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Tongue

Have you ever wondered why natural health practitioners look at your tongue? Well it is because it can tell the story of what is happening inside your body Of course it is only one part of the health story, but it is a useful tool to assist diagnosis of what is going on.
For thousands of years, tongue diagnosis has played an indispensable role in the practice of Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and use variations in the tongue’s colour, texture, shape and coating to evaluate a patient’s condition. When Western natural practitioners look at the tongue, we are checking out colour of the tongue body, its size and shape, the colour and thickness of its coating or fur, locations of cuts, lines or raised edges and moistness or dryness of the tongue body and fur. These signs reveal not only overall states of health but correlate to specific organ functions and disharmonies, especially in the digestive system.

Each major organ system can be seen on the tongue. The heart is represented at the tip of the tongue; just behind that is the lung area. The broad middle section displays the stomach and spleen, kidneys and bladder are in the back, and liver is on the left side with gallbladder on the right side.

If you stick your tongue out at yourself in the mirror, you can actually see the health of your organs. A normal tongue should be smooth, supple and slightly moist and fit perfectly in your mouth. It should look nice and pink with no bumps or shapes or spots and have a thin transparent white coat. If your tongue looks like the picture above, then well done – it looks like you are in good health.

What to look for…

Shape: Is your tongue thin and pointy, or is it more thick and flabby with tooth-marks around the edges? Is it quivery? Is some of it swollen while another part looks depressed? Is it long or can you barely stick it out? Are there cracks?

Tongue colour: Is it bright red? Is it pale? Or maybe it’s almost purple? Is one part of the tongue a different colour than the rest?

Tongue-Coating: Is it thick and white? Does it look greasy and yellow? Does it seem particularly dry, or even stripped of a coating? Or is it especially moist? Is the coat even throughout, or are there differences in different parts of the tongue?

What does your tongue say about your health?

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Creamy coating? Suggests over acidity, due both an unsuitable diet and stress. Sodium phosphate will help to redress this imbalance, as will relaxation. You may need to make changes in your diet to foods that suit you better. Definitely stop excess sugar and try including lentils, beans and dates.

 

scalloped tongueTeeth marks at the sides of the tongue? There may be a problem with fluid balance in the body or a poorly functioning liver where sodium sulphate may be needed. Foods in the onion family will help, e.g. garlic, leeks onions.

 

Quivering tongue? May be associated with stress, adrenal fatigue, depression, and insomnia (as is a red tip).You may need magnesium phosphate, which is necessary for mental and physical relaxation. A craving for sweet foods especially chocolate may be a sign that magnesium is low. Relax and eat lots of green leafy vegetables and almonds.

A red tongue body with a yellow greasy coating? may be an indication of heat, and indicates irritability, rashes or pimples, easy sweating, thirst, and dry constipation. Avoid spicy, rich, and greasy foods, alcohol, sugar, and limit your meat consumption. Eat more fish, steamed vegetables, salads, seaweed, millet, wild rice, fruit and bitter foods or herbs into your diet.

Red with small white spots? may mean a lack of calcium phosphate, which is needed for bones, teeth and nail growth. It may be low at any time of growth, including pregnancy or where there are menopausal or premenstrual problems. It is not only found in milk, but also in tofu and pulses such as chickpeas, nuts, and seeds, and of course green vegetables.

Red tip? May mean stress, adrenal fatigue, depression, and insomnia are present (see quivering tongue) or may mean there is inflammation around your body and Iron phosphate may be needed. Iron phosphate helps the body to supply oxygen and energy to the muscles and break down waste products. Eat more meat, vegetables, eggs, pumpkin seeds and apricots.

These are just the most common examples and will give you a very general understanding of tongue diagnosis. Most cases are not so clear-cut. So make sure you contact us today and find out the state of your health.

Interested to know more about Chinese medicine diagnosis then check out http://eagleherbs.com/self-tests/tongue-diagnosis-38 and do the tongue test – interesting stuff!!

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