Stinger,
Everything has its detractors and skeptics, and oil pulling is no different. We are at a disadvantage because no medical research has been done on OP, most likely because there is no money to be made here. How can the big pharmaceuctical companies make their millions on something that is no more than cooking oil?
In the meantime, there are many testimonies of satisfied oil pullers. Click this link and keep on scrolling down to read if you want to hear what oil pulling has accomplished.
http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=911141#i

One thing about oil pulling, it doesn't have the sometimes dangerous side affects that drugs can have. The best we can do is try it and make our own decision, instead of letting someone else make it for us on a web site that is commerical, with its own oil products for sale.

kebod

I'm not disagreeing that people are experiencing positive effects, but the link above proposes that health benefits are because people are ingesting small amounts of EFA when swishing and that teeth benefits are due to the fact that most Oil Pulling directions instruct the user to clean his/her mouth afterward.

This makes much more sense than believing that the oil is "pulling toxins out of the bloodstream."

Stinger, you are right -- we don't really know how this works, just that it does. Some oils contain EFAs and small amounts must be absorbed, but do all oils? I don't know. Back to Google for more research.
As far as cleaning teeth better, I had periodontal surgery 20 years ago. In order not to experience a reocurrence, I have been diligent about cleaning my teeth. When I started oil pulling, I continued with my same teeth cleaning routine. But I noticed that my teeth became so much whiter, and my tongue and gums pinker.
Someday, I hope we do have good medical research to go on. Until then, I will continue pulling because of all the wonderful benefits I have gained.
Your input is very much appreciated.

kebod

LOL, I think this is funny because to me it looks like Lisa Barger has no more authority than kebod or stinger, or Turquois or me or my dog!

http://www.lisabarger.com/about.html

Everyone's entitled to their opinion, or so we say. I think Ms. Barger is overlooking the sublingual absorption possibility which seems like real ignorance since many eastern, western and various medicinal practices in between all use sublingual applications for rapid absorption of certain substances.

I am pretty lousy about my oral health. let me gross you out for a minute. I rarely brush my teeth more than once a day - at night b4 I go to bed. I have had great improvement in oral health and I do not rinse my mouth with anything except for a mildly sweetened cup o tea afterwards. So, when I read the writings from a woman who may not have KP or joint inflammation or bad oral health gas on about something she hasn't even tried, it does make me laugh. - bd

Well for me, I dont care how it works, i only know that once again my SKIN TAG is gone!! Its back to being a white dot now.

So, regardless how or why oil pulling works, my personal experience is enough for me to continue to do it, and personally, I do not believe it is because I swallow it because I do NOT swallow it, trust me, I would throw up. If any is going down, it is infintestable.

I have not had the whiter teeth effects from OP and I wish I did. I do not believe people would get whiter teeth from doing op and just brushing because trust me, if brushing alone would help, mine would sparkle. I just think every person is different and gets different effects. Wish my teeth would get whiter.

I have been Oil Pulling for 3 weeks now and 3 days into it my Pregnancy Tumor was gone. I saw it there on Monday when I started. My teeth are whiter, did not notice this till about the 2nd week OP.

tcb, you posted before about this and I wondered then, "What is a pregnancy tumor?" I just read about it with Google's help, and now I know that pregnant women can develop growths on their gums. This is caused by the hormonal changes during pregnancy. However oil pulling works, it has its first effects on the mouth, and you have benefited from this. All it takes is one, significant health benefit like this and we are hooked on oil pulling for life. Thanks for posting about this again.

kebod

Janae,

It sounds like you have never tried oil pulling. For many of us who do it daily, it is actually a positive experience with great benefits, KP and otherwise.

kebod

Sheena - I'm glad you caught me!, I should have said that I almost always put some flax oil in with the sesame, flaxseed oil being so high in omega-3s.. Flaxseed oil can have a real acrid edge to it but I can get some fresh that also has some dill oil in it for flavor. (i like dill just fine.) So I put a little less than a teaspoon in my spoon I guess and then fill it up the rest of the way with sesame which I find is very good for clearing my sinuses. Also, I have some Trader Joe's flaxseed oil that is really yummy but it retains some of the fiber/lignans so it has particles in it. Not sure if I'll try it for OP or just swallow some.

I keep sunflower oil in the house. My husband put it in the bathroom so he can remember to take a swig to swish while he takes his shower. we usually use spectrum organic which states in its ingredients that is is high oleic. You may be able to find it at netgrocer or vitacost if you cannot buy it locally.

I have almond oil in the cabinet too. I don't always mix it with flax but I think I have. My husband won't use the almond oil cause he starts to get little welts that aren't quite boils (herx), only 2! but he didn't want any so he went back to sunflower. I intend to try pumpkin seed oil but have not placed an order for it. I will certainly give results when i have tried it.

Somewhere in wikipedia is a chart listing the oils highest in omega-3s, probably under "omega-3" but I have not attempted to double check its veracity against anything else.
Good Luck! - BD

hi there, i'm new here. i read your info about oil pulling and i'm on my 4th day of oping 3 x a day. so far my teeth have gotten whiter. and i had a mild headache.
planning on doing this for at least a month.

