Let's talk about oil pulling. I'm sure you guys have probably seen it around the internet lately, as it has really taken off. It was new to me a couple years ago, but I hadn't yet developed my addiction to coconut oil, so wasn't really into swishing it around my mouth for 15 minutes a day, until recently. 15 minutes!? You may think that sounds crazy, but that is about the time you are supposed to oil pull for. You of course can work up to this time, but first, lets talk about what oil pulling is exactly, and the benefits of it.
Oil pulling is an Ayurvedic practice and has been around for ages, and has a ridiculously impressive line of benefits. Simply put, it is an oral detoxification procedure, or a way to detox via your mouth! Some of the benefits include:
- Removes bacteria and promotes healthy gums
- Reduces inflammation
- Whitens teeth
- Gets rid of bad breath
- Prevents cavities
- Increased oral health
- Overall detoxification
- Healing of chronic diseases (read this book)
But oil pulling doesn't just affect the health of your mouth, it really has full body benefits. By reducing inflammation, it is a wonderful thing to do if you have any types of health issues of ailments (or even if you're generally healthy!). In doing my research, I found a ton of testimonials from people claiming that it helped to clear up skin ailments, headaches, hormonal imbalances, asthma and more! I for one have been through a few health issues in the past, from hormone imbalance to psoriasis, so I am the perfect candidate for this (and since then have healed myself by doing a variety of natural practices like this as well as taking supplements, but we'll get into that in another post).
You can use coconut oil or sesame oil for this, but I highly recommend coconut oil because it is shown to balance hormones, kill candida, balance blood sugar, improve digestion, and it's antibacterial! Here's how you do it:
- You absolutely should be doing it first thing in the morning, before you eat, drink or brush your teeth. I get it over with right when I hop out of bed.
- Put about 1-2 tablespoons of oil in your mouth.
- Swish around for about 15-20 minutes, but no longer than that. If you do, you can actually reabsorb some of the toxins back into your body. You also can start slow, with 5 minute increments until you can build up to about 20. It's not the most fun process, and your jaw can get sore if you're not used to it.
- Spit the oil into a trash can or the toilet. Do NOT spit in the sink as it will clog your drain!
- Rinse with warmer water or even salt water.
- Brush your teeth as you normally would!
I recommend doing this about 4-5 times a week or really as often as possible. I, myself, like to do morning workouts, so I can't always squeeze it in before those as I am not a morning person and can't get my butt out of bed early enough! I'm working on it though.
If you're really interested in oil pulling and the benefits, I highly recommend reading Oil Pulling Therapy. Enjoy!
