If you catch up with me regularly you will have seen April is my clean living month! Well I can tell you it didn’t start off well. The first couple of days of April I did manage to reduce my caffeine levels massively, start oil pulling for a minimum of 10 minutes each morning and I also introduced body brushing (I realised summer was approaching and my thighs may have to been seen out in the real world). All was looking good until I was hit with a bug.
Since giving up gluten a few years ago my immune system has been top notch but after my husband suffered for a week with a horrible cold bug I eventually and inevitability caught it as well. So followed two days off work, and a week of feeling like I had been beaten with the poorly stick. I did however persist with the oil pulling.
So a quick how it works:
- Each morning I helped myself to a large teaspoon of coconut oil (you can use other oils but I love the taste of coconut)
- I placed it under my tongue to melt, then once it had turned fully liquid I began swishing it around my mouth gently
- I did this for 10 – 20 minutes depending on how much time I had or felt like
- Once finished I spat it out into tissue and flushed down the loo
- This was then followed by a good brushing of my teeth with warm water and a good gargle
- Once I had drank and eaten my breakfast I brushed my tea again properly with my electric toothbrush
Some tips:
- Leave the coconut oil in the bathroom so it’s the first thing you see when you get up in the morning for your first constitutional – if you anything like me you will forget to do it if you can’t see it!
- Swish whilst you are in the shower or making your breakie (or both) to save time
- DO NOT try and do this and yoga at the same time, you will choke!
- Always spit on to tissue or paper, put in the bin or flush, don’t spit directly down the sink as it oil can cause clogging
- Use a separate toothbrush for the brush directly after, the oil pulling is taking out toxins in your body and you don’t want all those on your regular toothbrush
- Use warm water and even salt water if you can stomach it to clean out your month once you have finished to really feel clean. Cold water just doesn’t have the same effect.
So what happened?
Well interestingly a bug that took my husband almost two weeks to get over only lasted about 5 days for me. I also was saved the terrible coughing up green stuff that he seems to get, instead I just had the sore throat.
After each go my mouth did feel really clean and my teeth seems to have a nice shine.
Over the week my skin has improved, I have less blemishes and have a much needed glow. I feel less nasal when I wake up, I usually have to blow my nose but there doesn’t seem to be any build-up of mucus.
Other effects might be harder to spot under the fatigue and general crapness that is being ill. I am now continuing on to week two. I’ve read a lot about the long term effects of oil pulling which mainly centre around whiter teeth, better breath, sleeping better and cleaner skin. Although I have yet to come across a lot of scientific research there is a general consensus that oil pulling really can make a difference to certain things so watch this space…
For more info take a look at:
http://www.livescience.com/50896-oil-pulling-facts.html
http://www.oilpulling.com