Oil Pulling : Getting past the gag reflex

Oil Pulling.
​
Sounds gross right? It kind of is and that’s being completely honest. And whilst on the subject of honesty, I would not recommend trying to do it while you are nauseous, unless you want the sink to see the inside of your stomach! Now did I get your attention?? I like to keep it real first and foremost :)

The truth is, if you want to take care of your body your sensory preferences aren’t always going to be catered to. Not everything tastes as delicious as Whittakers creamy milk, or smells as good as hot apple pie straight out of the oven. Damn it…now I’m drooling at the thought!!

Yes we must make sacrifices sometimes, and override the gag reflexes if necessary. It really is a 'mind over (oily) matter' thing and the question really is; how badly do you want to increase the quality of your life, or in my case - keep living?

I found out about oil pulling via the internet when I was researching how to take care of myself during chemotherapy, and at first I thought what I was reading was a joke.

How can swishing 1 tablespoon of oil around your mouth for 15 minutes do so much good? And it is as simple as that:

Wake up, head to the bathroom, grab some coconut oil, swish it around while you’re doing other stuff (fyi you have to develop some swishing muscles – you’d be surprised at how exhausting it gets when you first start!), spit and rinse, then brush your teeth. Done. Then you can go and get on with the rest of your morning. Do this every day and these are some of the benefits;
​

• Reduced bacteria in the mouth
• Reduced migraines and headaches
• Reduced sinus infections
• Reduced skin issues
• Increased oral health
• Reduced plaque on the teeth
• Reduced bad breath
• Reduced arthritis and chronic pain
• Reduced hormone problems
• Decreased joint pain and stiffness
• Reduced liver and kidney stress
• Reduced chemical load
• Reduced risk of gum disease
• Increased whitening of teeth
• Increased mental awareness (Yesss!)
• Increased overall physical health.

 
Ok I hear ya. How does a tablespoon of oil do all this?? Surely this is exaggerated! Well for all you nerds who are still reading this blog, here are some scientific facts:

Oil pulling detoxifies and cleanses toxins from the body. Not only does coconut oil attract bacteria, microbes and other pathogens, it also has the ability to kill them. So when you swish a little coconut oil around your mouth, it essentially pulls the toxins from your mouth and cleanses your blood. Not only can it do this for your mouths sake, but because blood circulates around your body every 15-20 minutes, the oil in your mouth can cleanse the entire body. It’s science baby!! But whatever you do….don’t forget to spit it out!! 

To keep up to date with more #MissionHealth blogs, subscribe here or join us;
@lifeandinsights or on facebook /lifeandinsights

---