Oil Pulling: Unlock Natural Oral Health & Detox Benefits

I believe that the positive, measurable results of oil pulling are due to the the physics of CAVITATION. The implosion of bubbles in liquid is a well studied phenomenon outside of the human mouth... It's considerable power will degrade a ships propeller in short order... In an ultrasonic parts cleaner it will strip tarnish from silver and filth from your jewelry. The variations in oil viscosity (sunflower vs. Olive etc.) WILL produce different cleaning or stimulative effect. Water will work as well but takes much more time as it's viscosity results in lower cavitational power. Very little mysticism here but a lot of misinformation.

To Patricia from Carmel, Ca. Oil Pulling detoxifies by absorbing bacteria and other organisms from the mouth only. This can help the immune system by taking on this workload and freeing the immune system to concentrate on other issues.

The 2 natural products that have been proven to remove toxins in your system from past chemotherapy & radiation treatments are chlorella and cilantro.

There are several excellent books on coconut oil which you may like to read. In the meantime take one tablespoon of coconut oil and put in in your mouth. Swish it around your mouth energetically pulling it through the gaps in your teeth. Do this for twenty minutes. At the end of the time spit it out in your rubbish bin, and not down the plughole in your basin. Put a teaspoon of sea or rock salt in a mug and add half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda [baking soda I think in the States], and add hot water, as hot as you can stand. Thoroughly swill this around your mouth and spit out and repeat. Repeat the above twice a day if possible. It may seem impossible at first to swish for twenty minutes, but believe me it will only take a short time to get to twenty minutes. Happy oil pulling.

I have read in several places that oil pulling helps to activate our bile. If this is true, what do you think about taking a psyllium drink before or after oil pulling to "grab" the bile in the bowel and further assist its removal?

I've noticed that there are lots of people asking about the reasons for oil not turning white; and some, I have noticed, seem to think it has something to do with the toxins purportedly being removed.

Oil - ANY oil - will turn white when beaten, swished or mixed with water in any other way for a period of time long enough and/or with enough energy. It is a basic characteristic of emulsions, I.E. Mixtures of non-blendable liquids, such as water and oil. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the presence (or absence) of toxins.

If the oil in your mouth does not turn white and/or watery, it could be that you are not swishing it energetically enough. (It goes without saying that too short a period - like a a minute or two - won't suffice to produce an emulsion either. )

The most common mistake with oil pulling seems to be that the initial dose of oil is simply too big, so swishing it energetically around the mouth becomes much more difficult, especially as the quantity of liquid increases with the addition of saliva.

Try swishing a small amount of oil - but energetically.

I guarantee it will turn white. :)

I have a private holistic practice and over the past 25 years have had my sensitive clients start with 3 minutes per day the first week. 5 the second. 7 the third and then up to 10-15 depending on how they respond. I had one client stay at 3 minutes for 3 months before he could work up to 5. I think that some of the intense side effects are due to the dental component of the root canals, tmj joint and brain aspects releasing as we need to understand the cranial component of this method as well. An offering for more sensitive clients and to recognize the body isn't to be pushed but encouraged. Namaste, Jen

This afternoon I oil pulled for the first time with about 1 tsp of EVCO and had an experience that I did not expect including a lot of mucus. This evening I read your post. You said that any water, oil or other liquid held in your mouth for twenty minutes would result in a mouth full of mucus. Because I do not like to be "fooled" about things I decided to test this before spending a lot of time oil pulling and fooling myself into thinking that the oil pulling was doing something special. My personal result is that after twenty minutes with a mouth full of water, all I ended up with was a mouth full of water and saliva. No other reaction even close to oil pulling with EVCO.

I think one of the reasons they say to oil pull away from meals is because the swishing and chomping when you oil pull stimulates the gall bladder (chewing motions signal to the gall bladder that food is coming so release some bile). Waiting allows the oil pulling to stimulate the liver and gall bladder and get a mini-liver cleanse. If you do it too close to a meal, then you're not getting the added benefit of the liver/gall bladder stimulation.

Also, perhaps too close to a meal has the oil absorbing some of the nutrients your body is trying to absorb from the food. But it's good either way... Still lots of benefits to get from the oil pulling whether you do around food or not. Better to do the oil pulling whenever you can make the time than not do it at all.

Hi Gayla, Good luck with oil pulling. I never had a negative reaction to it. I use a variety of organic, cold pressed oils and it has become a peaceful part of my early morning ritual. Be relaxed about it and you will get to actually enjoy it! Lee

I ran across this site by accident a couple of days ago, found it exciting, ordered organic sesame oil and organic sunflower oil. OP'd yesterday morning using ...extra organic grapeseed oil, for 20 minutes. It went well but I did swallow (not oil, I kept the oil in the front of my mouth). Tomorrow morning plan to use organic camelina oil, will have proper oils in a few days.

My girlfriend's granddaughter practices Chinese medicine. I sent her this website and asked her opinion, here it is verbatim:

"Interesting link. I'd have to disagree with the phrase that "According to Ayurveda, mucous is a poison." That is not what Ayurveda teaches. Saliva is very important in Ayurveda and is actually a healing aspect of the body. Saliva decreases Agni or toxins and increases the digestive and assimilation processes. In excess, saliva can be seen as an imbalance--and easily remedied. Sesame oil is good to use at night (swishing it in the mouth) to prevent teeth grinding. Sesame oil is used for a number of things in ayurveda. This type of mouth rinsing can also be done with Tea Tree oil diluted.

I'd also have to disagree with the Note #4 that things will get worse before getting better. Those that study Ayurveda or any other form of herbal medicine know that this effect does not and should not happen if you are using what is right for your body. It is sort of like the "No pain, no gain" myth. But hey, if it works for you and you feel better doing it. then that is all that should matter."

I'm still going to do OP, because it sounds compelling. I know our mouths are filled with disgusting germs because a human bite will almost not heal, it is so terrible. Perhaps it is these disgusting germs, whatever they are, that the OP'ing deals with.

Why does oil pulling work? It acts like a lubricant in your body's hydraulic systems. Sucking like a vacuum, the greasy fluid seals off access to your body's water and air availability. It pushes lymph with poisons, air and nutrients in it through any exit it can (lungs, pores, eyes, hair,etc) along with any water it needs to transport the gunk. That is why, you have to drink three glasses of fluid afterwards. Analogizing with frying oil, it does not work until your cells' water is added to the mix. Then with your cell water the oil becomes hydrogenated, less viscous and less effective after 10 or 15 minutes. The oil solution is forced into your system through the opening below your tongue, your tongue's taste cells, your gums, nasal passage, hairs, and etc. Depending who you want to be, mouthwash with Caesar's, French, Russian, Italian, Basil or Pennzoil. Paging Dr.Gupta, Paging Dr.Gupta

The reason oil pulling would be more effective done on an empty stomach is because digestion uses a lot of the body's energy. A large proportion of the blood is directed to the centre of the body after eating to help with digestion. Think about how tired you feel after a big meal. The blood is not circulating as freely and therefore oil pulling will not be as effective. However you don't have to do it first thing in the morning. As long as it has been an hour since you drank anything and four hours since you ate anything, you can oil pull anytime of the day. I personally do it before dinner. I normally have lunch around 1pm and don't eat dinner until at least 6.30pm which leaves plenty of time for digesting my food.If you don't have enough time to oil pull in the morning, try this instead.