You knew I'd be blogging about this eventually, right? Yep, I decided to finally try oil pulling a couple of months ago. And now I'm here to give you my take on it. (This page contains affiliate links, which means if you make a
purchase after following these links, I may receive a small commission.
Thank you!)
So the whole point of oil pulling, in case you haven't heard about it, is to draw toxins out of your body. An added bonus is whiter teeth. This link can explain it all better and more thoroughly than I can.
I do the oil pulling first thing when I get up every day and swish a little less than a tablespoon of it for up to 20 minutes. After disposing of it in the trash, I then brush and floss as usual. And I have experienced two main results from adding this to my day:
Whiter teeth || For years, my teeth would not whiten. Even using the special Crest 3D White toothpaste, even by switching to an automatic toothbrush, and even though both of those made Daniel's teeth whiter. Mine just refused to whiten. Within just a couple of weeks (maybe less) of oil pulling, my teeth were actually whiter. (They actually look a bit whiter immediately after oil pulling.) So to me, that alone is worth it. But I have an even better result of adding oil pulling to my life.
Fewer and less severe migraines || I may have mentioned back in August that I started having daily what I can only call migraines. I won't go into attempting to describe them here, but the main reason I decided to try oil pulling was to try to get rid of them. Within a couple weeks of starting this routine, the migraines were significantly lessened. And now if I go a couple of days without oil pulling, I can tell by the pain in my head.
So if you think you'd like to give oil pulling a try, I do have a few tips for you:
Use the good brands || All coconut oil brands are not created equal. Here's a guide for you. I originally used LouAna, which was nasty and, come to find out, not what I should be using. I now use Nutiva Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
honestly because that's the brand that Lauren at Empowered Sustenance recommended and I trust her.
Take it slow || Everyone should start slow with this. It's weird at first and doesn't taste great (also depends on your brand--Nutiva is practically candy compared to LouAna...), so you need to become accustomed to it. So start out with just a couple minutes and gradually do it longer each time until you reach about 15 minutes. It will get easier. I actually like having to do it first thing when I get up because typically when I am finally able to get out of bed, I want to just start whatever I need to do that day, like putting up dishes, taking jewelry pictures, etc., and true to my impatient personality, I hate having to first brush my teeth and floss, fix myself food, blah, blah, when I have things to do! (Yes, this is for real. :P) So having 20 minutes to do stuff to distract myself from the junk in my mouth before brushing and eating and all that is really nice and usually a very productive time for me. ;)
I also want to mention that if you have a chronic illness, are out of shape, are not a very active person, or do not use mouthwash regularly, you especially should take it slow. Don't go all out swishing the first few times. I actually just started out trying 2 or three times a week and very gradually worked up from 5 to 15-20 minutes and have only recently started doing it daily. Swishing and even holding the oil in your mouth uses muscles you don't typically use, so they have to get used to it. I actually had to go lie down after the first several times because my face was so tired. (Yes, I have problems...) But it gets better!
Give it time || Like I said, it does feel weird, but you get more used to it. And as with anything, you won't see results right away, so give it a good couple weeks before abandoning the idea. (And even if you don't see any results, there's a good chance it's still helping you.)
One major warning || Do not do this if you have amalgam (silver) fillings. There are made of mercury that will leach out when you do the oil pulling.
So the whole point of oil pulling, in case you haven't heard about it, is to draw toxins out of your body. An added bonus is whiter teeth. This link can explain it all better and more thoroughly than I can.
I do the oil pulling first thing when I get up every day and swish a little less than a tablespoon of it for up to 20 minutes. After disposing of it in the trash, I then brush and floss as usual. And I have experienced two main results from adding this to my day:
Whiter teeth || For years, my teeth would not whiten. Even using the special Crest 3D White toothpaste, even by switching to an automatic toothbrush, and even though both of those made Daniel's teeth whiter. Mine just refused to whiten. Within just a couple of weeks (maybe less) of oil pulling, my teeth were actually whiter. (They actually look a bit whiter immediately after oil pulling.) So to me, that alone is worth it. But I have an even better result of adding oil pulling to my life.
Fewer and less severe migraines || I may have mentioned back in August that I started having daily what I can only call migraines. I won't go into attempting to describe them here, but the main reason I decided to try oil pulling was to try to get rid of them. Within a couple weeks of starting this routine, the migraines were significantly lessened. And now if I go a couple of days without oil pulling, I can tell by the pain in my head.
So if you think you'd like to give oil pulling a try, I do have a few tips for you:
Use the good brands || All coconut oil brands are not created equal. Here's a guide for you. I originally used LouAna, which was nasty and, come to find out, not what I should be using. I now use Nutiva Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
honestly because that's the brand that Lauren at Empowered Sustenance recommended and I trust her. Take it slow || Everyone should start slow with this. It's weird at first and doesn't taste great (also depends on your brand--Nutiva is practically candy compared to LouAna...), so you need to become accustomed to it. So start out with just a couple minutes and gradually do it longer each time until you reach about 15 minutes. It will get easier. I actually like having to do it first thing when I get up because typically when I am finally able to get out of bed, I want to just start whatever I need to do that day, like putting up dishes, taking jewelry pictures, etc., and true to my impatient personality, I hate having to first brush my teeth and floss, fix myself food, blah, blah, when I have things to do! (Yes, this is for real. :P) So having 20 minutes to do stuff to distract myself from the junk in my mouth before brushing and eating and all that is really nice and usually a very productive time for me. ;)
I also want to mention that if you have a chronic illness, are out of shape, are not a very active person, or do not use mouthwash regularly, you especially should take it slow. Don't go all out swishing the first few times. I actually just started out trying 2 or three times a week and very gradually worked up from 5 to 15-20 minutes and have only recently started doing it daily. Swishing and even holding the oil in your mouth uses muscles you don't typically use, so they have to get used to it. I actually had to go lie down after the first several times because my face was so tired. (Yes, I have problems...) But it gets better!
Give it time || Like I said, it does feel weird, but you get more used to it. And as with anything, you won't see results right away, so give it a good couple weeks before abandoning the idea. (And even if you don't see any results, there's a good chance it's still helping you.)
One major warning || Do not do this if you have amalgam (silver) fillings. There are made of mercury that will leach out when you do the oil pulling.
Have you tried oil pulling?
~~~
Read more about another great use for coconut oil:
Maybe I missed this, but this isn't a replacement for brushing your teeth, right?
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