Oil Pulling

Have just come across some interesting information on oil pulling.  It simply means that you can put a tablespoon of cold pressed and preferably organic olive oil, safflower oil, or sesame oil  in the mouth and swish it around for twenty minutes and it will pull bacteria, viruses and toxins from the mouth and possibly from the whole body. It is supposed to remove stains from the teeth and have to say my teeth did appear whiter. It is also to have the benefits of healing your gums and improving the health of your whole mouth and rid you of bad breath.

Amazingly, I caught a cold and was using herbs for it. All symptoms were mostly gone in three days and it did not become severe at all. But still had a scratchy throat, a bit of a headache, and sounded hoarse. A friend told me about oil pulling. Ok, it sounds odd but I remembered that in the Bible that the Good Samaritan used olive oil to treat the injured man. So I tried it. It is best to do it first thing in the morning but it was late in the day by the time I had heard of it. I decided to not wait until morning and in just twenty minutes my hoarseness was much improved and headache gone. I did it one more time before retiring and then again first thing in the morning. By mid-morning, the hoarseness was gone completely and I felt rejuvenated and ready for the day. The extra benefit was that my teeth look even more white today and the cold, dry air of winter was not making me feel so parched.

There is more to read on this subject but wanted to post this so you can add it to the baking soda bath and herbal treatments for colds, flu and viruses. It may mean the difference in whether you make that early morning meeting, are able to handle your toddlers and children first thing in the morning or that you end up in bed all day.

Here is how it is done. You take one tablespoon of good cold pressed and organic oil and begin to swish it around in the mouth and try not to swallow it as it is supposed to become full of bacteria and toxins. I did swallow occasionally but kept the oil at the front of my mouth while doing so. I kept myself busy with doing dishes or reading and just kept swishing. After twenty minutes I spit it into the sink with hot running water, rinsed my mouth with water, and then brushed my teeth with my Xylitol toothpaste by Nature’s Sunshine. You can use it once every day to keep yourself more healthy or just when you may be getting ill. What I read is that you can do it up to three times a day. It wasn’t that bad but I am a trooper and am willing to try something new that I know that is safe and may help me to feel better quickly.

Some of the things I read on line that it is purported to help, I cannot vouch for but I do know that it sure helped my cold and my teeth do look whiter. When I get more information, I will add it on.

Yours for Good Health,

Barbara Berger

P.S. Have been swishing now for three days and my teeth are definitely whiter, my gums are pinker, the dark line around a crown I have is almost gone and I have more energy. My daughter tried it and she says her gums and teeth look better after the first treatment. She has had some problems with cavities, staining and other aggravating issues. She takes great care of her teeth and gums and rinses every day with salt water. She says this is far superior to the salt in results. Will keep you posted on what others find after swishing.

In Addition:

Added February 2012

What I have since learned is that doing the oil pulling is similar to flossing. What I mean is that the oil helps the gums, heals the gums, and pulls things from between the teeth.  Flossing is supposed to help the gums and then in turn helps other organs such as the heart.  My thoughts are that it is or can be part of stopping bacteria or illnesses that can start in the gums or mouth.

If someone is purporting that it will pull toxins from the body, then I would want to see how that can happen. I would liken it to the foot pads that were to pull toxins and even parasites from the body and that has been almost certainly proven untrue. The only way to really pull toxins out of the body is to do a full body cleanse with herbal supplements. Using preventatives such as cleansing, eating healthy, exercising, drinking good water, brushing and flossing your teeth, keeping the skin and hair clean, limiting over the counter medications  and just being sensible about your body will help keep you from bacterial infections, viruses, and disease.  Oil pulling can be a help but to me it should be considered as a first line of defense and not a cure all.

In addition, someone I had told about this went to the dentist and even though her gums looked better, her exam proved that she still had the same amount of tartar build up and her teeth did need cleaning and some other issues.  She has been faithfully swishing the oil daily and maybe her exam would have been worse if she had not done the oil pulling.  Each of us are different and it may help others that have severe gum problems.

My dental exam is in a few days and even though I have not daily done the swishing, I have used the oil often. The dark red line above my crown is gone and the gums are more pink.  Will let you know what they say about my teeth. I do floss daily and brush several times a day with toothpaste that has Xylitol in it that fights bacteria in the mouth and always have a good report.

The roof of my mouth was roughed up by some hard crusted Italian bread and did decide to try the oil and sure enough, it healed it up right away.  There is some merit there but without testing or even asking several friends to try it for several months, I cannot give you anything hard and fast on this issue.

I just want to give you a fair view of oil pulling and now I will let you decide what to do.