I tried something new this morning. Oil pulling. Raise your hand if you have heard of this!
I first heard about oil pulling about 4 months ago. I got up the nerve to try it 2 months ago. The first time I tried it, I gagged immediately and spit the oil out. So a few days later, I tried it again. I gagged AGAIN. It was awful. It wasn't the taste, that was fine. It was the chunky consistency of the coconut oil.
This morning, I tried it with a teaspoon of coconut oil and again, I gagged, but I pushed through. When the oil finally melted into its liquid state, it was fine. I did it for about 10 minutes which is pretty good for your first run and especially good for me considering what happened the first two times I did it.
Oil pulling is pretty cool when you learn how beneficial it is for your mouth and body as a whole. You can use a variety of oils to try oil pulling. I used Organic Virgin Coconut Oil. You can also you sunflower oil, sesame oil, safflower oil, grapeseed oil. Just make sure that the oil is safe to be ingested, even though you're not going to swallow. You can even add a couple drops of Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade (CPTG) doTERRA Essential Oils such as peppermint, OnGuard, Lemon, or Wild Orange.
So, you might be asking,
what exactly does oil pulling do?
- Improve oral health by detoxifying teeth and gums
- Whitens teeth
- Relief from congestion in the sinus cavities and throat
- Helps improve skin conditions
- Helps arthritis
- Helps asthma
- Can help to relieve headaches, infections, liver problems
- Helps with hormonal imbalances
How does it do all this???
Oil pulling helps to pull out toxins in the body, particularly your mouth and stomach, and get rid of those toxins when you spit out the oil. Your parents may have told you this when you were younger, but your mouth is one of the dirtiest parts of your body. There is so much bacteria living in the dark, wet, closed environment you call your mouth. It's pretty gross when you think of it.
Who came up with oil pulling???
It has been around for centuries. It was first documented as a practice in Ayurvedic text which is native to the Indian subcontinent. You, know, these people really had something going here. We "modern people" have a good man named Dr. F. Karach to thank for "bringing healthy back". :) He realized the importance of this ancient tradition when thinking of how easy things, good or bad, can enter our bloodstream through our mouth. I even read something that said this is how Native Americans used to "brush" their teeth.
So swish the oil around for 20 minutes. When you're done, be sure to spit it out in the trash can since coconut oil solidify when cooled. You don't want to clog your drain!
I challenge you to give this a try. Don't give up if you gag the first couple of times. For me, the third time really was a charm. Once you get past the chunkiness of the oil, it's actually pretty easy.
If you try this, please comment below and let me know what you think!!
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