A healthy tongue. Photo: Wholehealthinsider.com
The tongue is an important muscle in the body we don’t think of much. But it helps guide our nutrition as the gatekeeper of our body. It helps us talk, whistle and put inflection in our voices. It’s also a fantastic indicator of our health. Especially internally.
Quick tongue 101: the muscular organ is caked with a pink tissue called mucosa. The tiny bumps are called papillae. That’s where the taste buds are embedded. These help you discern from sweet, salty, bitter and sour tastes. But the tongue, with its texture, feel, and color is also an indicator of what’s going on in the body. Especially the color and look. Ideally, the tongue has a thin, white coating which indicates that the digestive system is working properly (above). So here are three things your tongue is saying about your health:
The tongue guide.
Thick White Coating
A thick coating is never a good sign but a thick, white coat on the tongue means the body is being overrun by cold. In Chinese medicine, cold describes a weakness in the body’s physiological function. So a thick, white coat means the body is not performing from the physiological side and may indicate a viral infection.
Thick Yellow Coating
A thick yellow coating indicates the opposite of white, signaling a predominance of heat in the body. This could mean major inflammation internally or even a bacterial infection.
Geographic Tongue
A geographic tongue means the coating on the tongue is ripping away and looks broken up (see graphic). This means your body is done. You’ve pushed yourself to the brink of exhaustion and the body is depleted. It’s also associated with allergic reactions and autoimmune diseases. A geographic tongue means you need to stop and reset your body’s function, re-evaluate what’s going on in your life (see allergy test or nutrition evaluation).
Read more about the tongue, here.
