It’s 6:30am and I am staring down at a giant spoonful of coconut oil, feeling increasingly ill.
I like coconut oil. I do. I use it all the time while cooking.
But I don’t like it at 6:30am. I don’t like anything at 6:30am. Especially not huge lumps of cold oil, which are supposed to go straight into my mouth.
But still – I have to harden up. Because I need to try oil pulling. It’s the latest thing that all the fitnessy and healthy people are doing, and being the health and fitness writer-person for Mamamia, I am somewhat obligated to jump on these bandwagons.
Some bandwagons are better than others. Fun runs, barre body and stand-up paddleboarding have all been excellent. Oil pulling… I’m not so sure about. Mainly because it happens first thing in the morning, and involves taking a mouthful of oil and swishing it around your mouth for 20 minutes.
When I first heard about oil pulling, my first reaction was, “who the hell has 20 spare minutes in the morning to spend swishing oil around their mouths?” My second reaction was, “I am definitely going to spew.”
Did I mention I don’t like anything at 6:30am?
Anyway – apparently, oil pulling is an ancient Ayurveda method, recently brought back to life by health enthusiasts with a deep love for the magical purposes of oil. Ayurveda is a system of traditional medicine, native to India, which also advocates yoga, massage and acupuncture.