Oil Pulling

I will be adding to this post.

Indian Dental Association, @IndianDentalAsn 
https://twitter.com/IndianDentalAsn/status/600172555182297089 
"Based on the lack of currently available evidence, oil pulling is not recommended as a supplementary oral hygiene practice.", 2015, color and bolding by me

India is the country of origin of oil pulling. 

"Exogenous lipoid pneumonia caused by repeated sesame oil pulling: a report of two cases" 2015
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4628246/

"Recurrent lipoid pneumonia associated with oil pulling" 2014 
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259766039_Recurrent_lipoid_pneumonia_associated_with_oil_pulling_Correspondence

Current
"Oil Pulling" @AmerDentalAssn
https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/o/oil-pulling

"Based on the lack of scientific evidence, the American Dental Association does not recommend oil pulling as a dental hygiene practice."

American Dental Association, @AmerDentalAssn Note: the link with the quote is no longer available.

"The Practice of Oil Pulling", 2014, color and bolding added by me

http://www.ada.org/en/science-research/science-in-the-news/the-practice-of-oil-pulling#.VTpxqVqgyIA.twitter
"Based on the lack of currently available evidence, oil pulling is not recommended as a supplementary oral hygiene practice, and certainly not as a replacement for standard, time-tested oral health behaviors and modalities ... insufficient peer-reviewed scientific studies to support its use for oral conditions ... Existing studies are unreliable for a number of reasons, including the misinterpretation of results due to small sample size ... absence of negative controls, lack of demographic information ... lack of blinding. To date, scientific studies have not provided the necessary clinical evidence to demonstrate ... oil pulling reduces the incidence of dental caries, whitens teeth or improves oral health and well-being ... articles in the media recommending oil pulling ... have not described potential adverse health effects ... case reports of lipoid pneumonia ... diarrhea or upset stomach have been reported."

Love the title!
"Oil Pulling Your Leg", 2014, color and bolding added by me, @ScienceBasedMed
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/oil-pulling-your-leg/
"I did come across one other published paper on oil pulling – a report of recurrent lipoid pneumonia from oil pulling. ... Oil pulling for general health or any other indication is pure pseudoscience. Detox claims are based on nothing, as are all detox claims. There is no evidence or plausible rationale to recommend oil pulling for any indication other than as a poor substitute for oral care." 

"Lipoid Pneumonia And Oils: Important Health Information", 2012
http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.ca/2012/12/lipoid-pneumonia-and-oils.html
"Of the types of oils that can be aspirated, animal oil causes more problems than vegetable oil, which causes more than mineral oil."

"Oil instillation pneumonia - A social evil", 2009, from the above blog post, full text. Oils named - "Gingilli oil" (sesame), "Coconut Oil", "Neem oil" 

http://www.indmedica.com/journals.php?journalid=13&issueid=138&articleid=1826&action=article
"eighty seven percent of the patients with oil instillation were acutely symptomatic; 10% of them required mechanical ventilation for worsening hypoxia and respiratory failure of which three (4.1%) expired. ...Though, this issue was highlighted way back in 1973 by Balakrishnan [1], oil-aspiration pneumonia is still a health problem in countries where infants are forced to receive vegetable or animal oil due to traditional belief."
3 children died.

Oil pulling has risks, which are reputably documented and no reputably recognized benefit. That is not widely disseminated in articles on the topic but should be included. Scammers are too busy promoting an oil with misinformation to research properly, or care. No amount of fake followers, celebrity, or a congenial demeanor can make up for misinformation, lies, or undisclosed facts. AVOID! 

Lipoid Pneumonia And Oils: Important Health Information

Lipoid pneumonia is sometimes referred to online as a reason for not using cosmetic or food grade USP/BP mineral oil. I have extensively researched scientific literature on the subject and here are the results.

I first wrote about the topic in this blog post.
"Of the types of oils that can be aspirated, animal oil causes more problems than vegetable oil, which causes more than mineral oil."  
More details on oils and lipoid pneumonia can be found here. 

The abstract for the lip gloss reference, dated 1984, in other study references can be found here. While there is a second reference here for ChapStick, dated 1972, neither the full text nor an abstract for it is available online. The use of any formulation of lip balm, lipstick or lip gloss on a regular basis has not been reported in recent case studies in research articles, that I have seen for lipoid pneumonia. Here is an overview of lipoid pneumonia, dated 2010, that contains details not in the other links. It does not take the following into account.

This article dated 2005, this one dated 2008, this one, dated 2009, and this one dated 2010. They further illustrate that in a number of cultures, while mineral oil may be recognized to be a cause of lipoid pneumonia because it has been more publicized and studied more rigorously, vegetable and animal oils are still considered to be safe used as remedies for a number of conditions and traditional practices. That is simply not true and the evidence supports this fact.

Mineral oil like any other oil needs to be used with safety in mind. The fact is that any oil can be aspirated or taken into the lungs, by those with an impaired or temporarily impaired swallow response. Giving an oil by mouth, or by other methods to the very young, or the use of one by older individuals, the two most vulnerable categories for such a response can have serious medical consequences. However, the causes of lipoid pneumonia are not restricted to taking oils by mouth directly, or the other methods described in the links above.

Lipoid pneumonia caused by silicone injection for cosmetic enhancement: 2006

Lipoid pnemonia caused by silicon injection to the breast: 2010

Setting The Record Straight About The Safety of Fats, Oils, Petrolatum, Iron Oxides And Our Lungs

While I was double checking the risks of inhaling iron oxide powder, I came across this research, that states while they found no link to inhaling iron oxides and lung cancer, there is a link between occupational workers and exposure to oil mists and bladder cancer.

There is thought to be about a weak link between populations exposed to iron oxides and cancer, where there is no exact cause identified. As stated here, "there is no evidence that occupational inhalation of iron oxides alone", alone being the operative word, can cause anything more than benign lung inflammation that does not restrict lung function.

Where is this leading and what does it have to to with is blog? It has do do with half truths and misinformation on the Internet and elsewhere, being perpetrated by marketers to generate profits, by not making all of the information known on products, that may be competing with their own.

Moving on to petrolatum and mineral oil, I came across this Wikipedia entry on petroleum jelly and the section on "improper uses" leading to lipid or more properly known as lipoid pneumonia, which when you click on it, gives a definition of the two kinds there are but not the causes in detail.

The truth about refined petrolatum, including mineral oil is that it is safe to use when it is USP or cosmetic grade.

The interesting thing is that the PHA contaminants, often incorrectly associated with cosmetic grade petrolatum may not be associated with lung cancer alone for occupational workers, but may actually be a combination of high levels and another contaminant.

The most fascinating thing about all of this to me has been understanding exactly how our bodies function regarding how fats can get into our lungs and cause lipoid pneumonia, which although rare does happen and it is not restricted to the use of petrolatum or mineral oil. It can be caused by the aspiration of any fat, including vegetable oils.

First some useful definitions. Vegetable oil is defined scientifically more broadly than one would think. Aspiration simply means breathing in. I found it very helpful to get a better understanding of just how we breathe and the anatomy of the lung.

Of the types of oils that can be aspirated, animal oil causes more problems than vegetable oil, which causes more than mineral oil. The oils are not intentionally introduced into the lungs. That can result from cultural practices as well as happen accidentally through a problem with a swallowing response.

Interestingly enough, the question about lipoid pneumonia and petroleum jelly was asked on the Mayo Clinic website and the reply is detailed.

Iron oxides should not present a risk to the consumer who wants to buy small amounts to use and is careful not to inhale the powder. They are not known to be carcinogens.