Oil pulling is an ancient treatment which stems from Ayurvedic medicine. As with many other treatments, the name is so confusing! You’re not ‘pulling’ oil, you’re using it to pull toxins out of your mouth (including the gums and teeth). While coconut is one of the most popular pulling oils, sesame and sunflower oils are sometimes used in as well.
Coconut oil is currently a hot topic, for its external and internal benefits. All the Keto and Paleo diet advocates are praising this fatty oil, oil extracted from the edible, fleshy "meat" of a coconut. Dozens of snacks have arrived on store shelves with coconut oil as the foundational ingredient. Recently, a Harvard-educated medical doctor decided to be outspoken about the ‘dangers of coconut oil’. Let’s be realistic here: most Western medical doctors do not understand nutrition, they have little education on the subject and get much more training on how to cut out body parts and medicate the body when there is dis-ease. Western doctors have limited knowledge on how to heal the body nutritionally, and/or promote health and wellness preemptively.
Mother Nature provides us with so many beneficial sources of medicine, and, if unharmed by humans (pesticides, etc.), these are good for human consumption. The bottom line is coconut is a nature-made food, grown high upon tall trees, where there has to be little contamination – and it is filled with a variety of health properties.
As I mentioned earlier, oil pulling uses coconut oil to pull toxins out of the mouth. Heavy metals, yeast and fungus are the most common. Metal fillings often leak, and the remnants may float around the mouth and gums, and the body grows more yeast and fungus and to protect us from the harmful metals.
Oil pulling has been a proven remedy for centuries around the world. Coconut oil is anti-fungal and antibacterial, so it only makes sense that if you swish the oil around in your mouth long enough, you’ll be capturing these bad guys in the oil. When you spit it out, voilà! - you have fewer toxins in your mouth. Many of my patients have had the best dental checkup in years after 15 oil pulling sessions or more.
You may be wondering, do I have to do oil pulling to be healthy? When it comes to health, everything we do is additive. I’m always a fan of the “grey” approach…meaning to do something some of the time, forever. For example doing something 3x/week forever is better than 1 month straight and never again, right? And, it’s important to remind you that digestion starts in the mouth – so getting rid of toxins in the mouth is also going to improve the digestive process.
Oil pulling is one of the best ways to remove bacteria and keep your teeth and gums in tip-top shape. In fact, it’s been shown to outperform flossing and it naturally helps whiten your teeth as well. I have numerous patients who have done this treatment and their dental hygienist commended them on being a star dental patient. The pockets in the gums have reversed, the teeth look whiter and there are rarely any cavities!
Here’s How:
1. Take 1.5 tablespoon of coconut oil, I recommended a pure, organic, clean coconut oils like the one in the Julie E Health Online Shop (link)
2. Swish around coconut oil in your mouth for 5-10 minutes, (while showering, or making your bed)
3. Spit out coconut oil in a trash can or toilet (not the sink, as it will solidify and can clog drains!)
4. Rinse your mouth with water 2x more before eating, drinking and swallowing to assure you rid all loosened toxins from the mouth
Important note: Do not swallow this coconut oil since it will be full of the bacteria that has been pulled out of your teeth and mouth. Step 4 assures you remove any lingering bacteria also out of your mouth.
Give oil pulling a try today. And don’t forget to reach out on Facebook or Instagram to tell me about your results!! @julieehealth