How to Oil Pull for Gentle Detoxing on the GAPS Diet

There's many methods that we use to gently detox our bodies from toxins. This series explores each of them. First up, oil pulling.

Why do we detox?

Detoxing helps our liver. Our liver does many things, one of which is to process toxins out of our bodies. In the simplest terms, toxins are anything that are not helpful to the body at that time. When we detox gently, it has an effect on symptoms which are triggered by inflammation, like allergic reactions, headaches, negative emotions, and exhaustion.

What is oil pulling?

Oil pulling is swishing a small amount of the oil of your choice inside your mouth for a set period of time. You don't swallow the oil, but spit it out in a trash can when you're done.

Oil pulling has been done for many centuries. Traditionally, it was done with sesame seed oil. Today, we use milder oils but still see the benefits.

Oil pulling provides many benefits to your mouth and liver and is simple! You can oil pull using high quality olive or coconut oil. I prefer coconut oil's flavor.

Why do we oil pull to detox?

Swishing just a small amount of oil every day will pull toxins directly from your mouth. Pulling these toxins out will help reduce bad breath, sore gums, and the amount of bad bacteria in your mouth. This will ultimately help your food taste better! Even better, research has found no negative side effects.

Here's tips to help your body detox using oil pulling.

How to Choose the Best Oil for Oil Pulling

To oil pull, you can either use a good quality organic olive oil or an organic coconut oil, which is what I prefer.

Start Small with Oil Quantity

Use half a teaspoon to a teaspoon of the oil. Work your way up as you get comfortable holding the oil in your mouth and not swallowing it.

Place the oil in your mouth. Then, let it warm in your mouth so it's totally liquid. Swish it between your teeth. Don't gargle! After 5 minutes (or even better 20) spit the oil out into the trash can to save your drain. Then, brush your teeth using the oil that's left in your mouth.