Why do you have to spit the oil in the toilet?
I've done it to remove cigar breath, but only for about 30 seconds. Seems to help. That said, it's NASTY.
I have some Caribbean friends who are really into oil pulling, though I don't know if there's any cultural connection. I think they liked some other kind of oil rather than olive oil. Coconut oil would be super gross, though, because it's solid most of the time unless it's really warm out.
The link actually talks about swishing coconut oil, which I think is objectively more foul than swishing olive oil.
The detail I can't get over is the length of time. After 8 minutes I think I would punch my fist through a wall.
On the other hand, its hard to argue with science: "So what happens is, while you swish the oil in your mouth, the toxins in your body are pulled out causing mucous drainage - which is one of the ways your body removes toxins."
Though, really, if I was that worried about toxins, I'd quit sniffing glue.
Weird coincidence! I'm reading a memoir by an ultra-marathon runner and he was talking about his misguided idea of bringing olive oil on his runs to drink for energy. He said it gave him terrible diarrhea.
At least the people with this particular kind of baffling misunderstanding of science still tend to vote right.
11: Probably because of their lack of toxins!
Its hard to argue with massive diarrhea as the most effective means of toxin reduction.
I can't imagine anything fouler than swishing olive oil in your mouth for 15-20 minutes.
This shows a lack of imagination
To be fair, its hard to do anything with massive diarrhea.
13: To him. This was in the 90's, he wasn't able to have the internet tell him it was a bad idea beforehand.
This doesn't sound right. And by right, I mean realistic. Is the oil black or something when it is spat out? That would make it sound more effective, although, considerably more awful.
I remember reading somewhere that the early polar expeditions took thermoses full of olive oil to drink so they could keep up fat stores and ingest lots of calories.
4: I have to think that in the mid/high 90s (e.g., in your mouth) that the coconut oil would be and stay solid.
Nah, coconut oil liquefies right around normal room temperature. At 80 or so it'd be liquid, definitely at 90.
Depends if you go virgin or hydrogenated. Gargle some nice solid hydrogenated coconut oil in your mouth for extra brownie points.
Yeah, coconut oil melts if you hold it in your hand, which I know because I use it on the girls' heads a lot, but I still would be totally creeped out to have some melting in my mouth.
At the beginning or at the end?
To be fair, its hard to do anything with massive diarrhea.
I BEG TO DISAGREE.
20,21: "solid" s/b "liquid" and I just mistyped.
or, you could just eat a lot of oily food... ?
Sure, if you want to chew your food for twenty minutes and then swallow those very same toxins you worked so hard to purge right back into the belly of the beast.
Maybe this is the principle behind Olestra?
30: You mean the reason it's a treatment for dioxin poisining?
In 1999, researchers discovered olestra helps facilitate the removal of dioxins from the body, as it apparently binds to dioxins in a manner similar to that of normal fats. This unexpected side effect may make the substance useful in treating victims of dioxin poisoning.[27][28]
Recent research by groups at University of Cincinnati School of Medicine in Ohio and the University of Western Australia indicates olestra can be used to treat poisoning due to exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), including chloracne symptoms.[29]
So if you have dioxin or PCB poisoning, but don't have Olestra available, swishing around some oil in your mouth might help.
Good heavens, I hadn't been following this story:
Dr. Chang, who led the Institute of Asian Studies at St. John's and served as its vice president for international relations, was accused of using her position to recruit scholarship students from overseas, promising them a free education, but then forcing them to clean her house and shuttle cases of liquor to her room at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut.She has been found dead in the middle of her trial.
Mentions of unspecified "toxins" is a very reliable indicator of worthless woo.
36: Nice to see you, Ham-Love. All well?
This sounds so epically nasty, and comprehensively unlikely to work. Is all of pintrest so infested with woo?
I have read a much less woo explanation of oil pulling, which was entirely about clearing bacteria out of your mouth and supposed to be great for people with weak teeth prone to caries.
34: And the judge thought, "What would be an appropriate note at this end of this sad tale? A splash of racism!"
Why would swishing oil in your mouth do anything about bacteria and plaques?
I dunno, why would rubbing soap on your skin do anything about dirt on your skin?
I don't imagine that people rinse out their mouths with water after they spit out the oil, do they? Who would do that?
Is all of pintrest so infested with woo?
Definitely not. Pinterest is infested with food and recipes, interior decorating, and fashion, and then other smaller cool things, and you can find a lot of super cool stuff if you're following super cool people, which I happen to be doing.
Bacteria and plaques in particular are pretty good at sticking around. How does an oil bath compare to a few minutes of mechanical agitation a day?
How does an oil bath compare to a few minutes of mechanical agitation a day?
If Fresh Salt is still flooded six feet deep, those fruit will be hanging underwater.
45 makes a good point. Oil seems like it would be TERRIBLE for removing biofilms in general. You should fill your mouth with a mixture of sea salt and isopropyl alcohol and then start headbanging, like the way people clean bongs.
When I have a bad cold, I do gargle with salt water. I'm not sure what I'm removing, but it seems to clear the throat.
You'll never have abrasion injuries from an oil bath.
I don't believe that a swish of warm oil would kill much in the way of bacteria.
Let me be the first to suggest fresh salt water.