Oil Pulling Day 5

Well here's the yummy news.  1 tbsp of oil for 15 minutes and I have never scraped so much gunk off my tongue....still with me?

Day 1 - I did a lot of scraping.  Days 2, 3, and 4 - practically nothing showed up but clear saliva when scraped.  Day 5....I felt like I would never get everything scraped off.  It took several drags of a spoon across my tongue before it came out clean.  All my other habits have been the same.  This and the surge in energy are the only clues that oil pulling may, in fact, detox the body.  I am still not wholly convinced, but I believe in it enough to see what happens in the next 40 to 50 days.  I hope I wake up with that Chelsea girl's body from Dancing With the Stars in place of my own.  All hail the mighty olive oil!

Scrumptious Love,
E.N. Graham

OIl Pulling Day 4

Day 4 of oil pulling....didn't feel a thing.  The energy boost seems to be topping out and tapering off.

40 to 50 days is going to be a big pain, I think.  I may try a different oil since I'm running low on olive.  My wrist is much better, but again - who knows why that is.  I also seem to be sleeping better.  That, however, is usually a welcome side effect of losing weight. 

We'll see what Day 5 brings and after that, even though I'll continue pulling, I'll only report on the pulling if anything noteworthy occurs. 

Scrumptious Love,
E.N. Graham

My Food

I have been steadily losing weight with cutting out junk food and exercising.  Maybe I am one of few, but I am okay with eating the same thing everyday.  As long as its something I like - I have no problem with eating the same basic thing with minor changes.  My new eating plan looks like this:

Breakfast: 
Oil pulling in the morning (obviously I don't eat this)
Large glass of Green Tea
Egg whites for breakfast - cooked with a bit of back pepper

Lunch:
fish - either mahi mahi, salmon, flounder, tilapia, or tuna
beans
romaine and tomato

Dinner:
Meat - beef, chicken, or turkey
fresh salsa
beans
shredded cheese
guacamole
romaine
sometimes I add salsa verde

Dessert:
a square of dark chocolate

I was trying to have a glass of red wine everynight, but I've stopped that for now as it seems counterproductive.
 
If I have any snacks in there - it's either a banana or orange with cinnamon.

Obviously 8 glasses of water (at least) and the occasional glass of chocolate milk - like about 4 ounces after working out and only after hard workouts.  If I hit a seemingly unbreakable plateau - I'll take out the dark chocolate and milk first.  If the scale stays the same for 3 weeks in a row - bye bye chocolate ha ha. 

You'll notice there is a lack of bread, but I'm still getting carbs through other foods.  I am not counting anything - just eating yummy whole food and working out as much as possible.

It really is difficult to shop for a varied menu when trying to lose weight.  This way I bought everything I needed for weeks of meals in bulk.  I'm never bored with this spread.  I definitely don't feel deprived.  In fact, I feel overindulged.  I really do think eating the same meals everyday is key to stop mindlessly overeating.

If I am faced with going to a restaurant - I definitely don't miss out!  I look for things with a high protein content and try to avoid cream sauces and fried foods.  But I almost always get dessert when we go out to a restaurant.  If they have an amazing dessert that I am dying to try - I am sure to eat only half of my meal, box the rest or give it away, and then share the dessert.  I have water with my meals, sometimes I'll have unsweetened tea - but that is very rare.  And whenever I am craving food from a restaurant that has carry out - I opt for the carry out - this means no bread on the table, no bright and shiny pictures of food on the table, no waiters bringing by a huge tray of chocolate cake.

I am very close to a 30 pound weight loss and the energy that is returning to me....well it makes me sad I lost all of that in the first place, but through much self discovery and inspired action, I am at an amazing place in my life.  Cheers to eating and enjoying real and whole food! 

Scrumptious Love,
E.N. Graham

Boring (for you) Magazine Decisions :-)

There is nothing like checking the mail and finding a magazine waiting for you.  I am definitely not a fan of the fluff articles like 'How to Please Your Man'....if you don't know then there are bigger problems. 

Currently, I subscribe to World of Warcraft Magazine, Entrepreneur, and pick up Popular Science and various Photoshop magazines now and then.  I haven't been playing World of Warcraft as much, but their magazines have amazing pointers so I may stick with that one - not sure.  I love the information in Entrepreneur, but feel that one session of it is enough as long as I keep up with them online. 

The ones I'm thinking about are:

Running Times (there is a package deal with Running Times and Running World I may look into)
Experience Life
Eating Well
Nutrition Today


If there's anyone out there who subscribes to any of these - let me know what you think. 
   
   être en bonne santé

Scrumptious Love,

E.N. Graham

Oil Pulling Day 3

I used one tablespoon again today.  I also only ended up doing it for 11 minutes.  It again came out frothy white.  I noticed my skin feels softer and I have been very emotional - last night and this morning.  But there is a lot going on in my life right now - it is a different kind of emotional than what I'm used to, but definitely has alternative explanations.  I would love to think it's the oil bringing up toxins ha ha.  Again, there are just too many variables and I cannot wait until a controlled study is done and we get some facts up in here.

If anything changes, I'll update this post.

If you have happened on this post and have no idea what I'm speaking about....I started 'oil pulling' a few days ago and I'm following my first five days, then only reporting if anything major happens.  The instructions that I found said to continue the act for 40 to 50 days. I'm going to complete that recommended regimen and if I think it's doing some good, I may continue once a week after that. 

