Oil Pulling & Coconut Oil

[Metasequoia]

I've read that coconut oil is fine to use for oil pulling but then I read never to swallow the oil used because it can be toxic.
Will swishing & pulling for 10-20 minutes make the oil rancid & thereby toxic? Or is the oil then toxic because it draws out all of the toxins & the toxins are actually *in* the oil? If the coconut oil isn't toxic, I'd rather just swallow it since it's normally good fer ya.

Anyone know?

[lauradbg]

I'm not sure about coconut vs. any other oil for oil pulling, but I read that you have to spit out the oil because it will be full of all of the toxins it pulled from your body. I did it twice for 20 minutes with safflower oil. I don't think I really gave it a good chance.

Have you had any benefits from doing the pulling?

[spartz]

Agree with the pp. The oil becomes toxic because of what it has pulled from your body. So you do NOT want to swallow it.

[PeggyinNC]

All right, ladies, I am sooo out of the loop on this one. What is oil pulling?

[quietserena]

Oil Pulling on Wikipedia

Oil Pulling on google

[Jojo F.]

Yup, toxins from your body, not because the oil went rancid.

I did it for a while, but it was hard for me to stick with it. My teeth got whiter and I did notice cold symptoms and I attributed that to some detox. I should really do it agan.

[Rachel J.]

I gave it a try for about a week and didn't notice any benefits but then I was using some ancient sesame oil that probably wasn't ideal I'd love to try again as my teeth could really benefit from some whitening and I hear that it's good for healing gums. I just found it too difficult to take 20 min. not talking first thing in the morning with a 3.5 yo and a 1 yo. There's no way I can get by that long without having to break up some sort of abuse to the little guy or the dog

[Panserbjorne]

I was doing it twice a day...once with raw sesame oil and once with coconut. Once I added the coconut my teeth started getting slightly whiter. Now I'm out of sesame and using coconut twice a day and there is a BIG difference in the color of my teeth. It seems that coconut oil has that particular side effect.

[moneca]

This thread in TF talks quite a bit about OP and the various benefits experienced by mamas on this board (I think it starts about half way through the thread) :

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=612050

[tanyalynn]

One question came up in one of the linked threads and wasn't completely answered. Anyone have thoughts on whether this is just gets rid of already-circulating toxins, or does it pull out new toxins (from organs, fat, etc)? It goes back to the breastfeeding question in the other thread. I haven't weaned my son yet, and if anyone has thoughts, I'm all ears. Given how it's done, it seems like it shouldn't be able to pull out toxins from the body, just help the body get rid of those already circulating.

[moneca]

Originally Posted by TanyaLopez

One question came up in one of the linked threads and wasn't completely answered. Anyone have thoughts on whether this is just gets rid of already-circulating toxins, or does it pull out new toxins (from organs, fat, etc)? It goes back to the breastfeeding question in the other thread. I haven't weaned my son yet, and if anyone has thoughts, I'm all ears. Given how it's done, it seems like it shouldn't be able to pull out toxins from the body, just help the body get rid of those already circulating.

There is so little info on OP out there that all anyone can do is guess. I would agree with you that OP should just get rid of circulating toxins. To be honest it seems that the small amount of info I've seen tends to focus on OP removing bacterial organisms more than pulling toxins. However, if it does remove toxins you may want to consider that decreasing blood levels may allow stored toxins to move out of cells and into the blood stream per transport based on concentration gradient. Mercury moves this way and I have no idea if other toxins move from an area of greater to lesser concentration within the body.
Sorry, that really didn't answer your question. There are just too many unknowns regarding OP and most info seems to be based on anecdotal stories.

[Panserbjorne]

I made a personal decision after taking MANY hours of classes in ayruveda (where it all started!) and talking with a couple of doctor friends to do it. I am currently doing it a bit differently in that I have drastically upped my RAW fat intake (raw pastured butter, raw eggs, coconut oil and cream etc.) in an effort to bind the toxins and assist with the fat exchange intercellularly. I do green juices and tons of chlorophyll to mobilize and escort the toxins out. I worked very hard at designing it and *I'm* comfortable with it. Doesn't mean that everyone else should be though....

I figured that I had already toxified my kids so much () that getting it out slowly and gently was better than waiting. As long as it's still there and I'm nursing (2 kids) I'm passing whatever there is on. It sucks.

[Panserbjorne]

Originally Posted by TanyaLopez

One question came up in one of the linked threads and wasn't completely answered. Anyone have thoughts on whether this is just gets rid of already-circulating toxins, or does it pull out new toxins (from organs, fat, etc)? It goes back to the breastfeeding question in the other thread. I haven't weaned my son yet, and if anyone has thoughts, I'm all ears. Given how it's done, it seems like it shouldn't be able to pull out toxins from the body, just help the body get rid of those already circulating.

Supposedly it does pull from fat and organs, but I have a hard time wrapping my head around that one. Even after reading and asking questions it's a leap of faith for me.

[memory maker]

how do you swish it around for 20 minutes? Is there some trick to doing it so your mouth doesnt get tired?

[WildIris]

Originally Posted by memory maker

how do you swish it around for 20 minutes? Is there some trick to doing it so your mouth doesnt get tired?

The trick is to start gradually. Do it for five minutes the first time (or whatever you can tolerate) and build up. It felt wierd the first time to have oil in my mouth, but I quickly got used to it. After four or five times, I could easily do it for 20 minutes.

Also, keep in mind that it's not an Olympic event...there's no need for frantic swishing that makes your mouth tired. Slow and gentle is better. Many people consider it a meditative type practice.

I'm really glad Metasequoia started this thread! I had started OP a few months ago, and did it consistently for about two months. A couple weeks ago I ran out of oil and just forgot about it--but this thread reminded me to start up again.

The benefits I saw when I did OP consistently is that my mouth felt cleaner than ever before, breath was fresher, and my gums didn't bleed when I brushed or flossed. The biggest benefit I noticed was that a low-grade fever I'd had off and on for several months disappeared; I think it must have been from an underlying dental infection. (I have one tooth that had an abcess a year ago and I've never followed up to do anything about it because I have no dental insurance and no money for dental work). I haven't noticed the teeth whitening benefits that some people have, but I love the overall benefits I've seen from OP.

I like to OP with VCO except that it is an expensive oil, and I'd rather save it for cooking or eating. I brush my teeth with a mix of VCO and sea salt, but now I mostly OP with almond or sunflower oil.

There's an excellent OP discussion group on CureZone dot com.

Iris

[tanyalynn]

Moneca and Firefaery, thanks for your thoughts. Reading your responses made me realize that I am just getting jumpy and impatient to be doing more, when right now I am in more of a waiting phase. This phase will end soon enough (I can see two molars almost breaking through my son's gums now, and weaning is scheduled for after his teeth are all in), so I really should just live a bit more in the moment and gather good ideas for use in a few months. Thanks, both of you.