Have you heard of oil pulling? I read about it last week on someone's blog and have been trying it for the last week. Bill tried it with me the first time, but didn't like it as much as I do. Here's what I do:
1. Get the coconut oil, a tablespoon and peppermint essential oil.
2. Put 1 TBSP coconut oil (with one or two drops of peppermint - just because I don't like the taste of coconut) in my mouth.
3. Swish it around for 20 minutes. (Yes, 20 minutes. It's a long time so I clean house while I do it.)
4. Spit it all out, but don't spit it in the sink. It will clog drains. I spit it in any plastic container I'm throwing out. It's important not to swallow.
In a nutshell, the theory behind it is that mouths are full of bacteria and swishing with coconut oil (which is anti-bacterial) is healthy. You should Google it because there is a lot out there about it. It's an ancient Ayurvedic practice (not sure where that is...does anyone else know?) Anyway, I really like it. I do it in the morning instead of brushing my teeth. I still brush at night, but prefer how my teeth feel slick after the oil.
There are a bunch of websites touting the cleansing effects and saying that it can cure anything from bad breath to diabetes and cancer. Not sure about all that. I think my teeth feel clean after I do it. That's it. Also, I've noticed that my gums feel pretty good too afterward. Yesterday I had just a little bit of gum pain (after I ate a donut, of course - all that sugar!) but then did my 20 mins with the oil and it felt all better.
Snopes says it's a totally false claim that it can cure anything. Probably true.
Try it and see what you think! (20 minutes is a long time! Let me know if you can do it!)
UPDATE: My dental appointment was fine. No cavities, but I do have some leaky cavities that need to be refilled. Nobody seemed to gross out about my teeth. The cleaning was one of the easier ones I've been through. Hard to know if swishing oil is making a difference.
8 comments:
Sounds kooky! I'll have to try it! And Willa too, since it may help migraines. Just how did you stumble upon this??
20 minutes? That IS really a long time. I'll try and get back to you.
Ayurvedic medicine is an alternative form of medicine from India.
OK, I just did it. No peppermint. Straight coconut. 1/2 TBS. A whole TBS gagged. 20 minutes wasn't as bad as I had thought. Spit it out in 1/2 of an empty egg shell. Results - Not bad. Not super. Teeth not slick.
Heather I found it from something on fb - it was one of those things that I'm still not sure how I found...
Thanks for the clarification on Ayurvedic, Mom. Good to know.
I have done it with straight coconut oil a few times and it's okay that way too. I really prefer it to brushing in the morning, but brushing is so quick compared!
Do you think you'll try it again, Mom? Or was it good to try once and only once?
I'm going to the dentist next week, so if they die about how bad my teeth are, I'll let you know...but it has been almost 3 years since I've been to the dentist soo....
I've heard about this before. I haven't gone for 20 minutes with any item in my mouth besides chewing gum. Maybe today. I'm kind of bored.
This is so funny that you posted about this. I just read this article about it-http://www.thegreatfitnessexperiment.com/2014/03/oil-pulling-gave-me-a-mega-headache-but-im-still-trying-it-what-does-the-science-say-about-this-latest-health-trend.html
I haven't tried it yet but maybe I will.
I tried it today. It was okay. It seemed really long. It might have been better with peppermint oil but I don't have any. Also I thought I liked coconut flavor but I don't think I like it as much as I thought i did. I will try it for awhile and see how it goes.
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