Thank you everyone for your flu remedies! I’m feeling so much better now, although I’ve probably had enough lemon and honey drinks to last me a lifetime. I even lost my voice for a couple of days – the husband was quite amused at my attempts to keep chatting by using hand gestures and hand-written signs.
While making full use of my returned voice, I was talking to a friend about oil pulling. I mentioned I do it most mornings. You just swill some oil, in my case coconut, around your mouth for about 20 minutes. I combine mine with a shower, killing two birds with one stone.
The benefits I’ve noticed are whiter teeth, cleaner mouth in general, and fresher breath. Some people think it helps with things like eczema and acne as well, just by reducing the amount of bacteria generally in your body. I have no idea if that’s true, but hey, it probably won’t hurt.
My friend thought this sounded disgusting. Words may have been mentioned, including but not limited to, “silly hippie”. To be fair, it did take getting used to. Coconut oil is solid when you first get a teaspoonful, then melts thanks to your body temperature. Holding oily liquid in your mouth for 20 minutes certainly feels a little odd at first. Olive oil would probably be too far for me, purely because of taste.
But hey, I like whiter teeth, and am not willing to go to the dentist for it! So the oil stays.
How about you, would you give oil pulling a whirl? Or are you joining my friend in shaking your head at the silly things some hippies will do?
Libby Cole 
That sounds like that “if your hand is bigger than your face, you have cancer” gag. I’m not sure if I’ll ever find the time to test it, though.
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Haha! Promise it’s not just a trick, although it does feel very odd the first time around.
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I haven’t heard of this before, but I’m willing to give it a try! I’ve been wanting whiter teeth for ages and this is much cheaper than getting it done at the dentist!
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Exactly! I’m terrible, I practically live off coffee. It does a great job getting rid of all those surface stains.
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I’ll try it!
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How do you swirl anything in your mouth for 20 minutes without swallowing? That just doesn’t even seem possible. 😀
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The trick (learned from unfortunate experience) is not too much oil, and never ever if your nose is even partially blocked!
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I’ve oil pulling for about a year. I love it! My son will even pull. He has terrible seasonal allergies and it seems to help him breath better.
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Oh yes that’s another thing, it’s a bit gross but it really yanks out anything that is blocking your sinuses. Gross, but handy!
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How long do you keep it in your mouth? Do you swallow it after? I am intrigued!
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You keep it in your mouth about 20 minutes, then spit it out into the bin – not down the sink, or you’ll clog everything up! It honestly works, and trust me, I was skeptical at first.
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Sweet! I hate the dentist and white strips are too expensive for them to not work.
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I love, love, love coconut oil. I’ve just started putting it in my smoothies (I can’t have milk so I already use either coconut, almond, or cashew milk) and the coconut oil helps make them a bit sweeter without having to add in honey.
I’ve also been told to use it while shaving, I haven’t yet because I keep forgetting but since apparently summer is officially in full swing here, I’m going to try it.
(as for the teeth, if the oil thing stops working, make a paste with baking soda, peroxide, and water. The water helps dilute the peroxide so it’s not over powering)
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Isn’t it great? It’s like a cure-all. I’ve got quite long hair that can get really dry, so sometimes I’ll put all in it overnight, plait it, then wash it out in the morning. Works like a charm!
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That’s the one thing about long hair that I do not miss. I chopped it off and haven’t looked back (except for when I lived in LA because it was so hot out there, my hair grew twice as fast as it normally did here in NY).
And, TBH, there’s been a few times where I’ve just stuck a teaspoon into the container and have eaten it plain.
I’m going to use it when I make my mango-coconut shrimp once it’s cool enough to turn on the stove!
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