Hi Paul, glad to hear your teeth are whiter. Isn't it awesome!

But I'm sorry to hear about your headache. For some, this is normal when they first start. It is an indication that toxins are being stirred up but are still in your system. Drink lots of water to pass these toxins out. You should be drinking 1/2 ounce for each pound of body weight daily. (Sorry if you use the metric system -- you'll have to convert.) Don't overdo oil pulling at first. If the headaches are too much, cut back to 10 minutes a day and slowly work up to 20 minutes.

Please keep in touch. Let us know that you are feeling fine and also anything else you notice because of OP.

kebod

hi i am a new member but i have been reading about this for a while, i started OPing a few weeks ago, however it took me a while to get used to doing it for the full 20 minutes. my KP isnt clearing at all however, if anything it is kind of getting worse on my arms. would this just be a reaction to the toxins being pulled out, like it has to be worse before it gets better? ive also noticed i have been alot spottier lately (teenage acne lol) , usually i have a few spots but it has gotten alot worse in the past week or so, obv this could be to do with hormones time of month etc but im not sure, its never usually this bad! ive also been getting headaches as well, but im gonna carry on with OP for a bit cus everyone else keeps getting really good results!!

Hi Caitlin,
The skin is a huge cleansing organ. Acne, boils, welts --they are all symptoms of the skin's efforts to rid our body of toxins. Pesticides, medical chemicals, impurities in the water we drink and food we eat--some of it very unnatural and artificial--even impurities in the air we breathe -- our bodies use liver, kidneys and skin to get rid of this "junk". Oil pulling is believed to be a method that encourages cleansing, and can stimulate the skin to rid itself of even more impurities. You are experiencing this. Please don't stop OP altogether, but you may want to cut back how many minutes you do it, or maybe do it every other day, or just stay with what you are doing and work through it. Drink lots of water to help the cleansing. This will alleviate your headaches as well. Drink 1/2 ounce for every pound of body weight every day. Believe me, this makes a difference. You may not see KP results until you have done OP for a month. You are doing yourself such a huge favor to clean out your system. I hope you stay with this and let us know if OP helped or if it didn't.

Eat as clean a diet as you can, including lots of veggies and omega 3 oil supplements or food sources of omega 3. Exercise. Drink lots of water. Oil pull. You will be glad you did. You won't see results overnight (except for whiter teeth!) but you will with time. Post again.

kebod

To all,

Some of you may have noticed the recent title of "Moderator" under my name. Juan and his wife Elsa Zoe, the administrators of this forum, asked me to become a moderator to help with general forum functions, such as welcoming newcomers, deleting spam, and helping out in general. Basically, I'm doing what I did before, plus trying to look in on other forums more often. And I'm having fun zapping spam!

If you are aware of any problems with this forum, let Elsa Zoe or me know about it. We'll do our best to fix things.

kebod

hi again, day 5 now. my headaches were very mild and they only happened when i used coconut oil. my daily routine is...morn refined sunflower oil 20 mins, afternoon (before my lunch) virgin coconut oil - expeller? i think that means cold pressed (10-20 mins) and at night before bed, organic untoasted sesame oil 20 mins. my experiences so far are very mild headaches, whiter teeth, my gums stopped bleeding when i brush, sneezing like when you feel like you're getting a cold (only after sunflower oil) follwed by a little phlem ( which i spit out ), my appetite has been curbed but i don't know if that has anything to do with OPing. Most likely because i reduced my sugar intake. I found sugar seemed to aggravate any skin inflamations. I don't expect my kp to disappear at this point. one of my concerns is that because i am of philippino decent i scar dark. my kp on my arms look like a combo of small brown dots (probably old kp) and a few raised bumps with pin size white heads. I noticed my kp about 10 years ago and ignored it but now it covered most of the out side of my upper arms. I know two other people with kp and two people who have gotten rid of it. We all have the same blood type (O), all have kind of flabby upper arms, all but one has smoked cigarettes, all but are of philippine decent. My mother only got kp when she moved to Canada in her twenties and now that she moved back it has disappeared. My friend said she used Body shop shower scrub (i think coconut) to get rid of hers. i think she caught it early. Oil pulling has been my only attempt of getting rid of my kp other than scrubbing it with a nail brush in the shower (when i remembered to). My other skin problems are itchy bumps in areas where metal touches my skin. I since have figured out it is the nickel found in most metals like buttons on jeans...and its very common. On the opposite side of my elbows (my inner arms) i have an itchy rash that comes and goes and itches about half an hour after ingesting sugary foods. I had a itchy skin around my eyes but i switched to daily disposable contacts and now it's gone. not all contact solutions are the same. I have dandruff that i suspect is caused by ph unbalance. I have seborreic keratosis on my face (common among asians and african-ams) and flat and raised moles. I know-sounds attractive eh? All of which i am experimenting with bloodroot powder to get rid of. I'll let you know how that turns out in about a week or so.