Making A Healthy Body Through Oil Pulling:
"Oil Pulling" has been done for thousands of years as an Ayurvedic practice to help maintain healthy teeth, gums and other, less obvious, health benefits. It consists of swishing oil in the mouth on a daily basis.
This practice has said to help treat everything from gingivitis and bad breath to headaches and circles around the eyes. Oil pulling is also known to help rebuild facial muscles (making you look younger) and even whiten teeth. Seen from the perspective of Ayurvedic medicine and Chinese acupuncture, the tongue is a map, with each area of the tongue correlating to other parts of the body. It is easy to see how daily oil pulling, which nourishes and detoxifies the mouth and tongue, can stimulate, rejuvenate and detoxify your body of metabolic waste. The build up of this waste is where most diseases, whether acute or chronic, can trace their cause.
Studies have shown that oil pulling from 5 to 20 minutes a day, can reduce the number of bacteria by 20 percent, on average. This is a significant benefit, when 80% of all diseases begin in the mouth.
Here are some guidelines that will help you get started with oil pulling:
What type of oil should I use?
Most high quality organic oils are sweet tasting and will help soothe irritated gums, so it really depends on your needs. Many Ayurvedic practitioners suggest starting with sesame oil. For over 30 years, I, too, have used and recommended organic sesame oil with great results. There are also those that swear by coconut or hemp oil. If you are on a budget, safflower is another alternative. You may also want to use one oil for a month and rotate it with another the next month. Try it out and discover what works best for you.
by Peter Shane
Perreault Magazine - 60 -