What the Heck is Oil Pulling?

A while ago I heard about this thing called oil pulling. I didn't really give it much thought; I couldn't see what the benefits of doing such a thing could really be. So, as a true open-minded person, I didn't research it any further.

Then, just a few months ago, I heard about it again. This time I actually read a little about the benefits. Most of the articles I've read suggest using a high quality, cold pressed, extra virgin coconut oil. Other quality food grade oils can be used as well. Coconut oil seems to be a favorite because of its antibacterial properties.

So what do you do? Well, first thing in the morning, you take between 1/2-1 tablespoon of said oil and put it in your mouth. Then you just swish it around for about 15-20 minutes. The timing is important. The oil is drawing bacteria and toxins through your saliva and leaving it in your mouth longer than 20 minutes can allow your body to begin to reabsorb them. Not cool.

You don't want to gargle it or let it touch the back of your throat because of the bacteria building up in it. And you definitely don't want to swallow it. When the time is up, spit it into the trash or the toilet. Being oil, it can solidify again, clogging a sink drain.

I started doing it 4 days ago. I did it 3 days in a row but didn't have time this morning. I'll do it again tomorrow. I mainly just wanted to see what noticeable changes I would observe. The first thing I noticed was that my sinuses were clearing up. I could feel them draining before I had spit the oil out.

An unexpected side effect for me has been a decrease in allergy symptoms, even from the first day. I have very bad environmental allergies as well as an allergy to my cats. I wake up every morning with an itchy, runny nose and my face is always feeling itchy. On the second day I suddenly realized that I wasn't having allergies. I hadn't even thought about taking my allergy medicine.

So that's my cool oil pulling story for now. I'll update as I go along. I'm interested to see if it will really whiten my teeth!