Oil Pulling – it may not be for the “queasy of heart/stomach”!

About a year ago, my mouth was in a lot of pain after having had jaw surgery.  A nice gal I know suggested something called “oil pulling” that might help with the pain.  She said that it required swilling oil around in your mouth for about 15-20 minutes.  I thought that it sounded pretty goofy and I didn’t think that I could swish oil around in my mouth that long with out gagging.  So, yes, I was close-minded and did not take her advice.

A couple of weeks ago, my daughter, Carly, dropped by and asked if I knew anything about oil-pulling.  I told her the short story above and we left it at that.  Carly stopped by again today and suggested writing this post on that very subject.  That advice I did take.  However, since I had never done it before, I felt that I had to actually try it myself a few times and see what it would accomplish for me.  But first…

What is Oil Pulling?  Oil pulling is a very old remedy that is said to help with oral health and detoxification of your body. 

  How does it work?   The oils pull nasty stuff such as bacteria and fungus out of your mouth, gums and throat. 

 How do you do it?   You put about a tablespoon of oil into your mouth and swish it around for 15-20 minutes. 

 Why should I do it?  What are the benefits?
“They” say that oil pulling has a ton of benefits, including: whitening teeth, strengthening gums, teeth, and jaw, preventing cavities and gingivitis, getting rid of skin problems such as acne, eczema, psoriasis, detoxing your body, curing hangovers and migraines, helping with sleep issues, clearing your sinuses, helping allergy sufferers, freshening  bad breath and helping with pain issues…and more!

What kind of oils do I use?  You are supposed to use high quality, organic oils, cold-pressed if possible. 

 How often should I oil pull?  Some people suggest doing it several times a day, but most sites suggested once a day or every other day.

 When is the best time to oil pull?  It is suggested that you do your oil-pulling in the morning, before eating or drinking, as this is when most harmful germs appear in your mouth.  I also read that doing the oil-pulling in the morning before you eat might help with alleviating nausea and/or gagging, because the oils aren’t interacting with food toxins that you have already put in your body. 

 That’s really all there is to it, basically.

Several of the sources that I looked into said that sesame oil is the best oil for the job, but other sources said that oils such as coconut oil, sunflower oil and olive oil would also work.  Another site suggested alternating oils every few days.

A few other things…

Because the bacteria and toxins stick to the oil, after you have swished for your allotted time, make sure that you spit all of the oil out, so that the toxins do not go back into your body.  They do warn though, that if you are using coconut oil, don’t spit it into the sink because it can clog your  pipes when it solidifies, which it does at a certain temperature.  (Naturally, I read this after I had already spit my coconut oil into the sink).

If 20 minutes is too long for you and a tablespoon is too much for you, some web sites suggested doing it twice a day for ten minutes at a time and using less than a tablespoon if you need to – or just spitting a little bit out every five minutes or so.

The other suggestion that I would give is to make sure that you are doing something to keep you busy while you are “detoxing,” such as watching TV, reading a book, etc. – basically, anything to keep your mind off the fact that you have a mouthful of slimy gunk in your mouth!

So anyway…

I bucked up this morning and decided to check this oil-swilling thing out.  I did no have any sesame seed oil in the house, but I did have organic coconut oil, which I like the taste of.

I will tell you that I had a hard time making it through the full twenty minutes.  I think I finally broke down at about 18 1/2 minutes and bolted for the sink.  And I do mean “bolted,” because once I knew that I was finally going to spit it out, I almost never made it to the sink because my gagging reflex kicked in at about 500 percent capacity!  (It’s like when you have to pee really bad but you can’t get to the bathroom right away.  You are priding yourself on holding it in so well, but once you know that you are getting close to a bathroom, it’s like all the flood gates open and you almost pee on yourself running to get to the toilet on time).

However, I am not giving up yet.  I took a “before” picture and I will take an “after” picture sometime in the future to see if thereis any difference visually in my mouth.  Also, I want to see if, and what else this process will do for me.    I am also going totry and remember to do this in the morning before I eat to see if it is easier on me than it was this morning.  Or maybe it is something that I can simply get used to…

At any rate, I will keep you posted if I notice any changes in my mouth, or other-wise.  I would really like to hear from you if you have every tried oil-pulling, or if you do it in the future, what your results are.

Thanks for reading!

Jayne