The Art of the Coconut Swish
If you have teeth issues, we present to you a simple, yet effective solution, and one that you can easily do at home, oil pulling.
All you will need is some coconut oil and time, but before we get into that we should answer what oil pulling is. The formal answer is, “Oil pulling or oil swishing is a traditional folk remedy where oil is "swished" or "held" in the mouth.” (Wikipedia)
First of all, you can oil pull with oils other than coconut, like sesame or sunflower (you should research the precautions of each of these), or you could add a drop of essential oil into the coconut, but coconut oil is easy to get your hands on and it’s tasteless.
Second: To oil pull, you swish (not gargle), all around your mouth, about a tablespoon of oil in your mouth for twenty minutes (or longer) and then spit it out in the trash. Make sure you don’t spit it out in the sink, as oil will clog the sink, or swallow the oil when you’re finished, since you’d be swallowing all of the toxins you pulled from your mouth. Walla! You’ve just oil pulled!
“What are the benefits?” you may be asking, and “Why would I want plain oil in my mouth for that long?” Well, there is a simple explanation: oil pulling with coconut oil can whiten teeth, prevent diseases, and make you more productive. Plus (according to the Huffington Post) coconut oil has some benefits on it’s own:
“It whitens teeth. Coconut oil possesses natural antibiotic and anti-viral properties that brighten dull or yellowed teeth and enhance the cleansing action of oil pulling, according to Dr. Bruce Fife. It also improves gum health, eliminates bad breath and makes for a prettier smile.”
How could you go wrong with a list like that?
Still you may have questions like why it works, well, let us enlighten you.
You have harmful microorganisms in your mouth. These microorganisms can give you bad breath and plaque.
“When you swish oil around inside your mouth, the oil molecules adhere to the fatty membrane of the harmful microorganism cells. When you spit out that oil after 20 minutes of washing, the harmful microorganisms leave the body too.” (From the Supplement Police.)
You have to try it now that you know the myriad of benefits!
And so you’re not bored we came up with some things you can do while pulling in the morning or the evening:
Do a few standing crunches: tighten your abs and microbend your back while you swish.
Do some calf raises: Go up on the balls of your feet then go down, making sure your heels don’t touch the ground.
Enjoy a movie.
4. Listen to some music.
5. Go old school and read a book!
Now that you have a reasonable amount of knowledge on the subject go and try it! We hope you enjoyed this article and comment about your own experiences!
Footnotes:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_pulling
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/08/oil-pulling-benefits_n_3940361.html