Oil Pulling for Dental Health

In my quest to naturally improve my dental health, I learned about the oil pulling method. Basically, it's like an all-natural detoxifying mouthwash, with extra benefits regular mouthwashes don't provide. It's called the oil pulling method because the oil pulls toxins out of your mouth. The only things it requires is unrefined vegetable oil and 20 minutes of your time (which does seem like a lot but you can do other things during this time). And it isn't some newfangled crunchy fad either, it's an ancient Ayurvedic practice, with studies to back up its effectiveness. (Here's one 2008 study if you'd like to check it out.)

As a Muslim, finding a good mouthwash is very hard. Even when I can find a good alcohol-free mouthwash, I need to make sure it doesn't have glycerin in it. Glycerin is often obtained from animals, and I stay away from anything that possibly was obtained from a pork source.

Some of the possible benefits to your mouth are: whitening of the teeth, reduced plaque, strengthening of gums, and less bad breath. There are also possible benefits for the rest of your body as well, since dental health plays a big part of your overall well-being: migraine relief, reduced eczema, and better kidney function. You can read more about the possible benefits here.

So I tried it the first time with extra virgin coconut oil. During my research, a lot of people said they felt an initial gag-reflex when starting, but I didn't. I did feel a little weird though. I only did it for about 10 minutes, but my teeth felt good after that. The second time, I used extra virgin olive oil and did it for the full 20 minutes. Afterwards, you need to brush, so I brushed with my homemade remineralizing toothpaste. I hope to continue this regimen for at least a two week trial to see if and how it benefits my teeth. I'll report back on the results then!

Homemade Toothpaste

Wow, it's been over a year since I've written on this blog! Well, I'm hoping to get back to regular blogging now.

So, today I tried making my own toothpaste for the first time. I've been reading a lot about how conventional toothpastes are not ideal for teeth. They often contain questionable ingredients like sulfates or artificial sugars. And I'm finding out that we may not really need fluoride as much as they say we do. Glycerin is another questionable ingredient, as it coats your teeth preventing natural remineralization. Making my own homemade toothpaste seems like a great idea, especially as a Muslim. I'm always searching online to make sure the particular brand of toothpaste I bought is halal, and this way I know it is!

So, I looked up several recipes online, and stumbled upon one that claimed to help remineralize teeth. Well, that was interesting! I've always gotten cavities very easily and my dentist has commented that I have "soft teeth". So I decided to try out the remineralizing recipe.

The "secret ingredient" in this type of homemade toothpaste is calcium from capsules or ground calcium tablets. In the comments, it's suggested that you can also use ground egg shells. The original recipe can be found here: Wellness Mama Blog I slightly deviated from the recipe because I didn't have diatomaceous earth or xylitol. Here's what I put:

 2 Tbsp baking soda

 4 Tbsp coconut oil

 5 calcium/magnesium/zinc capsules

 3 drops peppermint essential oil

 1 drop tea tree oil

 First I got an old glass salsa jar to store my toothpaste in (I wish I had a smaller container...gonna have to keep an eye out for one around the house.) I opened the capsules and mixed them into the baking soda. I then added the coconut oil. Since it's winter, my coconut oil is solid, so in order to mix it in well, I set the jar in hot water for a few minutes as I mixed the melted coconut oil into the calcium and baking soda. Finally I added the drops of essential oil.
The resulting mixture was quite thin at first until it cooled down and hardened. In order to use it, I got a Popsicle stick so I could scrape some up and put it on my toothbrush. The toothpaste was very salty (I used to brush with straight baking soda as a kid though so I didn't mind!) I do recommend throwing in some xylitol if you have some though, and I might experiment with using less baking soda next time. However, it did leave my teeth feeling clean and fresh. I think this toothpaste is a keeper in my house! (Well, for me at least! I doubt I could get my husband to try it, and as for my daughter I'm letting her use just plain coconut oil.)

Chemicals all around us :(

So my husband, sweet man that he is, recently got me a gift. It’s a purse/laptop bag and is really pretty and just my style. I was exploring the bag and its pockets and features when my eyes happened upon the tag. Here’s what it said: “California Proposition 65: This Product Contains Chemicals Known To The State of California to Cause Cancer, or Birth Defects, or Other Reproductive Harm.” Right under that it said, "This product complies with all state and federal product safety standards." Really? Isn’t that scary, to think that a product can contain those chemicals but still comply with state and federal safety standards?

On the one hand, I’m happy they’re disclosing the fact that the bag has harmful chemicals. On the other hand, it just seems absurd that they don’t get rid of those chemicals. I mean, I knew many of the things we buy and own have harmful chemicals in them, but to see it written in plain language on a product, and to know that they still sell it….it just doesn’t make good sense to me.

Interestingly, before I read the tag, I thought nothing of the harsh, chemical smell that was coming from the bag. After I read the tag, I realized how strong it smelled. That strong smell, not very different from the strong smell released by paint, or new cars, or new carpet, and even many clothes, is indicative of chemicals that are added to things to give them properties that are more appealing to customers.

So now I’m not sure what to do with the bag. Will all the chemicals off-gas if I leave it alone for a while? Would wiping it down with some vinegar and/or soap help a little? For now I put it out on the balcony and will leave it there. I heard that sun and fresh air help some, but may not remove all the chemicals. I guess I’ll just wait and see if the chemical smell goes away, and I’ll also wipe it down with some vinegar and water afterwards.

Welcome to my blog!

I'm excited to begin blogging. Ever since I was a kid I've loved writing. For fun, I used to write and illustrate my own "books". A few years ago I discovered places where I could write articles on the web. I've written for places such as Orato.com (where I got started), eHow.com, Associated Content (now known as Yahoo! Voices), Yahoo! News, and Yahoo! Shine. I decided to start a blog because I like writing with a more personal style than many content sites are looking for. So, my plans for this blog are to have a place where I can write about issues pertaining to Muslim parents, as well as write about the things I'm doing to live a greener lifestyle. I'll be posting recipes for homemade health and beauty products and cleaning products. Well, I guess that's it for my first post. Thank you for reading! :)