Oil Pulling!

I love to learn about natural remedies and ancient practices that are known to have certain benefits on the body! The most recent of which is oil pulling! Oil pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic tradition where you swivel oil (yes, like cooking oil) around your mouth for 10 - 20 minutes. The idea is that it draws out the toxins in your mouth and helps to clean the plaque off your teeth and gums!

I know it all sounds a bit suspicious, but I thought I'd try it anyway, and I'm not joking, the next day I could feel the difference in my teeth! Even my mum noticed that they looked whiter! I also have very, very sensitive teeth, so sensitive that sometimes if I drink room temperature water it can irritate them. But I've had no issues since I've started doing it! Yes, I only started a couple of days ago, but I usually have problems everyday with my teeth being sensitive, so it was definitely a noticeable difference!

Improving the condition of your teeth is just one way that oil pulling is good for you, there are also some people who say that it can help with detoxing your entire body, eg. your liver, and can treat certain diseases like diabetes and even cancer! I don't know how true these are, there haven't been any scientific studies supporting this that I've found, but a clean mouth and healthy teeth is enough for me to continue doing it, and if it helps with other diseases then it's a bonus! :)

I'm not going to lie, the first time I did it I almost threw up, having oil in your mouth is not a pleasant thing, and the taste is really quite disgusting, but as you do it the taste starts to fade and the more you pull the easier it is.

The first day I could only do it for about 10 minutes, and I haven't really made much improvement on that yet, the taste is getting a lot easier to put up with, but it's quite tiring swirling it around in your mouth for that long!

Got this from parknshop, $54

I recommend oil pulling for everyone who wants a healthier mouth or who just wants to give it a go! There's just a few things to keep in mind when you are going to do it:

• use cold-pressed, unrefined oil. Organic would be best. Coconut is good to start off with as it tastes better, but sesame and sunflower oil work better
• don't spit the oil out into any drains as the oil can solidify and clog them up
• just put a tablespoon in to begin with and adjust it from there, I found that was too much and made it difficult to swirl, so I have half a tablespoon at the moment 
• when you spit the oil out it should be milky and your mouth shouldn't feel oily, if it does you need to do it for longer
• rinsing your mouth out with warm salty water is quite good for getting the taste and feeling out of your mouth, (I usually have very salty water)
• brush your teeth straight afterwards
• I've found that it's probably better to do it on an empty stomach, that way you don't have any food in your mouth (I was my mouth out with water beforehand to prevent that too) and I gagged a lot when I first did it so it just makes sure you're not sick... (yum)
• It's a good time to meditate, it gives you 10-20 minutes where you can sit, focus on swirling the oil and on your breathing, so just grab a cushion, set a timer on your phone or put a 15 minute meditation soundtrack on and pull away! 

I'll keep you updated on what other things I see happening! 

Happy pulling!

xxxx