So, what EXACTLY is oil pulling? Oil pulling (often referred to as oil swirling or oil swishing), invented by Ukrainian Physician Dr. F. Karach, M.D., is basically the process of swishing around oil in your mouth (think mouthwash, except using oil instead) for a period of usually about 15-25 minutes. It is referred to as “Kavala Graham” in Ayurveda texts. So why would anyone be crazy enough or even remotely have any interest in doing this? Dr. Karach has said that his method heals the person as a whole. When Dr. Karach studied his mucous under a microscope after pulling, he discovered many live micro-organisms swimming in it. He himself has cured his chronic blood disease of which he suffered with for over 15 years!

The main premise of pulling is that by swishing the solution around inside of your mouth, toxins get “pulled” from your bloodstream and into the mucous membrane.One study entitled performed by Sharath, et.al, set out to determine the efficacy of pulling on oral health status using Sesame Oil. They recorded a DRASTIC decrease in plaque and micro-organisms in the plaque samples, concluding that pulling is an effective home therapy in maintaining and IMPROVING oral health.

Eating healthy is important to avoid becoming fat and health problems. Foods for students can be a challenging subject because kids tend to eat sugar, sugar, sugar!

Whether your child is in kindergarten or college, making healthy food choices throughout the day will certainly make a positive impact on their life and even their academic achievement. Providing your child with a balanced diet full of nutrients will go a long way towards helping them succeed. Simple changes and improvements can be very beneficial.

Instead of allowing your students to buy school lunch each day, which can often times be high in fat and calories and lack nutritional value, pack students lunches from home. Include sandwiches on whole wheat bread and fresh deli meats. Instead of chips, pack whole grain crackers and yogurt for dessert! As an alternative to soda, encourage your student to drink low fat milk or flavored water with added nutrients. If you do allow your child to eat the school’s lunch, only do so once or twice a week.

When you get sick or not feeling well, do you ever think of natural health cures. There are so many different types of illnesses, and so many kinds of pills to take to make you feel better, but is this the best solution to your health. With all of the education in this world, and all of the research, could there not be a better way to live.

Why is it necessary for a person to believe that arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity are just a normal part of growing older? Maybe people are living longer than in previous generations, but are they living better. What type of life do many older people now have? How many prescription drugs are needed to keep most elderly people alive?

Natural health cures were a normal part of family life, before the pharmaceutical companies took over. Healthy eating used to be more important, and home remedies were often used with much success. There have always been unscrupulous people in the food industry, but today it seems like nobody is out for the good of the people. Why does money always win out?

Not everything that appears to be progress, is better than what we had. The most expensive way is not always best. There are natural health cures that are simple and easy, and also very inexpensive. If you can be healed by changing your diet, you will not need the drug companies pills. They do not like that. Advertisements are a way to get you to buy something that you do not need.

Americans are increasingly looking for alternatives to prescription medications to promote health and prevent disease. I previously wrote about the effects of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on promoting mental health and reducing anxiety. What about other alternative approaches? Yoga is a discipline derived from India combining mental and physical exercises that is increasingly catching on in the U.S. Not really knowing how to describe it I looked up the handy online dictionary for a definition of the word.

Yoga (noun); the word yoga derives from the Sanskrit, literally, yoking, from yunakti (“he yokes”).

1. a Hindu theistic philosophy teaching the suppression of all activity of body, mind, and will in order that the self may realize its distinction from them and attain liberation

2: a system of exercises for attaining bodily or mental control and well-being

Assuming that people were practicing yoga to promote their physical and/or mental health as well as sense of well being, I followed my tradition of relentless questioning, and asked, is there any evidence that this stuff actually works?