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Oil pulling

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Against allopathy
Alternative medicine
Icon alt med alt.svg
Clinically unproven
Woo-meisters

Oil pulling is a very, um, unusual folk remedy for just about everything.[1][2] It involves swishing some oil around in your mouth for 10-15 minutes to detoxify your body.[3] While not usually dangerous, it has not been proven to even come close to doing everything it is said to do. (Also, oil pulling for long periods of time (10-20 minutes) may lead to accidental inhalation of some of the oil, which can lead to lipoid pneumonia.[4])

However, a study done in 2008 (a single study of 20 participants) showed that it does produce a statistically significant decrease in the amount of S. mutans bacteria, a major cause of tooth decay, in the mouth.[5] It doesn't have as much of an effect as mouthwash does, though. It is effective against Mexican food, so there's that.[6]

If you really want to wash your mouth out to get rid of dangerous bacteria, just use some mouthwash. It tastes much better. Swilling a shot of vodka around your mouth and then swallowing also works, and is much more rock'n'roll.

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