Oil pulling involves holding or swishing pure unprocessed sesame or coconut oil in the mouth for around 15–20 minutes. Oil pulling is actually a fairly modern Ayurvedic practice for detoxing the teeth, gums, tongue and throat as the pure oils act to “pull” out disease-causing critters. Scientific research shows that lipids in the oil pull out bacteria and fungus, preventing them from adhering to the walls of our mouth and gums. It can also significantly reduced gingivitis, bacteria counts and dental caries. And its not just the mouth that reaps the benefits, but the whole body.
Amazingly, doing a cold-pressed natural oil mouthwash can actually boost cellular restructuring in entire body as it increases the smooth functioning of the lymphatic and organ systems. By ridding the body of these toxins orally, oil pulling may help improve everything from migraine headaches, eczema, and hormonal imbalances, to more serious conditions such as arthritis and heart disease. Other reported benefits to oil pulling include increasing the strength of teeth and gums, preventing/treating cavities, gingivitis, tooth decay, bad breath, bleeding gums, dry mouth and TMJ/jaw pain. And if twenty minutes seems like an eternity, swish it around while you do something else, like laundry or making breakfast.
Here’s a great little video from the people at Banyan about oil pulling and how to do it.
Katie Silcox 