The Art of Oil Pulling

Have you ever heard the phrase, “The eyes are the window to the soul?”

Well, your mouth is the window to your health!

The state of your oral health can offer lots of clues about your overall health. Oral health and overall health share a very intimate relationship and are much more connected than you might realize. Poor oral health is connected to many other health conditions beyond your mouth. Sometimes the first sign of a disease in your body shows up in your mouth! In other cases, infections in your mouth, such as gum disease, can cause problems in other areas of your body if not properly addressed.

Oil pulling is an ancient holistic dental technique originating in Ayurvedic medicine; developed thousands of years ago in India. It is one of the world’s oldest holistic (whole body) healing systems, a healing based upon the belief that the bodies health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit.

However, due to modern day laws of what can and cannot be patented, there is an unfortunate lack of scientific research based evidence to medically approve the findings of oil pulling. Though there are thousands upon thousands of positive feedback and reviews on the health benefits of oil pulling all across the board today, whole body healing techniques such as oil pulling are viewed as “theoretical” by Western Medicine’s text book definition and are not recognized by the ADA as an approved main stream medicinal treatment.

No one human can legally patent a product of nature therefore no one human can solely own a product of nature, leaving the door wide open for all humans to benefit from all of the products of nature if we our willing to educate ourselves on how to utilize them as nature intended. However, synthetic drugs are patented by isolating, purifying, or genetically altering an original product of nature. These drugs can, and will turn a large profit when introduced into the pharmaceutical market due to their patentability, therefore research studies and clinical trials on these kinds of drugs are easily financed by the pharmaceutical companies who stand to benefit from their sales.

With that information established, let’s now take a look at what’s going on inside of your mouth to gain a better understanding of why this natural connection between your oral health and your overall health make absolute sense when you break down the science behind it!

In one mouth, the number of bacteria can easily exceed the number of people on this planet, that’s more than 6 billion people… so, you do the math! Usually you can keep these bacteria under control with good oral health care, such as daily brushing and flossing. Your saliva is also a key defense against bacteria and viruses. It contains enzymes that destroy bacteria in different ways. When your gums are healthy, bacteria in your mouth usually don’t enter your bloodstream. However, gum disease may provide bacteria a port of entry into your bloodstream, as well, sometimes invasive dental treatments can also give oral bacteria a pathway into your blood. Oil pulling has been reported to show many oral benefits such as the improvement of gingivitis, decreased build-up of plaque, alleviation of halitosis, and the whitening of teeth. Some researchers believe that these bad bacteria and inflammation from your mouth are linked to other health problems throughout the rest of your body. If you’re experiencing issues with your gums, tongue, or teeth, in conjunction with an oil pulling regimen; finding a well-established Biological Dentist in your area would be very beneficial to your entire body’s current and future health status. A Biological Dentist will safely address your oral health issues and all other associated bodily ailments.

The environment of your mouth is established, for the most part, by your diet and lifestyle. In order to make permanent positive changes in the environment of your mouth, you will need to make permanent positive dietary and lifestyle changes. In the long run, investing in the proper treatment for your oral health care and incorporating good eating habits into your daily life will help to greatly decrease your risk of developing future sickness and chronic diseases.

Friendly bacteria can inhibit or even kill the more troublesome ones, so increasing the number of good microbes will help to lower the number of bad ones and keep them under control. Lactic acid bacteria in cultured foods like organic yogurt, sauerkraut, and other probiotic drinks, supplements, etc. help to build the populations of good bacteria in your gut. This will create a more balanced environment in your gut for go
od bacteria to thrive in, not only will this help your oral bacteria populations to decrease, it will also relieve you of various digestive issues as well.

How Does Oil Pulling Really Remove Toxins From My Body?

How can oil be so healing? There is nothing miraculous or secretive about it, its simple biology.

Oil pulling works wonders as a natural cleaner, removing all types of germs and reducing the number of potentially harmful ones that are constantly attempting to make their homes inside of our mouths. Our body is programmed with the ability to naturally heal itself from any infectious or degenerative disease, if we know how to allow our body to work for us!

Oil pulling removes disease-causing microorganisms and toxins in the mouth that cause our bodies to become ill. As you swish the oil gently around your mouth, the bacteria that are hiding under crevices in your gums and in pores and tubules within the teeth are sucked out of their hiding places; this is due to the attraction of the bacteria’s fatty membrane to the oil. They become a part of the thick foam starting to form in the oil as you continue to pull, which is why it is vital to the process that you pull the oil in your mouth for a sufficient amount of time to allow all of the microbes (bacteria) to bond with the oil solution freeing your mouth from bad substances and helping you to maintain your overall health and your body’s capacity to heal itself.

How Do I Do It?

20 minutes is the recommended amount of time for oil pulling to work properly, remember to do this on an empty stomach in the morning so that your body is not already hard at work breaking down more bacteria’s and acids from the foods you’ve consumed throughout the day.

Take 1 tbsp. of Organic Virgin or Extra Virgin – Cold Pressed Coconut oil (you may use any kind of vegetable oil for this, however I would recommend Coconut Oil as it has the lightest taste and has anti-fungal / anti-bacterial properties thanks to the Lauric Acid and monolaurin.)

Caution • • • If you have never eaten coconut oil, first make sure you are not allergic. Test for contact dermatitis by rubbing a small amount of coconut oil in the crease of your elbow before putting it in your mouth.

Gently swish it back and forth in your mouth for 20 minutes. Take care not to swallow any as you will be gulping down all of the toxins it’s pulling out of your body. By the time 20 minutes is up the oil will have doubled in size! Go ahead and spit your coconut oil out into the garbage can, as not to run the risk of the oil clogging up your sink.

Don’t swallow yet • • •

Now take a couple of pinches of Organic Himalayan sea salt and stir into a small cup of filtered water. Rinse and gargle twice with your sea salt solution. Doing this will give your mouth an extra anti-microbial rinse and is very soothing to inflamed, damaged and receding gums.

Still don’t swallow • • •

Now go brush your teeth, tongue, and the roof of your mouth to rid your mouth of the remaining bacteria and oil. Afterwards, I also recommend blowing your nose to get rid of any built up bacteria containing mucus in the nasal cavity as well floss your teeth and rinse one more time for an extra clean smile!

Start out by oil pulling for 5 days straight to cleanse your body and re-balance your good bacteria, then back down to a maintenance regimen of 2 or 3 times a week. Too much disinfecting will actually create further imbalances in the long run by disrupting the natural balance of flora in the mouth. Oil pulling is an enlightened approach to personal well-being, and is something to recognize that creating a permanent positive change in the environment of your mouth means that along with oil pulling; eating a healthy well balanced diet, consuming less alcohol, maintaining good oral hygiene, and consuming Probiotic foods all play a critical role in your body’s natural ability to heal itself.