Oil Pulling

We love coconut oil for it’s many health benefits – you can cook with it, bake with it, put it in your coffee, you can even use it in your hair or on your skin. But now I give you yet another reason to love coconut oil… oil pulling.

While this term may be new to you, the Ayurvedic practice has actually been around for thousands of years.

Traditionally, oil pulling – the practice of swishing oil around in your mouth for 15-20 minutes- has been toted as a means of promoting oral health and hygiene. But more recently, the practice has been claimed as a virtual panacea for numerous diseases and ailments from insomnia to strep throat. Most notably, oil pulling has been shown to have powerful decongestant properties for the sinuses and throat. Chronic allergy sufferers rejoice!

While other oils may be used, raw coconut oil is recommended because “it has antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and enzymatic properties. This provides the added benefit of killing any unwanted bacteria that may be residing in the mouth, while leaving behind healthy probiotic strains”. Read more here

Want to give it a try and test the benefits for yourself? Just a few simple steps and you may be on your way to improved health!

• On an empty stomach (morning time is best) take a tablespoon of oil in your mouth (allow to melt if it is hard), and begin swishing it around your mouth – pulling it between your teeth as you do. *DO NOT GARGLE the oil at any point.
• Continue to swish around in your mouth for 15-20 minutes
• When you are done, spit oil into the trash or in the toilet (not the sink as the oil may clog it). You should notice a milky-white consistency to the oil – presumably, these are the toxins that you have “pulled” from your mouth and body.
• Rinse well with water and enjoy your improved health!

Read more about oil pulling here and here.

Happy Pulling!