Oil Pulling 101

Oil pulling. 

You've probably seen the articles making their way around the internet recently. You probably shook your head at it and equated it to something that those crazy Whole Food's people do. 

Negative. 

I'm not one of those Whole Food's people. Far from it. Most of my shopping is completed in a Food Lion AKA the anti-Whole Foods. You don't need to be one of THOSE people to be concerned about your health.

If you're not familiar with exactly what Oil Pulling is, let me explain it to you. It is the practice of swishing oil around in your mouth for around 20 minutes. Oil pulling is thought to have been around for thousands of years and is mentioned in Ayurvedic texts.The purpose of doing a pull is to help remove impurities from the mouth. It has a lengthy list of benefits:

-Helps to whiten and brighten teeth

-Diminishes bad breath

-Healthier gums

-Prevents and potentials helps heal cavities

-Helps drain sinuses

-Lessens number of headaches

-Sleep better

-Feel more awake

-Higher energy levels

The list goes on.

It's actually a pretty simple concept to understand when you get down to the fundamentals of it. Oil is "sticky", as you swish it around it your mouth, it grabs on to all the bacteria and other junk, and holds it suspended in the oil. It is very important that you do not accidentally swallow the oil, as you do not want to be re-ingesting all the nastiness that you just pulled out of your body. As gross as it may sound, it's actually not an unpleasant experience.

Coconut oil is the oil of choice for most oil pullers. 1 Tablespoon is all you need. It starts as a solid which requires you to sort of...chew on it for a few minutes until it reaches your body temperature and turns into a liquid. Just envision yourself eating an Almond Joys. Those things are good. Be sure to spit the toxic soup out into a TRASH CAN and never into the sink, as coconut oil is a solid at room temperature and will give you plumbing issues later down the line.

If you have an affinity to the taste of coconut, or an allergy, HAVE NO FEAR! You have options. Sesame Oil is another common alternative although not quite as tasty as the coconut. The pull is performed the same way and for the same length of time.

So sit back, relax, and watch an episode of Always Sunny in Philadelphia, while you do your first oil pull. Careful not to laugh and swallow!