Do you OP?

Have you ever heard of "Oil Pulling?"  Have you tried it? 

I first learned about it last week from my friend Vicki in Corpus Christi.  She mentioned it qhen we were discussing our allergies and subsequent sinus problems.  She has been seeing it mentioned a lot on Pinterest. 

When I got home, with allergies running rampant, I Googled it.  Wow....what a plethora of information is out there on Oil Pulling!  After reading a ton of testimonials about it, I decided to try it and started Sunday night. 

Let me say this is not for those who have weak stomachs or easy gag reflexes.  A tablespoon of oil in your mouth that you gently swish for 5 minutes (and up to 20) can make you feel quite ill if you think about it too much.

Guess I'd better put the Warnings out here first.  Do NOT gargle.  Do NOT swallow the oil.  Just swish it around your teeth and across your tongue.  After spitting it out, immediately rinse your mouth with fresh water and then brush your teeth. 

After my hours of research, I decided to start slowly, swishing for 5 minutes at a time and slowly building up to the 15-20 recommended minutes.  One of the reviews/testimonials I read stated by doing this she had fewer "detox" symptoms. Also, my research revealed Oil Pulling will quite often cause an increase in mucous and it tells you to NOT take medications to lessen it as that is counter productive.  Thus, I put away my allergy medications and decided to give this a dedicated try for two weeks. 

How is it going? 

I started Sunday night.  Wow, they are right when they say it increases your saliva and mucous.  I coughed, blew my nose and spit for 30 minutes afterward.  But, once I did that, I felt so much better!  And, after brushing my teeth with baking soda and salt (as they recommended), I thought my teeth looked whiter - a good thing for a coffee drinker like me.

Monday morning, I used coconut oil.  If you gag easily, this oil is not for you.  It starts as a solid and melts in your mouth.  Yes, it's gross.  But, it has a much better taste than EVOO.  I did the OP for 5 minutes, brushed my teeth and wondered, "Are my teeth really whiter?"

Last night, I OPed again with EVOO.  I read on one of the testimonials about using complementing oils to "pull" different impurities from your body and help you detox.  Since I had those two on hand, I thought "why not?" More of the same mucous reaction.

BUT, this is HUGE to me.  When the cold front came through, I didn't get sick.  Normally, I have a massive headache and am down for the count prior to a major weather change/storm like we had last night.  It didn't happen this time.  The only change I've made is Oil Pulling.  Makes me go "Hmmmmmmmm????"

Once again, I started my day with Coconut Oil.  Adding a second OP before lunch using coconut oil.  Tonight I will OP with EVOO. 

The early results:  I think my teeth are whiter.  And, I'm doing quite well without zyrtec and afrin every morning and Nyquil every night to be able to breathe.  If the only real benefit is whiter teeth, I will take that.  I was seriously considering a professional teeth whitening, they were getting so yellowed from coffee.  But, if it helps with my allergies, headaches and various other problems (hair, nails, cracked heels, skin, etc.,) all the better.  If not, the worst thing I've done is waste a little bit of various cooking oils and time.

So, I'm going to continue with the experiment for 4 weeks vs the 2 I originally intended.  As one of the testimonials said, and I paraphrase, "what's it going to hurt?  You are swishing oil around in your mouth and spitting it out."

Writing.  Yup.  At Panera as I kept getting side tracked at home.  Managed to get 1350-ish words written in 1.5 hours.  It was some heavy duty emotional stuff.  I almost cried in the restaurant as I was writing.  Obviously, I identify with my main character too much!

Coffee:  Of course.  Community Coffee, splenda, half and half here at home.  Light Roast coffee (2 big mugs of it) at Panera.

So, what are your thoughts on OP?  Let's start a discussion!  :)