Scrumptious Love,
E.N. Graham

Oil Pulling Day 2

I used 1 tbsp of Olive Oil this morning.  I swished for the full 20 minutes.  I feel more awake - not much else, but it's still early.  Again, it came out frothy white-ish. 

Yesterday after writing the blog, I had some intense backpain on either side.  Who knows if it's related.  My wrist is also killing me this morning, but I know it's from crazy overuse.  I was struggling with a cork on a wine bottle yesterday, opening a really tough jar, doing household chores, lugging suitcases around, lots of typing, and woke up last night realizing I was leaning and sleeping on it.

There are so many variables that unless some miracles happen - I'm not sure I will ever be able to vouch for healing.  But I can say my 'morning breath' didn't seem bad at all and my teeth are whitening as if I used one of the many bleaching products in my cabinet, but I haven't used any of them in months.

I will report in for the first 5 days of oil pulling and after that I will only mention it if I see any remarkable changes. 

Update for Day 2 (evening):  My wrist feels okay again, but I've had the brace on most of the day.  Of course it will never be proven if it was eventual recovery from oil pulling, time, the brace, or a combination. 

Also I had my workout session with my trainer and something happened that I have never seen happen before - after the workout my face was beet red.  My heart was not beating hard - it didn't feel as though my blood pressure was soaring - in fact I felt pretty good - just kinda warm and tired from the workout.  I googled 'face red after workout' and got many sites saying the same thing: 
"When you work out, your body produces heat. One way that your body makes sure it doesn't overheat is by sweating, of course, but your body also increases blood circulation to the skin's surfaces, so the heat can be radiated off (smart bod). Warm, oxygenated blood rushes to your face, turning it that bright red color. It's receiving lots of healthy blood, bringing nutrients to your skin and carrying away toxins." 
~from fitsugar.com

I've never really had good circulation so if this marks an improvement - awesome.  If this is caused by oil pulling then it is no wonder why people claim they look 10 years younger.  It's that pink healthy glow.  I am drinking green tea after the swishing sessions as well and I started this when I started swishing.  I realize this would completely screw up a regular scientific experiment, but   1. I have drank green tea for weeks everyday in the past and never had much happen.  and   2. This is not a scientific experiment.  Just my experience of any positive or adverse effects.  Oil may just be a great mouth cleaner - it would be nice if it were more, but I think the only way to really know is to try it for yourself.  (As with all suggestions on this blog - check with a medical professional before attempting). 


Scrumptious Love,
E.N. Graham

Oil Pulling

Surprise!  There is a home remedy out there I have never heard of.  Of course people will always discover new things, but this practice is supposedly ancient.  Okay so enough mumbo jumbo - let's get to it.

The stuff it claims to help or cure:
Oil Pulling has been said to totally heal headaches, sinus infections, bronchitis, asthma, tooth pain, thrombosis, eczema, joint pain and flexibility, ulcers and diseases of stomach, intestines, heart, blood, kidney, liver, lungs, diseases of nerves, paralysis, and encephalitis and prevents the growth of malignant tumors, chronic insomnia, and also raises the metabolism.

So how is it done?

Take a tablespoon (some sites say 2 tbsp) of sunflower, sesame, or olive oil and swish it around your mouth for 20 minutes.  This must be done in the morning before eating and some say to do it after you brush your teeth (I did it before).  As for the type of oil - some sites claim that it only works if you use sunflower and sesame oil and others say there are benefits using olive and coconut oils - but all should be cold pressed and organic.  Do some research before you attempt.  If you do try it - do not swallow any of it and wash wherever you spit with antibacterial soap as this is supposed to pull germs from your body and your sink could quickly become a nasty breeding ground.  Others have mentioned the possibility of certain oils solidifying in your sink.  If your're concerned about this, my suggestion would be to use a coffee can or some other container, spit into it and throw the container away.  I don't think you would want to keep this around for long, so switching out containers frequently is probably a good idea.

My experience:
I only had olive oil in the pantry and I swished two tablespoons.  Next time, I'm trying one tablespoon since my jaws got tired swishing that much liquid around as saliva begins mixing with the oil.  Yes it was somewhat gross.  After I swished for 15 minutes, I spit.  The oil had turned into a frothy white-ish yellow. 

I felt really amazing for the first few hours after I did this. Highly energetic.  Placebo effect - perhaps, which is why I won't say it works right now - just that I will continue to try it.  I still feel good, just calm, but feel much happier and able to keep up with daily chores better than usual. 
My wrist has been hurting due to a ganglion cyst which is why I have not been typing blogs lately.  It's just a little sore now and I actually have to bend it for it to hurt - before if I moved my fingers, bent, or put the least bit of pressure on my wrist, hand, or elbow it was very painful.  My teeth look brighter.  My breath is fresher.  I did cough up and while I do have asthma, I was not having a flare up and do not have a sinus infection.

Again - we'll see if this continues as it is recommended to do this for 40 to 50 days straight and then as you please.  As long as there are no side effects for you - it almost seems dumb not to try it.  If it does nothing else, it will help freshen breath and help get rid of gum disease.  However, watch for allergic reactions to the oil/s and as always check with a medical professional and do not take this as a cure-all if you have a serious ailment.  Also keep in mind - as with cleanses - when you 'pull' germs and toxins, you can actually get sick as some of these things have been inside your body lying dormant and then get rustled up.  Please visit the sites below before attempting.

There is an entire website devoted to this practice:  www.oilpulling.com/ but I enjoyed the reviews and organization of  http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/oil_pulling.html

I'll write more about this little oil pulling adventure tomorrow. 

Scrumptious Love,
E.N. Graham



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