Oil Pulling

Recently I noticed a lot of buzz about oil pulling and after my massage therapist told me how she has been doing it and the benefits she has witnessed, I decided to look into it. If y’all have done any reading on oil pulling, it sounds quite interesting and the thought of swishing oil around in my mouth makes me queasy.

Oil pulling started in India thousands of years ago, and through my research, it was brought to the United States in the early 1990’s by a medical doctor who used it in his practice. Oil pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic remedy for oral health that pulls the bacteria out of the mouth, teeth, gums and throat. However, research has shown this remedy to help conditions such as headaches and migraines, inflammation due to arthritis, correcting hormone imbalances, help reduce eczema, aids in reducing pain, whitens the teeth, and helps eliminate and detox the body of harmful metals and organisms. In traditional practice, oil pulling was performed with sesame oil was used to reduce inflammation and problems associated with the mouth. Reasoning behind this originates from the theory that bacteria and infection can enter the blood through the mouth, thus causing infections that impact other parts of the body.

So how do you oil pull? The theory behind it is that “like dissolves like” so the oil cuts through plaque buildup and removes toxins without causing harm to the teeth and gums. In order to oil pull, you swish a teaspoon or two of vegetable based oil (such as coconut, sesame or olive) around in your mouth for 15-20 minutes, spit it out and rinse your mouth. Research has shown it is best to perform oil pulling first thing in the morning before eating/drinking but can be done after every meal if there are serious dental problems.

• Place 1-2 teaspoons of oil in your mouth. I like organic coconut oil and warm it up by placing the teaspoons in a small dish and set the dish in a little bit of warm water. I do not like the texture of solid coconut oil. The oil will liquefy in your mouth once it is warm enough, I just prefer to start with a liquid versus a solid.
• Swish around for 15-20 minutes. Timing is key here according to some studies, for this is long enough to break through bacteria but before your body has a chance to re-absorb the toxins.
• Spit the oil into the waste basket. Do not spit it down the drain and do not swallow the oil! Hopefully it is full of toxins that were drawn out so you want to completely rid your body of them.
• Rinse your mouth well with warm water to clean out the oil.
• Brush your teeth well to kill all bacteria. 

So does it work? Why not see for yourself? There is no harm in trying it and if anything your teeth will feel incredibly smooth and after a couple weeks, you will notice they become visibly whiter! It’s a win-win :) A great resource that explains oil pulling in great depth and provides a free e-book for your reference is Oil Pulling Reference  I hope you all give it a try and I would love to hear what it does for you!

Since I am on the topic of coconut oil, I thought this would be a great recipe to share, especially if you like chocolate and coconut. I found this recipe on Original Recipe and adapted it to my own version.

Chocolate Coconut Oil Fudge

2 scoops Chocolate Whey Protein

2 TBSP Cocoa powder

3 TBSP Organic Coconut oil

¼ cup Nuts N More Chocolate coconut almond butter (Buy Here)

Instructions

Mix together all the dry ingredients. Melt the coconut

(microwave or by placing it in a dish and putting the dish

in warm water). Add the Nuts N More and melted coconut oil

to the dry ingredients and mix until a fudge forms. Spoon fudge

into a greased mini loaf pan and spread evenly. Place in fridge for

an hour or more then Eat!