Oil Pulling – A Deep Cleanse for your Mouth
This is a traditional Indian wellness technique and health remedy that has been used for centuries to maintain good health. The process involves swishing oil around your teeth, tongue, and mouth for at least three minutes. Oil pulling is believed to help flush and remove toxins from your body, leaving you healthier, cleaner, and revitalized.
Please note, small children and the elderly should use caution when practicing oil pulling if they have problems controlling a swallowing reflex, or those with impaired sinuses who may have problems breathing easily through their nose.
Required Tools: Vegetable, Fruit, or Seed Oils, and three minutes of your time. I also use very small 2-ounce Dixie cup to hold the used oil from my oil pulling. Do not reuse the oil once you spit it out of your mouth as the oil will harden around the toxins.
Once I have finished the oil pulling, I spit the oil into my little paper cup and leave it on the bathroom counter. The next morning the oil had become solid and I toss the cup and the oil into my mulch pile or garbage can.
Purchase a variety of cold-pressed organic oil. Some oil pullers suggest that sesame oil is the most effective oil for oil pulling, while others prefer the taste and texture of coconut oil. Consider alternating oil varieties every couple of days to get the full benefit of all the oils and see what works best for you.
Virgin olive oil and sunflower oil are also commonly used for oil pulling. Avoid canola oil and other varieties processed with additives.
Step 2
First thing in the morning, measure out 1 tablespoon of the oil. It’s important to do a pulling before you’ve consumed
any food or drink in the day [1] and also before you’ve brushed your teeth. You’ll have the opportunity to clean your mouth out afterward, and it won’t take long to complete the routine.
Step 3
Swirl the oil around your mouth for 10-15 minutes. [2] The oil will mix with your saliva and as the oil is swished around the mouth, teeth, gums, and tongue, it is thought to absorb toxins. Usually, it will turn somewhat viscous and milky. The health benefits of oil pulling, including whether they absorb toxins, are still being studied and require more evidence to know if it is effective.
Step 4
Spit out the oil and rinse your mouth out thoroughly with warm water. It’s important to spit out the oil when it starts to feel thick. This usually takes somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes, and certainly no longer than 20.
Spit into the trash can and rinse your mouth thoroughly with warm water, which tends to do a better job getting the oil out than cold. Make sure not to spit it into a sink or toilet, because it may clog the drain.
Step 5
Switch up the variety of oil every couple days. If you want extra power, try adding other ingredients – some people like a bit of mint or some apple cider vinegar for whitening, although results may vary. If you want to try out different oils to see what works best for you and yields the best results, get as many as you’d like and to try to use a different one each morning for a full week. Keep a fully stocked kitchen with a variety of organic oils and experiment with their benefits and uses. Organic virgin oils like coconut oil aren’t always the cheapest thing at the market, but they’re incredibly versatile: you can use olive oil or sesame oil for oil pulling.
Step 6
Prepare the oil the night before. Some people are turned off by the concept of making a mouthful of cooking oil the first taste of the morning, but it is important to do before you clean your mouth or consume anything, so make it easy on yourself. Consider measuring out the oil before you go to sleep and leaving it by your bedside or set out on the bathroom countertop so that you don’t have to think about it. Put it in your mouth and start swishing. If you usually keep your toothbrush on the counter, put it away and put a tiny glass of oil in its place. Oil pulling will become a habit in no time once you experience how clean your mouth feels after brushing and using the oil pulling.
Step 7
Make oil pulling a part of a light exercise routine. If you typically do some calisthenics or light stretching in the morning before breakfast, make oil pulling part of the regimen. Wake up your body and get your day started right. The more you make it part of some routine, the easier it will be to make oil pulling a regular thing in your life.
Whatever you typically do in the morning, add oil pulling to the routine. Look over the
Step 8
Help keep your teeth clean with oil. Some studies have shown that regular oil pulling reduces the amount of s. mutans, a common oral bacterium responsible for a variety of oral diseases and a major contributor to tooth decay, plaque, gingivitis, and cavities. The lipids in the oil may help kill bacteria and keep bacteria from sticking to the walls of the mouth.
Vegetable oils can increase saponification, which could account for the cleansing, soap-like texture you may notice when doing an oil pulling.
Step 9
Consider oil pulling to remedy bad breath and improve oral health. Halitosis is caused by bacteria and fungus in the mouth and on the tongue and using virgin oils regularly to oil pull will reduce these bacteria and fungi, fighting bad breath and contributing to a clean, healthy mouth. If you struggle with bad breath, work oil pulling into your routine.[7]
Step 10
Use oil pulling to contribute to an all-around holistic health regimen. Some people attribute oil pulling to the general detoxification of the body and a diversity of positive effects, including reduced hangovers, reduced pain, headache relief, insomnia relief, and other cures. I find oil pulling keeps my energy levels from tanking.
FYI (and TMI)
When you spit the oil out at the end it should look similar to milk, and this is normal. Do not spit the oil in the sink—this may clog your drain. This is especially true if you use coconut oil, as it is solid at room temperature.
References:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28053895/
Mechanism of oil-pulling therapy – in vitro study.
Oil pulling and importance of traditional medicine in oral health maintenance.