Oil Pulling

I don't know about you but ever since I became pregnant I have found that my gum health has been HORRIBLE! Maybe my mouth is just more sensitive or I am more aware of the way that my gums look now that I am six months postpartum but regardless I decided it was time to make a change.

And not a change of sitting in the dentist chair for hours awkwardly "talking" to him while his entire fist is in my mouth and I pray he doesn't tell me I neglected them too long and that because of the last nine months while I was more concerned about growing another human inside of me I must now have all of my teeth drilled into or yanked out. Nope, that's my worst nightmare.

Instead I decided to give oil pulling a try but to put an extra boost to it in hopes that whenever I do decide to grow some and make the trip to the dentist that my efforts have paid off and I leave with a clean bill of oral health rather than missing half my teeth.

For those of you who don't know, oil pulling is literally as it sounds. You swish a form of natural oil; I chose coconut but you can use sunflower, olive or sesame, for twenty minutes in the morning. I chose coconut for a few reasons; the antibacterial benefits, it has a milder taste than the others mentioned and I am not allergic to it. (If you find nothing else that I talk about interesting know that I am a HUGE believer in finding out what your food allergies are before starting anything!! You can blame my job for this new found passion).

I wish I could say I made it the full twenty minutes my first time but I only made it ten- it was boring!! I also wish I could say that I have done it again since that first time but I find creating new daily habits for myself recently extremely challenging. I will leave after this post and do day two, promise.

So how did I put my own twist into this? By adding an extra ingredient; Activated Charcoal. I could talk about the benefits of this for hours but instead I will direct you to a recent video by Dr. Patrick Flynn with The Wellness Way.(https://www.facebook.com/TheHormoneWhisperer/videos/1486510624811912/)

I did it, you can too:

- Take 1-2TSP and melt organic coconut oil in a glass jar

- Let cool some but not enough for it to get hard again

- Empty a capsule of natural activated charcoal into the glass (yes this makes it black)

- Place oily mixture into your mouth and swish for as long as possible: 20 minute goal!

- Spit out the mixture: don't clog your drain and use the trash instead!

- Rinse WELL with warm water to remove bacteria; trust me you DO NOT want to swallow

- Brush with organic toothpaste/essential oils for a deeper clean

I have read that you can actually do this after each meal but I dream of the days where I have the time to do this, if you do please share the magical benefits! I will keep you posted on how this black oily concoction does in the coming weeks. The goal? To improve my red swollen gums, fight plaque, bad breath and remove any and all unwanted toxins/bacteria that is making its home in my mouth. Wish me luck, until next time.