What is oil pulling? In a society riddled with complicated, expensive and even dangerous detoxification methods, oil pulling offers a technique that is refreshingly simple. Oil pulling therapy is a practice taken from Ayurvedic medicine that involves swishing, or pulling, unrefined oil in your mouth for several minutes. The modern adaptation of oil pulling has only recently become popular in Western society, but already many are reporting amazing results from this unorthodox therapy. (Read about my results at the end of the post!)
What are the Benefits of Oil Pulling?
The alleged benefits of oil pulling cover everything from curing gingivitis to facilitating weight loss. Some users even report a decrease in gray hair! Other users note:
- Whiter, straighter teeth
- Healthy, pink gums
- Increased energy
- Decreased migraine headaches
- Clear sinuses
- Less severe asthma
- Decreased allergies
- Improved PMS symptoms
- Regulated menstrual cycles
- Better sleep
- Clear skin
Overall, oil pulling is known as a powerful method of detoxifying the body. Coconut oil expert Dr. Bruce Fife, author of Oil Pulling Therapy, says “Oil pulling is one of the most remarkable methods of detoxification and healing I have ever experienced in my career as a naturopathic physician.”
What is Oil Pulling? How Reap the Benefits of Oil Pulling
Traditionally unrefined sunflower or sesame oil was used for oil pulling, but today many other oils are used as well. Unrefined olive or coconut oil come highly recommended if you don’t want to use the traditional oils. Find quality sources of oil in the marketplace here.
- Ideally oil pulling should be done first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.
- About one tablespoon on oil should be used. You can start with less, though.
- A couple drops of essential oil or a healing oil like oregano (which might be good for thrush) can be added if desired.
- Swish the oil slowly and methodically, not vigorously.
- Try to make sure the oil reaches every region of your mouth.
- Be careful not to swallow the oil.
- Continue swishing the oil for at least 10 minutes, preferably more like 20 minutes.
- The oil will become very thin and foamy as you swish.
- Spit the oil out and rinse your mouth thoroughly with pure water.
- Brush with a natural toothpaste afterwards. Click here for ideas for toothpaste alternatives.
Oil pulling can be done as often as you like. Daily sessions are recommended if you have specific health problems you are trying to address with oil pulling. This traditional practice is also an excellent measure to add to your daily routine to facilitate detoxification and overall health.
My Oil Pulling Benefits Testimonial
I discovered oil pulling therapy last year and decided to try it for fun. I used coconut oil since that’s what I had around at the time. I didn’t notice any astounding benefits, so after about a week of swishing for 20 minutes each day I gave it up. Since then I’ve pulled oil a couple times a month at random. Then about a week ago I started thinking about it again and decided to give it another whirl. I used olive oil this time because it seemed convenient. I swished for about ten minutes a day for a few days.
Now, before I continue I want to explain that I’ve had a problem with plaque building up on the back of my lower front teeth for as many years as I can remember. Because of a (mostly unfounded) aversion I have to dental visits, I don’t get my teeth professionally cleaned often (don’t worry, otherwise my dental hygiene is great!) and I’ve been wanting to find a natural way to combat this stuff.
So, lo and behold I decided to floss right after oil pulling with olive oil for the first time (usually I floss at night and do oil pulling in the morning–it never occurred to me they might go better together!).
And as I was flossing all of the plaque build up literally just broke away from my teeth. I was astonished, and ran into the bedroom exclaiming to my husband how crazy this was, that almost all the build up was gone. Over the next few days I continued to floss after oil pulling, and now I have virtually no plaque build up behind my lower front teeth. My teeth feel very smooth and clean. Nothing short of a dental cleaning has ever been able to accomplish this before, and to put the icing on the cake this was absolutely painless (yay!) and basically free (I guess besides the tiny cost of a few tablespoons of olive oil).
If you want to read more about the benefits of oil pulling, check out coconut guru Bruce Fife’s book Oil Pulling Therapy: Detoxifying and Healing the Body Through Oral Cleansing
which can be found at a fairly reasonable price online. Not sure if your local library is going to carry this one, but it’s worth a shot to see if you can reserve it to get a peek at this interesting stuff.
Do you love coconut oil? You might enjoy these posts:
I love this idea and am recently new to coconut oil. I love it. This article says to use coconut or olive oil but be careful not to swallow.
I take about 1.5 teaspoons of coconut oil at least once a day, sometimes twice, rught off the spoon and down the hatch it goes. I’ve been doing this for about 3 weeks and have had amazing results. Is it not safe to do it that way?
Eating the oil is fine, definitely! But don’t swallow the oil you’ve used for oil pulling.
Just to clarify… I do this to reap the many benefits of coconut oil.
@Jamie – Ingesting the oil, fresh, is different than swallowing oil you’ve used for oil pulling. After you’ve done the oil pulling, it’s not healthy to ingest. You’re pulling out toxins with the oil pulling, so you don’t want to swallow that and put it right back into your system.
I had a similar experience with a big hunk falling off (actually it is tarter, not plaque I think). It also builds up behind my front lower teeth. Hygenist said it is partly because there are active saliva glands there….
But…my question for you all. Many sites say not to pull if you have the old mercury fillings. And then some say that is not a problem, that they have leached all they are going to.
I stopped oil pulling because I was concerned.
I thick technically the stuff behind my teeth was called calculus.
I am really not sure about the mercury filling concern. There isn’t a lot of concrete evidence, but it’s still a possibility. I think it’s a cost vs. benefit thing–if you’re benefiting a lot from oil pulling, it’s probably worth it.
Is this safe to do with braces? I was wondering if it would leave a film on my braces.
Too is it safe for the oil to go down the drain?
Thanks
k2
Not sure about the braces. May need to ask your orthodontist about that.
Coconut oil may harden in drains, so that’s something to think about. Some have suggested spitting the oil out in the toilet to avoid problems.
I chanced upon oil pulling few months ago and started it because I had stains on my teeth I could not get raid off even after visiting my hygienist. So I decided to try it and have seen tremendous improvement. So I think its safe with braces since my teeth re getting whiter and dont have problems with the braces.
Any idea if this is safe to do while breastfeeding? Generally it’s not advisable to detox while breastfeeding, since the toxins can get into the milk and of course we don’t want to be dumping toxins into a baby. But with oil pulling, does it somehow all leave the body via the oil and therefore not release into the milk? Just wondering if this is safe to try.
I’m not sure how potent the detoxing effects of oil pulling are. It might just be a mouth detox thing, in which case it’s like you said–the toxins leave with the oil, so it’s not a big concern.
You just put a bit of (liquid) olive oil in your mouth and swish…or are you supposed to put the firm oil (coconut oil) in your mouth?
Either one works. For the solid coconut oil, you can melt it first before you swish it, or you can melt it in your mouth and then swish.