Ayurvedic Remedies: Oil Pulling and Ayurveda

Oil pulling or oil swishing is an age-old practice recommended by Ayurveda. This is done in the mornings on empty stomach after brushing your teeth. A teaspoonful of sesame oil is taken and swished in your mouth for 15-20 minutes. This is a form of cleansing recommended by Ayurveda. This is said to remove toxins from our body. The modern version of oil pulling is done using sesame oil or sunflower oil, before brushing your teeth. The term ‘oil pulling’ was coined by Dr. Karach after he experimented swishing oil in the above mentioned method and cured himself of a horrible blood disease. He further studied it, systematised it and propagated it throughout the world.


I have just finished my tonight’s swishing and had my supper. I re-started doing this from the morning. I had done this some 10 years back and had good results but don’t know why I stopped it. Yesterday I stumbled upon this forumhttp://www.curezone.com/forums/f.asp?f=738 here people share their experiences of oil pulling. After going through the site, I thought I should start oil pulling again, and here I am typing this post after my second session of oil pulling. Today morning, after the initial swishing, I felt my mouth to be fresh, didn’t have the late evening headache. I felt active throughout the day. Good results for a single session of oil pulling! I have made up my mind to continue this, and make it into a daily habit.

My vegetarian experiment is continuing. Also, no tea and coffee. Now my daily regimen is like this. I get up at 6:30 in the morning. I do the oil pulling first thing in the morning the first 20 minutes. I can also do some multi-tasking along with oil pulling. I can check mails, iron my shirts and pants, do some warming up exercises. Then I brush my teeth. I drink 2-3 glasses of water after this. Then I start doing some yogasanas. I start with suryanamaskars 10 cycles, then sarvangasana, dhanurasana, halasana, padmasana and savasana. All this takes around 30 minutes. Now it would be around 7:30 in the morning. Then I will have my bath, have breakfast and get ready. My office shift is from 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm. I work as a consultant in another company in the mornings. After a hectic day, I reach home by 11:00, have my supper and go to bed by 12:00. Now it is 11:45 pm when I am typing this.

Now for some benefits of oil pulling. Regular swishing twice or thrice a day is said to cure you of skin conditions like eczema, acne, digestive problems, sinusitis, migraines, constipation, diabetes, ulcers, post nasal drip, candida overgrowth, arthritis etc.

This is a simple method which is least expensive, with no side effects. Start swishing, and make it a habit. Cultivate healthy habits for better health.

Ayurvedic Home Remedies: Health Benefits of Oil Pulling

The best health benefit you can get from oil is to use it as a mouth rinse. This has been my experience. And you will agree with me if you browse through the experience of thousands who do ‘oil pulling’ everyday. I know many people who follow this simple process and safeguard themselves from unnecessary health complications. There are diabetics who are able to maintain their blood sugar at normal level just by adding ‘oil pulling’ to their usual daily regimen. Over a period of time they have even reduced the intake of insulin.

I have been ‘oil pulling’ for a couple of months. I use sesame oil of Idhayam Group. It comes in easy to use sachets. The company gives away these sachets for free as a form of social service and well as to create awareness among the people of Tamil Nadu. Thanks to our Parish Priest, every second Sunday people from this company come to our Sacred Heart Church in Kolathur, Chennai and give away free sachets. People from all walks of life, irrespective of religion, caste or creed gather here to collect the sachets. The participants number almost hundred and each share their experiences with one another. Each participant gets 30 sachets free. The ‘oil pulling’ community here is very active. Our Parish Priest got rid of his sinus problems with ‘oil pulling’ and prescribes this to everyone he meets.

I have seen here people cured of various ailments with ‘oil pulling’. Some of the ailments cured include headaches, eye irritation, hair loss, insomnia, migraine, bad breath, excessive sweating, heel fissures, acne, ulcers, etc.People with high blood pressure were able to regulate their BP with oil pulling.Most of the women told they were able to reverse hair loss with this simple process. Some were cured of asthma and bronchitis. It has helped people with varicose veins too.

I feel fresh everyday and have lots of energy. I don’t feel tired in the evenings.The food I eat tastes good. My mouth feels fresh. I cannot keep myself awake beyond 11 o’clock at night. I sleep like a log and get up refreshed in the morning. I am able to sit before the computer for quite a long time without getting tired.

Sesame oil and sunflower oil are considered best for ‘oil pulling’. You can use coconut oil also. Some use olive oil too. One of my earlier posts details how you can do this simple process. I request everyone of my readers to try this inexpensive ‘oil pulling’ and reap rich benefits. If you need any clarifications or help you can email me.