Oil pulling for health?

[Christine85]

Look here to find out what it is- samaritanministries.org/?p=4966
Basically it is where you swish oil around your mouth for 15 minutes and it helps oral health and to draw out toxins from the mouth membranes. Here’s my concern… I want to do it … But it’s an ancient Indian practice derived from Aryurveda … Which is connected to Hinduism. I don’t know if I’m being petty or scrupulous, but can I do it ? Or should I steer clear? I’m considering maybe asking an apologist or my SD. I don’t think I would get an answer from an apologist as they’re so busy… What do you think about this?

 

[Christine85]

Here is a definition of Aryurveda , I’m not sure if the image on the page should answer the question??? en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayurveda

But my naturopath suggested oil pulling to help me. She’s Christian but not Catholic …

 

[Iron_Donkey]

I’ve always been skeptical of that sort of thing, but leaving my doubts aside - If we were supposed to reject everything that was discovered by people of different faiths, we’re in a fair amount of trouble. They may have thought there was some spiritual significance to what sounds like a special sort of mouth wash. There needn’t be. Unless you find yourself tempted into false spirituality or the worshiping of false gods by using said mouthwash, you’re fine.

 

[DexUK]

This sounds to me like dangerous nonsense, both scientifically and spiritually.

Given the effects described in ‘oil pulling’ are scientifically impossible, then clearly it is essentially a placebo and encourages you to place false hope in something to make you healthier that won’t do anything of the sort. Whether or not it comes from Hunduism to start with, the whole thing is, at best, utterly useless, certainly a waste of money and may lull you (or others) into a false sense of security about real medical problems that may well need real medical treatment.

I got the following quote from lisabarger.com/oil_pulling_debunked/

Oil pulling is supposed to “pull” toxins (no mention of what “toxins” means) out of your blood and bind them somehow to the oil. But there are serious flaws in this theory:

First, your blood vessels don’t just leak toxins. If chemicals could just leak through the walls of your arteries and veins we’d have no need for oil pulling, would we? We could just rinse our mouths briefly several times a day with plain water and be done with it.

Second, the whole idea behind oil swishing is based on exposing the oil to the large veins under the tongue. But anyone versed in basic human anatomy will tell you that those blood vessels simply aren’t large enough to expose your entire blood supply to the oil in the 15-20 minutes allowed for the procedure.

Another Reason Oil Pulling Can’t “Detox” You As Promised

We all know that “toxins” are real. No one is disputing that. But toxins that would be “attracted” to the oil used in oil swishing would be fat-soluble. (Because if they were water-soluble, they wouldn’t be attracted to the oil.) And fat soluble toxins don’t just run around freely in your bloodstream. They’d be stored in your body’s fat cells.

So ask yourself this one question: What makes oil swishing so special that it forces your body’s cells to suddenly turn loose of all this stored toxic material? And what effect would this sudden dumping of toxins have on your body’s natural filtering systems—the liver and kidneys? At least some of this pollution would reach them first, as those “toxins” head toward those large veins under your tongue. And that would tax your liver and kidneys pretty noticably, wouldn’t it?

Finally, since the toxins that would be circulating in your bloodstream would be more likely to be water-soluble than fat-soluble, wouldn’t swishing plain water for 20 minutes actually do a better job than oil at removing toxins?

 

[maryjk]

It sounds about as helpful as ear candling.

 

[Christine85]

This sounds to me like dangerous nonsense, both scientifically and spiritually.

Given the effects described in ‘oil pulling’ are scientifically impossible, then clearly it is essentially a placebo and encourages you to place false hope in something to make you healthier that won’t do anything of the sort. Whether or not it comes from Hunduism to start with, the whole thing is, at best, utterly useless, certainly a waste of money and may lull you (or others) into a false sense of security about real medical problems that may well need real medical treatment.

I got the following quote from lisabarger.com/oil_pulling_debunked/

Interesting, thankyou

 

[Meximo]

I know this is an old thread. I’m looking for more natural remedies for minor ailments. I came across oil pulling. I wanted to know if science was behind it. I’m not a big fan of Dr. Weil but came across and article about oil pulling and science. drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400499/Oil-Pulling-Realistic-Remedy.html

Dr. Weil summarizes the article, “…Oil pulling won’t hurt you, but I wouldn’t depend on it to help you improve your overall health or treat significant medical problems.”

I would stay away from it.

:twocents: