blog detail banner

Living Well

Should You Practice Oil Pulling On An Empty Stomach?

May 22, 2017

Oil pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic technique that’s highly beneficial for oral health. It cleans and whitens the teeth and makes the gums stronger. Normally, coconut or sesame oils are recommended for practicing oil pulling. Oil is swished around in the mouth for a short while to pull out all toxins. Making it a regular habit can lead to good oral health. Varied opinions exist when it comes to doing it on a full or empty stomach.

Oil pulling is said to be most effective if done first thing in the morning. This means that you should do it even before you consume your coffee or brush your teeth. It is also recommended to be done on an empty stomach. Because you may feel nauseous if you swished oil in your mouth after a meal. The process extracts toxins from the mouth and that is the reason you might feel nauseous. Having said that, there is no harm in practicing it on a full stomach too. In either case, you need to ensure that the oil pulled is not swallowed. Because the pulled oil contains all kinds of toxins and bad bacteria, it can be very bad for the gut.

Don’t forget that your mouth and stomach, both, produce digestive enzymes when you eat. Digestive enzymes help the body in breaking down food and absorbing nutrients. Oil pulling, when done on an empty stomach can trigger the release of huge amounts of enzyme-containing saliva. Secretion of saliva is minimal when the stomach is full.

To conclude, it is better if oil pulling is done on an empty stomach. However, there’s no harm if it’s done on a  full stomach too. Either ways, the practice comes with numerous benefits not only for oral health but for overall health.

Mahesh Jayaraman
Mahesh is a hormone health counsellor & holistic health expert. He has a Mastery Certification in Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis from the US, is certified in Functional Nutrition from Washington State University and uses a wide array of healing modalities to guide his clients to vibrant health and well-being.