At this very second I am sitting with my laptop on my thighs, Sex and the City is playing on my TV, and melted coconut oil is swishing around in my mouth.
There. I spit it out. Now here I sit, slick teeth and coconut after-taste clinging to my tongue (have I told you that I hate coconut?).
So why am spending 20 minutes a day with oil in my mouth? It’s a method called oil pulling.
I have done some disgusting things in the name of health. I drink my veggies and take shots of apple cider vinegar, but I have to tell you all: oil pulling makes me gag. Like “quick, run to the trashcan!” kind of gag.
The first time I tried oil pulling I scraped a spoonful of coconut oil which I estimated to be about a teaspoon. I stuck the spoon in my mouth and attempted to take it off the spoon like peanut butter. As soon as the oil was in my mouth I spit it out. It was jarring, actually. I didn’t realize I’d have such a strong reaction to the oil.
I decided to melt the oil first and see if that would make it easier. It did–although this isn’t the “proper” way to pull, it works for me.
Back to the original question–why oil pulling?
Oil pulling has a ton of health benefits! Everything from whiter teeth to cellulite reduction (say wuuuuut?) to heart health.
So what are the directions?
- Grab a teaspoon of coconut oil (sesame seed oil and sunflower seed oil works too)
- Swish the oil in your mouth for 15-20 minutes
- Spit out the oil in the trash
A few important notes here:
- If you’re using coconut oil, make sure it’s organic virgin coconut oil (see picture below).
- Try to pull first thing in the morning, if you can’t make it work in your AM routine, try pulling before bed.
- Make sure to spit out the oil after you’re done. This is reallllly important. The oil you’ve been swishing around in your dirty mouth is now full of toxins. Swallowing that oil will just put those toxins right back into your body…don’t do it!
- Do not spit the oil into the sink! I spit mine in the trashcan.
When I first decided that I would give oil pulling a try, of course I turned to Facebook to recruit some volunteers to do it with me. I want to know if oil pulling really works, so I figure the more people who try it (and tell me about their experiences), the more accurate my little experiment will be.
So right now I have four or five friends taking the oil pulling challenge for two weeks! They’re going to let me know if they see or feel any changes, and I’m going to gather the data and let you guys know.
Any other oil pullers out there? Let me know if it works!
xo
2 thoughts on “Why You Should Be Oil Pulling (Even If It Is Kinda Gross)”
eat. run. live. love.
I’ve been thinking of trying this. Thanks for the helpful post!
LikeLike
Kelley Galloway
If you try it, let me know how it goes! I’m hearing great things from my volunteers after just a week of pulling.
LikeLike