Have you heard of oil pulling? It seems like a year ago there was a lot of buzz being generated about oil pulling, which is an ancient Ayurvedic dental technique. I’m a little surprised it didn’t get air time during the great Coconut oil debate of the summer thanks to the American Heart Association. You don’t have to use coconut oil when oil pulling, you can also use sesame or olive oil. Whichever you choose, it should be organic cold pressed.
So why would you want to swish a tablespoon of oil around in your mouth for 10-20 minutes daily? It certainly doesn’t sound appealing, and to be honest it takes some getting used to, however the benefits to your overall health are worth it. If you have receding gum lines, acne, or tooth decay- oil pulling could be your new best friend of self-care. It also whitens your teeth, prevents cavities and reduces inflammation.
If you enjoy loosing yourself in Pinterest, I highly recommend pulling up the myriad of articles and testimonials of people that have actually cured cavities, that’s right, reversed cavities. I couldn’t possibly say this would happen for everyone, but I’m willing to try oil pulling to potential avoid the drill. Oil pulling also boosts your immune system and with back to school season on the horizon, it also comes with back to passing the colds around season.
I personally began oil pulling after having irritated gums and searching for a homeopathic option to alleviate the pain in lieu of taking a pain killer. My husband suggested swishing some listerine, but that didn’t sound very healing to me, so I opted for a table spoon of coconut oil with a few drops of clove essential oil. After 20 minutes the pain resided and I was able to sleep comfortably. I decided to pull again the next morning and have continued pulling every morning for 20 minutes since. I love how clean my mouth felt after pulling. I’m curiously watching my gum line and checking to see if my teeth seem whiter. I’ll report back at the 6 month mark and let you know if I’ve successfully kept up this practice and the results I’ve had.
In the meantime, here’s a fantastic article by Dr. Axe that dives deeper into the wonderful benefits of oil pulling and why coconut oil is the best option due to its own healing properties. https://draxe.com/oil-pulling-coconut-oil/
Another great resource article about oil pulling is from Positive Health Wellness https://www.positivehealthwellness.com/beauty-aging/everything-need-know-oil-pulling/ I love their graphic on the many benefits to Oil Pulling.
**Update** If you want to learn all about the Coconut, check out this article by the Happy Happy Vegan. This is a super informative, thorough article.
To try oil pulling yourself follow these steps:
Start off slowly and build up to 20 minutes and 1 full tablespoon.
You may want to start with 1 teaspoon for 5 minutes and build from there.
I like to add 1-2 drops of a high quality clove essential oil for added health benefits.
Swish gently for the time you’ve selected, and set a timer. You don’t want to overdo the swishing and create a sore jaw!
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You’ll want to spit out the oil into a trash can, it can and will clog up the pipes in your sink.
It’s imperative that you spit the oil out. This is a form of detox and you want to rid your body of the bacteria that’s been extracted through the oil pulling process.
Rinse your mouth with warm water; you can add sea salt for added benefits.
Lastly brush your teeth normally.
I do oil pulling first thing in the morning, this helps rid the body of any bacteria that may have built up during your sleeping hours and provides the biggest bang for your 20 minutes of swishing.
I like to use a tongue scraper after pulling and rinsing. Brushing your tongue moves the bacteria around on your tongue, whereas using a scraper removes the bacteria all together. To learn more about the benefits of tongue scraping, see this post.
