CLEAN. a Chemical Free primer (of sorts)..

..oil pulling, soap, Fight Club and drilling mud... it all ties together, I promise.

This was going to be a post about Oil Pulling only but as I put pen to paper it became a bit more. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the practice of oil pulling and if you are you are probably wondering how it relates to the movie Fight Club or the drilling industry. Well, I'm going to tell you while I also I share my opinion of it's effectiveness and my experience and variations with it.

In any search engine you can enter 'Oil Pulling' and find out information about its history and the fact that it is a very old practice.
The layman explanation as to it's efficacy begins with the idea that when it comes to cleaning and 'dirt' as a general term for what may need to be cleaned there are two types: oil/fat soluble dirt and water soluble dirt. This solubility factors may sound familiar to those into nutrition or supplement taking. Some vitamins are more absorbable if taken with food usually because the fats in the food and how they interact with the molecules of the vitamin to either bind with or unbind those elements so they can be absorbed and used by the cells in our body.

Before I get back to the mouth I want to talk about the body and skin. We use soap (with water) to bathe. Fats (originally animal fats known as tallow) are the basis for soap-making...

...as was grotesquely highlighted in the movie Fight Club where soap making had become Tyler's hobby. In particular where he decides that human fat removed from liposuction patients was a viable option (remember when he throws it over the barbed wire fence behind the clinic while biohazard dumpster diving and it tears and fat oozes everywhere ...ick...sorry). But all in all a viable ingredient to legitimately make soap.

Of course soap making has more finely tuned scientific elements - where fat is basically made into its salt form so it then can emulsify or mix with / break down other fats, There is also the need for a strong alkaline ingredient to accomplish that (e.g. lye) which is what Tyler burned his hand with in the Fight Club movie. Because of it's corrosive nature - earlier in the 20th century mobsters were known to use lye to dispose of dead bodies as it would eat through all the tissue.

Also, incredibly, lye was a key ingredient in the early versions of hair relaxers because through the breakdown of the protein of the hair it causes the curls to 'relax' and straighten. Anything that compromises the protein structure of the hair has that affect to some degree (like hair dye / bleaching) but also in essence is weakening / destroying it.

With soaps, these days, instead of rendered beef fat, a lot use vegetable based oils. Beyond that many personal care products are so focused on the experience the consumer will have such as the texture of the soap, scent of the soap, if skin if soft and silky and moisturized afterwards etc. This has led to a lot of soaps being less effective at cleaning and laden with chemicals.

I personally know a guy who had a rather dirty job yet used one of those dude body washes like Axe - I think his was Old Spice actually with 'scents' ridiculously named like hawkthorn or wolfclaw ...I don't know. Long story short I introduced him to Dr. Bronner's soaps made with certified organic oils and essential oils. When he finally tried the Bronners soap he was amazed. He said the difference was remarkable, and with his old soap even after showering there was a film of something left behind that the body wash did not clean and with the more pure, organic soaps it got rid of that easily and his skin felt 'squeaky clean'. He was converted.

By the way if you click on the red [here] link (also pdf link below) it takes you to a 20 page, double column, 5pt font list of chemicals that are used in their products to "create consumer appealing scents".
Things like 1,2,3-Propanetricarboxylic acid, 2-hydroxy-, ethyl ester 1,2,3-Propanetriol, diacetate 1,2-Cylcopentanedione, 3,4,4-trimethyl- 1,2-Dimethoxybenzene 1,2-Epoxycyclododecane 1,2-Propanediol, 3-[[5-methyl-2-(1-methylethyl)cyclohexyl]oxy]- 1,3,3-Trimethyl-2-norbornanyl acetate 1,3,4,6,7,8-Hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexamethylcyclopenta-γ-2benzopyran
1,3,5-Triazine-2,4,6(1H,3H,5H)-trione, 1,3,5-tris[[4-(1,1dimethylethyl)-3-hydroxy-2,6-dimethylphenyl]methyl]-
1,3,5-Triazine-2,4-diamine, 6-phenyl-

https://oldspice.com/en/content/wolfthorn-wild-collection-body-wash/Ingredients
http://www.pgproductsafety.com/productsafety/ingredients/Perfume_and_Scents.pdf

It's insulting to think that companies include gratuitous chemicals in their products assuming the average consumer doesn't understand that the skin is the largest organ of the body and topical substances are absorbed quickly into the bloodstream after application.

Back to oral health - my approach for oil pulling is to use it as mouthwash replacement and I use about a half teaspoon of coconut oil.

I am so used to it that I can start with solid oil and let it melt in my mouth but I think that may be a little extreme for newbies. So I would suggest using melted oils. The idea is that you keep it moving, actively swooshing around for 15 minutes. I find that for me (and everyone is different) my sinuses also drain when I pull, and I don't know if the oil properties have anything to do with that or if it the act of swooshing. A good reason to choose coconut oil is it's naturally anti-bacterial properties so there is that added benefit. The oil helps with plaque and solubility and the idea that water and the ingredients found in traditional toothpastes and mouthwashes is not sufficient to dissolve and help remove such residue.

And what's the problem with, say, Listerine you might ask? Similar problem to what is wrong with the trendy soaps - the ingredients! And this is in your mouth where there are many blood vessels close to the skins surface.


One alteration I make from time to time when Oil Pulling is the inclusion of Bentonite Clay. So the same dirty jobs guy freaked out when I mentioned that Bentonite clay was a staple in my chem-free arsenal. He was convinced it was toxic because he remembered it from his drilling days and never knew what it was really used for in that context* but assumed it was something super industrial and/or synthetic and couldn't be good. In actuality it comes from volcanic ash. And, Bentonite Clay is a must have and can be incorporated in skin care, hair care, internal use (detoxing) and I find it makes a good addition for oil pulling.

*[[[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentonite : Bentonite is used in drilling fluids to lubricate and cool the cutting tools, to remove cuttings, and to help prevent blowouts.[2] Much of bentonite's usefulness in the drilling and geotechnical engineering industry comes from its unique rheological properties. Relatively small quantities of bentonite suspended in water form a viscous, shear-thinning material. So, it is a common component of drilling mud used to curtail drilling fluid invasion by its propensity for aiding in the formation of mud cake.]]]

The key with the clay is the surface area it has which allows it to have high absorption and it can bind with and hold on to what it absorbs until it is expelled. So it can absorb toxins and keeps them locked up until it all is expelled. By adding the Bentonite clay it increases the efficacy of the oil pulling process to grab all of the impurities. I add about 1/16 to 1/8 teaspoon (a little goes a long way) to the oil that I pull with.

Sometimes it can feel a little tacky when first getting it moving around in the mouth with the oil but once it's all mixed and swishing there is no detectable difference. Most times I will floss and brush prior.

Overall for me oil pulling makes my mouth feel very clean and my teeth free of residue.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.
I hope you found this informative.
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