Naturally Healthy: I'm Going to Try Coconut Oil Pulling for a Week

I'm a big fan of natural health remedies. From toothpaste for treating acne to Preparation H on puffy eyes, I'll try anything if I think it will keep me healthy and looking good without using harsh chemicals. From the moment I saw a post about oil pulling, I knew I had to give it a try. That's just how Captain Dapper rolls.

There's this blog post on Fashion Lush about oil pulling that has gotten all kinds of buzz lately. I saw it on Facebook and was drawn in by the name: oil pulling. Is makes me think of taffy pulls. (And taffy pulls make me think of people in ye olde costumes playing tug of war with giant stretchy, sticky, red, tasty taffy. But that's beside the point.) Erica at Fashion Lush purports endless benefits of oil pulling, citing case after case of friends and loved ones who have healed health woes with this all natural remedy.


So what is oil pulling? Basically, you put a spoonful of coconut oil in your mouth, swish it around for twenty minutes and then spit it out. The oil purportedly pulls the toxins out of your mouth, thereby ridding your body of them when you expel it. The oil is said to whiten teeth, prevent cavities, cure hangovers, alleviate allergy suffering and more. As Erica says in her thorough blog post and follow-up comments, you can use other oils, such as a sesame or sunflower. I happened to have coconut oil on hand because I use it for popping popcorn.

So how is oil pulling? Despite the rather disgusted look on my face in the video above, it's not all that bad. The texture is a bit strange and I was reacting to that more than anything. The hard part about keeping the oil in your mouth for twenty minutes is not swallowing. it. But that's key, actually. Although ingesting coconut oil is not harmful (it's actually pretty good for you) if you're swishing it in your mouth to collect the toxins, you certainly don't want to send those toxins down to your tummy. Also, you don't want to spit the oil into your sink. Over time the oil will solidify and mix with hair and you'll have to call a plumber to fix your bummer sink. Spit the oil into a paper towel or directly into the garbage.

I've only tried the treatment once so far. I think I'll try it every day for a week and see what happens. Erica has made it part of her morning routine and swears by the benefits. I don't think morning will work for me so I'll try to introduce it to my bedtime ritual. Stay tuned!

Image and video: Jason Loper