A friend of mine sent me a message the other day about oil pulling. She was told that if you swished with coconut oil daily, it can actually pull the toxins out of your mouth and eliminate decay and gum disease. Now up to this point I had never even heard of such a thing, so I decided to look it up.
What is oil pulling exactly? Oil pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic dental technique that supposedly draws out toxins from your mouth and body. Proponents of oil pulling claim that it can help whiten your teeth, improve the health of your gums, eliminate bad breath, and even reverse tooth decay! All you do is swish a tablespoon of oil in your mouth, usually coconut, sunflower, or sesame oil. But here’s the kicker- you have to do this for around 20 MINUTES A DAY!! There is no actual scientific research to back up these claims but there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to be found. Seriously though, are you going to swish with oil for 20 minutes every day? My advice? Save yourself the extra 15 minutes and simply brush with a fluoride toothpaste for 2 minutes twice a day and floss once a day. We all know THAT works, and there’s plenty of scientific evidence to back it up!