WHAT IS OIL PULLING?
Oil pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic technique that involves placing a tablespoon of oil into your mouth and swishing it around for about 20 minutes. (Like mouthwash.) Make sure you DON’T swallow the oil and brush your teeth regularly afterwards.
REPORTED BENIFITS OF OIL PULLING?
- It whitens teeth
- Better oral hygiene (Better breath, Cavity & Gingivitus prevention.)
- Reduces headaches and hangovers (Oil pulling helps eliminate bacteria from the body.)
- Detoxes the body (helps inflammation and sinus problems.)
- Helps clear skin problems (Improvement in acne, psoriasis, and eczema.)
MY EXPERIENCE?
(Trader Joe’s Organic Virgin Coconut Oil 16 oz. Jar $5.99)
At first placing a tablespoon of the hardened textured organic coconut oil felt funny in my mouth. It slowly melted as I swished it around, gradually turning into a water-like texture. It was a little painstaking at first to stand there for 20 whole minutes just swishing. (Later on I started to do it while I took a shower instead of just when I washed up so that I could swish the entire time and continue to shower and be more effective on time.) Tip: Make sure to either spit into a trash can or right on top of your drain because the oil can get stuck in your sink/bathtub and be a hassle to wipe off.
As silly as it sounds, I could almost “feel” the bacteria/negatives being released into the oil from my mouth as the oil felt denser and denser as the minutes went by.
THE CONCLUSION?
I honestly still cant really tell if oil pulling is as effective as some people claim it to be. (Maybe I haven’t continued it long enough.) But I will say that for me, it definitely did make a big impact on the whitening and cleanness of my mouth. My teeth were much whiter almost instantly and also much more shiny and smooth with less plague-like bacteria. Also I didn’t need to scrape my tongue any more. After oil pulling all the white-ness off my tongue (linked to bacteria and bad breath) just magically disappeared.
AND if you end up not liking “oil-pulling”, you can also use coconut oil in these other ways.
- Use it to cook your meals/food because it is a healthy alternative.
- Put it on a cotton pad and use it as a makeup remover. (Trust me it works magically.)
- It can be used as a moisturizer like lotion for your body and skin.
- Apply it on your lips for it can double as lip balm.
- Mask it in your hair for about 10-15 minutes for a deep deep rehydrating conditioner that will leave your hair silky soft. (Make sure to rinse well with shampoo afterwards!)
