When oil pulling, you should pay attention to several things. The choice of oil or oil mixture and especially the duration of use are important factors that determine the success of oil pulling. Here you will find not only a helpful guide to perform the healing method step by step, but also answers to the most common questions.
A step-by-step guide to successful oil pulling.
- Preparation: the application should always take place in the morning and on an empty stomach. It is advisable not to drink any liquid beforehand, otherwise the toxins accumulated in the mouth overnight will re-enter the body’s circulation. Wearers of dentures should remove them before oil pulling.
- Mouth open, oil in: Now you take a tablespoon of oil in the mouth. Some mix the oil a little lemon juice to make it tastier.
- Pull, suck, chew: Once the oil is in your mouth, move it back and forth between the sides of your cheeks for about 20 minutes. In the process, the oil should also be pushed through the interdental spaces and sucked back again. A short break in between ensures that the oil can work into the mucous membranes. Caution: Never gargle or swallow the oil! In the oil are dissolved by the rinsing toxins, which are to be extracted from the body by the oil pulling. Down swallow would be counterproductive here.
- Spitting out: Towards the end, the oil becomes thinner as it emulsifies. It now has a whitish color and can be spit out. It is best to spit it into a paper kitchen towel and dispose of it in the household waste. Thus, the toxins do not enter the water cycle, the sink remains clean and the pipes do not clog.
- Rinse out: subsequently, the mouth is rinsed well with water to remove oil residues from the mouth. Again, the water should be spit out and not swallowed.
- Brushing teeth: Oil pulling does not replace daily brushing of teeth. Therefore, after use, you should brush and clean your teeth as usual.
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Difficulties with oil pulling
As with many things, this process is a matter of practice. If you do not want to directly put a whole tablespoon of oil in your mouth for 20 minutes, you can also start with a teaspoon of oil and with five or ten minutes and then gradually increase the duration and amount. Especially in the beginning, it can also be that you want to spit out the oil after just a few minutes. Again, you can increase slowly or simply start with a new spoonful of oil. If you have amalgam fillings in your teeth, it is best to ask your dentist first whether oil pulling is an option for you. This is because hot and acidic liquids and also chewing gum can dissolve the toxic mercury from the amalgam filling. In this case, there is a risk that the oil cannot completely bind the dissolved mercury and that it thus migrates into the body via the oral mucosa.
Questions about oil pulling: When, how often and how long?
It is best to do oil pulling first thing in the morning after getting up and before breakfast. Because overnight the organism tries to rid itself of harmful substances. Especially in the mouth area then accumulate more such substances. If necessary, for example in the case of acute or chronic complaints or as part of a cure, oil pulling can be applied once again at midday or before going to bed. But here, too, the following applies: always on an empty stomach before meals. Under these conditions, the healing process should be particularly effective. Ideally, oil pulling should last 20 minutes. This is how long the oil needs to seep into the individual gaps between the teeth and eliminate the bacteria there. If one would like to carry out an oil pulling cure, one finds recommendations for a duration of two weeks up to three months. For acute complaints, for example, three to four weeks are sufficient, while a longer period is necessary for chronic complaints. After a cure one can carry out the oil pulling also again and again on at least three consecutive days.
With which oil should you do oil pulling?
Cold-pressed organic oils such as sunflower oil, sesame oil, linseed oil, coconut oil or olive oil are recommended for oil pulling. Each oil has its advantages and disadvantages. In Ayurveda, sesame oil is mostly used, modern alternative practitioners like to recommend coconut oil. We provide a useful overview here:
- Coconut oil: Virgin coconut oil is suitable for oil pulling not only because of its pleasant taste.It also has antibacterial properties and is therefore particularly good for the oral flora. Coconut oil is also popular for oil pulling because it is available in very high quality.
- Sunflower oil: the original oil pulling method from Russia provides for native sunflower oil. The oil is cheap to buy and pleasant to the taste for many. However, just sunflower oil is often sold low-quality oils. Therefore, one should pay particular attention to a trustworthy manufacturer.
- Sesame oil: In Ayurveda, mostly roasted sesame oil is used. However, modern methods indicate that the oil should be cold-pressed, because it is then quite neutral in taste and the taste of admixed essential oils comes out stronger. Sesame oil specifically helps with gingivitis and periodontal disease, as it has an anti-inflammatory effect.
- Linseed oil: In the mouth and throat, this oil has a particularly healing effect. In ancient medicine, linseed oil was therefore used, among other things, for asthma, cough, bronchitis and hoarseness. In terms of taste, it is rather tart and can therefore be mixed with sunflower oil in a ratio of 1:1. It should also be noted that linseed oil can only be kept for a short time after opening and should therefore be stored in the refrigerator.
- Black cumin oil: This oil consists mainly of unsaturated fatty acids, essential oils and other effective substances. In particular, the essential oils contain about 50 percent thymoquinone, which can be toxic in large people, but in small amounts can have a soothing effect on allergic reactions.
- Wheat germ oil: Due to its cell-renewing effect, wheat germ oil is particularly suitable for wound and scar healing and is thus ideal after operations in the mouth area. The oil also improves the metabolism of connective tissue. However, due to its high content of unsaturated fatty acids, wheat germ oil is also not long lasting and should therefore be purchased only in small quantities.
- Olive oil: Very important here is that only cold-pressed virgin olive oil is used for oil pulling. It helps, for example, especially against bad breath and with increased cholesterol.
Essential oils against specific ailments
For certain ailments, you can also add essential oils to the oil, which, however, must be 100 percent natural and approved as food:
- Anise and fennel help against respiratory problems.
- Lavender soothes nervousness and relaxes.
- Peppermint is effective against headaches.
- Rosemary stimulates the circulation and invigorates. So people with high blood pressure should not use this essential oil.
- Tea tree oil disinfects and can therefore be helpful for inflammation.
Tip: Prepare in advance a larger mixture of the base oil with the essential oils. For a quantity of 100 milliliters of oil, three to five drops of the essential oil are enough. For a quantity of 500 milliliters, use 12 to 15 drops of the respective oil. Alternatively, you can use a special mouth oil for oil pulling. This has the advantage that it already contains essential oils.
