The Oil Pulling Challenge - 2

[terry brown]

I had never heard of this.
Fun Fun!!
I did my first oil pulling session as I read through these posts.
I could only keep it up for 5 minutes to start.

So, I used 1 tablespoon or organic olive oil(all i have on hand right now) kept it in the front of my mouth and swished. Of course you have to swallow saliva, but not the oil.
Am I doing it correctly?

Learning something new everyday!!!
Terry

[RawKnitster]

I swish it around all my teeth, and don't swallow ANYTHING for the entire 20-30 minutes. I love olive oil on my salads, but don't think I could keep it in my mouth either. It is a bit stronger oil. You might want to try it with unrefined sesame or sunflower oil. Spectrum makes a sesame oil that is unrefined and doesn't have a strong sesame flavor.

Kudos to you for jumping in and giving it a try. It gets easier. :)

[terry brown]

I am going to buy a differnet oil this evening.
OK----how can you not swallow anything for so long????
Am I ruining it my swallowing, as in taking in toxins.
I can not imagine not swallowing for more than a minute.
Terry

[joya]

Hi Terry,

I find that I sometimes needs to swallow too... and I hope what I'm doing is okay. (If not, someone please tell me!) I just keep the oil in the front of my mouth and try not to swallow it, while I swallow a little in the back of my throat to keep myself from gagging. I can't go longer than a few minutes without swallowing myself. Though I have built up from only being able to do 5 minutes to now doing 20 minutes. I also think that the more "stuff" you have to drain, the harder it is to not swallow. So by this rational, the cleaner your system gets, the easier it gets to oil pull.

I dunno.

[RawKnitster]

I'm not sure how I don't swallow for that long. Sometimes it is even longer. If I'm busy puttering around the house or on the computer while I'm swishing time flies by and I don't even notice. I'm sure my saliva is being incorportated with the oil as I swish, because I spit out more than goes in.

As I understand it the oil swishing is churning up the bacteria hiding in our gums and you don't want to swallow it. I would guess it is better to spit it out and build up your tolerance gradually than swallow it.

Eva, our oil pulling expert is busy these days with her raw business. Maybe she will pop in and answer your questions. I would trust her knowledge on oil pulling more than mine. :)

[terry brown]

Thank you for the replies. Hopefully I can get past the swallowing thing.

I went to Whole foods and bought coconut oil, which is very thick....do you just put some in your mouth?
Also is Flax seed or Hemp ok to use?
I am allergic to sesame.
Thanks in advance!!!
Terry

[joya]

I went to Whole foods and bought coconut oil, which is very thick....do you just put some in your mouth?

Terry

I use coconut oil and it is solid when I scoop it out of the jar, but it quickly melts in my mouth and becomes swishable. Swishing right now, actually... and trying not to swallow! It's tough this morning...

[cara4art]

After reading about this over the last year and not quite having the nerve to do this, I finally summoned up the nerve, with coconut oil. Today was Day 3, with two teaspoons of the coconut oil(the first day I just stuck a toe in with only one teaspoon). Hopefully I will be doing the full tablespoon very soon here. The holding of the oil and swishing it around wasn't anywhere nearly as bad as I thought it would be, and the 20 minutes went by really quickly. The trick is to do this while doing some other routine morning stuff like getting some food ready, early morning time on the computer, domestic detail. Before you know it, that 20 minutes is up! Anyhow, just now, I thought I noticed that my teeth looked just a tad whiter, which is a real miracle as I tend to have teeth that are ivory-toned anyway and I'm older with some graying of the teeth on account of that. I hadn't expected something like the lightening to start to show up THIS soon. Can't wait to see what other benefits show up in my case. Anything that helps gum health is really a plus as I've had trouble in the past. Will need to see the dentist within the reasonable future for cleaning anyway.

[Gab]

I'd never heard of oil pulling. One of the posts from 2007 suggested going to http://www.oilpulling.com so I did.

Quite interesting and really worth going to 'cause it answers so many questions. For example, apparently cold-pressed sunflower or sesame are the best oils to use. If you can't find cold-pressed next in line is refined sunflower or sesame. They do push these two oils, but also state the actual brand does not matter.

