Oil Pulling....No, I'm not pulling your leg

Hi All,

There's this "new" thing I'm hearing a lot about lately that I want to discuss today.  It's called oil pulling.  First, I'm going to preface this by saying - I'm serious and not joking around...really.  It's very simple and here's what you do.  Take about a tablespoon of vegetable oil in your mouth and swish it around for 15 to 20 minutes.  When you're done spit it out in the garbage can (not your sink). That's it, and it's supposed to be a remarkably healthy thing for you to do.

I can hear your reaction....What the H#$@ did you say?? Why?

Let me break this down a little.  Oil pulling is a relatively new thing here in the US, but it dates back thousands of years in the Ayurvedic medicine tradition.

What is this supposed to do for me, you ask?  Oil pulling is supposed to give you much better dental hygiene.  Fresh breath, whiter teeth, but it also is supposed to remove toxins in the mouth and body (through the tissues in the mouth).  It'll remove bacteria that's harmful as well.  Some of the claims I've been reading say that it can help with allergies, chronic pain, fatigue, and other things as well.

I believe the more traditional oil people use is Sesame oil and many people use Coconut oil as well.  I tried oil pulling yesterday for the first time.  I took some coconut oil in my mouth and swished it around while showering and getting ready for the day.  It was a little weird, for sure.  Afterwards I felt pretty good and my mouth felt good.

I've read about some people that have had some really noticeable results came after practicing this for about a month.  One noticed a chronic skin condition had cleared, as well as some chronic pain was greatly lessened.  As with any type of therapy or regimen, trying it one time doesn't always produce amazing results.  So I may give this a try for a month and see if I get any noticeable results.  I'm gratefully, pretty healthy, but we'll see what happens.

So give oil pulling a try and see how it goes.  Let me know what you think.

So have a great week everyone.  Take care of yourself and we'll see you soon.

Peace,

Tom

Food and Nutrition are Important to your Overall Health

Hi All,

About a year ago, while still in school, I was enrolled in a Holistic Nutrition class.  What an amazing class!  It was taught by a Naturopathic Doctor, Dr. Mahdi Brown.  The class covered really, just about every aspect of nutrition, from an overview of food/diet, to what your body needs, how it processes food and nutrients.  It was a very comprehensive overview of nutrition from an holistic perspective.

One of the concepts Dr. Mahdi brought to the class was, "food as medicine."  Eating deliberately with knowledge of the food and eating it with intention, and how it can provide powerful results and result in good health and balance in the body.  Quality of food is essensial, yet if you can't afford organic it doesn't mean you can't eat healthy.  You do the best you can with what you have.  However - food that comes out of a box, generally is not usually good for you and packed with chemical preservatives.

There are many health benefits of eating healthy, and a healthy diet can vary greatly from person to person.  Some go gluten free, removing the wheat and other grain products from the diet and some remove all processed sugars.  Then there's a vegetarian diet, and that can take many different forms from just no meat, to a strict vegan, to a completely raw diet.  The raw diet can be very healing, but can be a lifestyle not suited to all.  People eating a raw diet eat fruit and vegetable based foods that have not been prepared at more than 116 degrees F.  They use food dehydrators a lot and it takes planning and preparation in advance, but it can be a very healing diet.

My wife and I are setting out to change our diet and lifestyle to a gluten free diet.  It's amazing, but gluten is in just about everything so we'll have to really put effort into learning about this lifestyle.  Basically, all bakery products have gluten - it's in your standard flour.  It's also used as a filler in most processed foods, or as a friend of mine says (who's a chef), to me it's not an ingredient - it's a process I use to bind the food together.  

The good news is that more and more, in most places, gluten free foods are available.  Also, fresh fruit and vegetables are still gluten free.  Rice, potatoes, sweet potato, quinoa, and more are great for making hot dishes.  Some of the stores carry really good gluten free bread.  We noticed while in Target recently they carried several gluten free pastas and red sauce, at comparable prices to standard.

What are some of the benefits of eating a gluten free diet?  It's essential for people who suffer from Celiacs Disease and beneficial for people with other gastrointestinal issues.  Also, it can provide relief for people who suffer from chronic pain and fatigue.  It's typically provides relief from fibromyalgia pain.  Basically, it's just good for the body.

So it's going to be an interesting journey.  It'll be a whole new lifestyle and a good one.  More to come on this one.

Take care All and have a great week.

Tom