Thursday, January 11, 2024

Oil Pulling (Trend? Maybe it Works)

 If you were like me, and you had never heard of oil pulling, you wouldn't know, as I didn't know, that this very basic and simple (ancient) ritual, is pretty cool. 

    I still don't pretend to know all about it, after all, I've just learned it even existed. I'm studying it, researching it, finding it to be both inexpensive and doable, and I'm asking myself, "Why not?".  That's basically the stage I am in right now. In fact, I am actually oil-pulling while I write this blog so that I can do it longer than I have done in the past three days. 

    This is my fourth day to oil pull, and the first three days were around 5-6 minutes. Today, because I'm writing, blogging, and basically not thinking about it, I'm able to keep the oil in my mouth much longer.  According to the gurus online, you're supposed to do it about 20 minutes a day. I don't know if I'll do it that long, but maybe 15. We'll see.

    So, what is it? Simply put, oil pulling is using oil (coconut oil specifically) to pull the toxins out of your mouth, and by doing so you'll help your body rid itself of bad bacteria that can cause bad breath, tooth decay, and all the other things that bad bacteria does to you; you know, bad stuff.  Does it work? I don't know. It can't hurt! I mean, think about it, you're swishing coconut oil in your mouth for 15-20 minutes a day. It's not like you're swishing something around in there that isn't 100% organic and natural to begin with.

    Unlike swishing water, the oils pull from the sides of your mouth and get in between your teeth to get to the gritty ugly stuff in there as well. Some people say it's helped them break up plaque. OK. I'm OK with that too if it works. I'm just not seeing a downside to all this. I only see good. It's not as easy as it seems either because your mouth does become sore if you're not used to doing it, but you do get better at it. 

    You don't swallow the oil, that's important because if you do, you're swallowing the bacteria right along with it. You spit out the oil into the trashcan, not the sink or toilet. It is oil after all, and you don't want to start the makings of a clogged-up sink since you're doing this every single day.  I looked it up, you can do it every single day.   The oil appears white and foamy when you're finished and it's good. You can almost feel that you did the right thing just by looking at the discolored oil - - I use 100% organically cold-pressed coconut oil. I think I paid $7 for the jar. Super cheap. 

    You can use coconut oil in your coffee or tea to help you lose belly fat. You can work it into your skin after a bath. You can soak the tips of your fingers in it (heat it for a few seconds) and then after a few minutes of soaking you can massage your fingers, and file them, keeping the cuticles clean and your hands softer. There's just a lot of things you can do with coconut oil. I also use it to make soaps. It's the main ingredient I think, or one of the first 2.

    Lots of fun, lots of uses. Go look it up for yourself, and even if the dental industry is trying to say there isn't enough evidence to say whether it works or not, consider who's saying it -- someone who doesn't want us to stop paying them for dental care. I think it has to have some benefits. I'll give it a good 30-day try and if I like it, I'll keep it as a daily thing.

Who knew? (about 8,000,000,000,000 people from the yesterdays)


Photo Credit: Golden Dental Wellness Center

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