Also, in answer to another question here, if you have allergies to sunflower then try sesame, and vice-versa. Only then do they recommend trying to find another oil.

Also, it was suggested that if you feel the need to swallow, spit the oil out and take a new spoonful as swallowing apparently does reintroduce the toxins to your body.

When oil pulling, we're also told to remember that some acute problems may disappear within a few days/weeks, but some chronic problems may take up to a year. Makes sense 'cause the chronic stuff has been hanging onto our bodies for years.

Anyhow, I'm not sure I'm ready to try this. I love oil on my salads but swishing in my mouth is another thing. I'm afraid I'll gag. (I think it may have something to do with growing up in the 50's and having to take an actual spoon of cod-liver oil every day in the winter, there was no such thing as capsules ..... uggg ).

Please visit that site, I think it'll really help answer your questions. It also has some videos on how to do it, personal experiences and other neat stuff.

I'm having some serious medical problems so I really am open to oil pulling, but am I actually ready to do it... not yet.

I'll be revisiting this site just to see how you're all doing with it and what your experiences are. I wish you all the best on your journey to true health.

gab

[Miro]

Just started couple days ago, really like it. Its clearing up my sinuses really well in the morning. Couple questions,

Does this replace brushing?

Would rinsing with celtic sea salt instead of a diluted hydrogen peroxide work as well?

Thanks!

[cara4art]

I was really afraid I'd gag too, but with the coconut oil it's been fine! That first day I tiptoed in with just a teaspoon full, but by my 3rd day I was up to the full tablespoon - I'm using coconut oil as there are so many benefits of coconut oil that it sure couldn't hurt to oil pull with this. I'm on Day 8, and my Florida friend is a week ahead of me.
As far as replacing brushing, I don't think so. Actually, after rinsing out the mouth after one's oil-pulling session, one is supposed to brush the teeth, and drink at least a glass of water.
So far, although this is only a few days in, I swear my teeth are looking a teeny bit brighter!

[cara4art]

Aside from thinking my teeth look a teeny, teeny bit whiter, I haven't noticed anything different yet from nearly 3 weeks of faithfully oil-pulling. I did have a little bit of a skin breakout in the 2nd week, but that's gone now. Does it simply take longer, like many months, for some people to notice the benefits? Now, with green smoothies, I could feel a difference after just two days, so it's not like I don't have a responsive system. How long was it for people here before they noticed a difference, and what? Just curious, and feeling a little discouraged today.

[RawKnitster]

In my case, I don't see any difference in tooth whiteness. The real benefit I get is that my gums are not sore and do not bleed when I floss. (I have had a problem for 30 years with receding gums and still have a few teeth surrounded by deep pockets.) Oil pulling reduces bacterial growth in the areas that a toothbrush can't reach.

The other benefit I experience is a clear complexion. Not sure why that is. I've read it could be less bacteria in the mouth and/or the face/skin is directly absorbing some of the nutrients in the oil.

As for how long it took to notice a difference. I wasn't convinced there was a difference so I stopped and restarted oil pulling several times. After many months and several cleanings at the dentist's office I'm convinced oil pulling makes a huge difference for me. If you already have healthy gums will it make a difference for you? I can't say.

If you are discouraged I would suggest stop looking for results. Simply let oil pulling be part of your daily routine, as natural as brushing and flossing. :)

[cara4art]

Hi Rawknitster! Thanks for the input! I know I'm on the right track by doing the oil-pulling and plan to continue, definitely. Like you I have gum issues so I hope those will improve with this along with my already good dental hygiene habits. I guess I was just looking for something visible after so many glowing reports. However I know everybody is different, and it's best to be patient anyway. Quite likely, just like eating a raw diet, it's working in internal ways I don't notice yet. Again, thanks!

[lunabear]

I've never done oil pulling, but I think I'll give it a try. I'm skeptical, but it can't hurt, and will probably help to freshen the breath, right?

I have some old olive oil that I don't know what to do with. It's not terribly rancid, but not really fresh either. It seems ideal to me. Do you guys think it would be okay to use instead of sunflower?