Thrive” Foundation and the Urban Zen Foundation.

Family & Personal Life

Gary Young is currently married to former international opera singer Mary Billeter. Together, they have built Young Living Essential Oils and have two sons, Jacob and Josef.

The Young’s have residences in both Lehi, Utah, US, and Guyaquil, Ecuador, where they divide their time.

Gary Young has stated that his greatest desire is to help others obtain health and happiness, so he is often found working in the fields of one of the Young Living farms or in the laboratory formulating new products and oils to help others.

Gary has a passion for the old west that drives him to frequently load his packhorses and ride into the mountains of Utah or northern Idaho where he grew up. He is also an active tournament jouster.

Education

· Young graduated from Challis High School in Challis, Idaho, in 1967.
· Gary attended Bernadean University and earned his master’s degree in nutrition and a doctorate in naturopathy in 1985.
· During the late 1980’s, Gary Young studied biochemistry, anesthesiology, chemistry, hematology and anatomy with four doctors in Mexico.
· Gary worked with world-renowned expert J.C. Lapraz, M.D., studying the effects of essential oils on the respiratory system .
· Gary traveled to Egypt and studied with Radwan Farag, Ph.D essential oil chemistry and its effect on the immune system
· Gary studied at Anadolu University in Eskisehir, Turkey, studying gas chromatography and the chemistry of absolute extraction of essential oils.
· From 1990 to 1994, Gary studied with several leading experts on oil distillation in southern France

“Gary’s mission is about research and the discovery of natural substances that benefit mankind.” - Mary Young

Books

D. Gary Young is the author or co-author of several books and sarticles, including Aromatherapy: The Essential Beginning, Longevity Secrets, The Truth Behind Growth Hormone, and Discovery of the Ultimate Superfood. One of Gary’s most successful and comprehensive works on oils is the Essential Oils Desk Reference. This exhaustive collection of research and study explains the uses and benefits of the various natura oils and blends.

· 1994 —Aromatherapy: the Essential Beginning
· 1999— Essential Oils Desk Reference was published based largely on Gary Young's clinical research. The book is now in its fourth edition.
· 1999— Longevity Secrets
· 1999— The Truth Behind Growth Hormone
· 2000— Pregnenolone
· 2000— A New Route to Robust Health
· 2003— Essential Oils Integrative Medical Guide
· 2004— Re-JUVA-nate Your Health
· 2005— Discovery of the Ultimate Superfood, co-authored with Marc Schreuder

Published Papers

· Journal of Essential Oil Research 1998; 10: 517-523 “Effect of a Diffused Essential Oil Blend on Bacterial Bioaerosols.”
· Journal of Essential Oil Research 2000; 12: 639-649 “Screening for Inhibitory Activity of Essential Oils on Selected Bacteria, Fungi and Viruses.”
· Journal of Essential Oil Research 2001; 13: 387-392 “Antimicrobial Effects of Essential Oils on Streptococcus pneumoniae.”
· Journal of Essential Oil Research 2003; 15: 425-427 “Composition of the Oils of Three Chrysothamnus nauseousus Varieties.”
· International Conference on Essential Oils and Aroma Materias, Guangxi Guilin China 2004; 178-190 “Comparative Study of the Essential Oils of Three Betula Species B. alleghaniensis, B. lenta and B. pendula.”
· The Journal of the American Nutraceutical Association 2004; 7(1): 32-38 “Pre-Clinical Study: Antioxidant Levels and Immunomodulatory Effects of Wolfberry Juice and other Juice Mixtures in Mice.”
· Journal of the Utah academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters 2005; 82: 50-59 “Inhibition of LPS Induced Nitric Oxide Production in Murine RAW Macrophage-like Cells by essential Oils of Plants.”
· Journal of Essential Oil Research 2007; 19: 525-526 “Essential Oil of Bursera graveolens (Kunth) Triana et Planch from Ecuador.”
· International Food Chemistry Conference SICC-5, Singapore 2007 (poster present) Inhibitory Activity of Essential Oils Toward Cellular Proliferation in a Lung Carcinoma Cell Line.”
· Flavour and Fragrance Journal (under the press) 2008; “Inhibition of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) by Essential Oils”

Innovations

In 1989, Gary Young introduced the Raindrop Technique® as a part of his essential science study of therapeutic oils. This specialized massage technique was designed to help relieve discomfort associated with common health conditions. Since its debut, the Raindrop Technique has garnered enormous support and praise from health practitioners around the world for its ability to support the body in facilitating normal tissue cleansing and overall health.

Controversy

Some have criticized Gary Young for his lack of credentials and methods of using essential oils as alternative medicine . Some sites have posted rebuttals to the criticisims.

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