Show Me Your Tongue, and I’ll Tell You Who You Are: Diagnose Your Health Through Your Tongue
Did you know your tongue can reveal much more about you than you think? Determine your health status by the color and shape of your tongue.
- אפרת כהן
- פורסם ג' סיון התשע"ו
#VALUE!
In Chinese medicine, diagnosing health through the tongue is a common and central tool to help the practitioner understand the patient's health condition. Usually, it is done together with other tools, such as pulse check, abdominal diagnosis, and more. For this purpose, the patient is required to refrain from eating and drinking before the examination (except water), as these, in addition to smoking, can affect its color and impair the diagnostic quality.
So what can really be discovered through the tongue? The truth is, almost everything. The tongue is like a map that serves as a topography of what's happening in our body. Each area of the tongue points to another part of the body. For example, the sides of the tongue point to the liver and gallbladder, the tip of the tongue relates to the heart, the center of the tongue to the spleen and stomach, and the back of it refers to the kidneys.
The diagnosis itself examines the tongue's color, moisture, structure, size, and even the natural coating on top of it. A healthy tongue will be a pale red or pink color, thin and smooth (without cracks, indentations, or strange bumps), with a thin and white coating, and its size will be proportionate to the body’s measurements.
So how can you diagnose yourself according to Chinese medicine through the tongue? Here are some basic tools that will help you do so:
1. Pay Attention to the Structure of Your Tongue
The shape of your tongue indicates the organs in your body and their condition. If it is stiff or soft and trembling, short or long, full of cracks and bumps, or alternately smooth – it all reflects your health status.
A narrow or thin tongue – may indicate anemia, as less nourishment and blood in the body naturally also means the tongue does not fill with enough blood and becomes thin.
A thick, wide, or swollen tongue – may indicate fluid or moisture accumulation in the body.
Cracks on the sides of the tongue or teeth marks – may indicate a flabby tongue that the teeth press against or swelling in it. When the tongue muscle appears weak and flabby – there's a suspicion of a weak and tired digestive system.
A deep crack in the middle of the tongue - may indicate stomach issues, like damage or inflammation.
2. What is the Color of Your Tongue?
The color of the tongue expresses the cold or heat felt in the body. It doesn't refer to the fever felt when sick but rather a disorder in a specific organ.
A red tongue or one with red spots (called "papillae") - indicates heat in the body. However, if only the tip of the tongue shows red spots – it might signal heat in the heart. This means there is likely restlessness, fear, stress, palpitations, difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, and sweating.
A pale or blue tongue – indicates cold in the body. It is mainly seen in older people who suffer more from the cold and are more sensitive, needing to warm their bodies more frequently.
A purple tongue indicates states of stagnation. Likely, it suggests an impact on an organ in the area where the purple color appears, mainly for the liver and poor circulation in the body. It's also accompanied by a negative mood of physical and mental tension, irritability, impatience, and sadness.
3. What is the Moisture Level of Your Tongue?
The body’s fluid levels are also observed through the tongue, thus a wet or dry tongue serves as a gauge for the fluid level in our bodies.
A dry tongue – indicates a low fluid level in the body. For example, a tongue will look dry and thin in a dehydrated person.
A wet tongue – may indicate cold and fatigue, or alternatively, impairment in the digestive system, characterized by soft stools and diarrhea.
4. Pay Attention to the Coating on Your Tongue -
If the thin layer covering your tongue (the coating) is pathological, it may point to a virus you are suffering from or poor nutrition.
The coating in a normal and average tongue is thin and white.
A sticky and greasy coating – indicates a fatty diet and even phlegm and moisture in the body (originating from our diet). Too fatty food produces phlegm. A carbohydrate-rich diet will produce moisture.
A thick or sticky coating (yellow or cloudy) – will indicate consuming liquid diets or insufficient food chewing.
A dry coating (yellow or cloudy) – usually results from alcohol or smoking, which dries the fluids on the tongue.
Now, surely you'll all run to the mirror to examine your tongue's condition. If it doesn't look right to you – it's recommended to change your diet and switch to something healthier. The recommendations are healthy, fresh, non-processed food, plenty of water, and correct eating habits.
So what can really be discovered through the tongue? The truth is, almost everything. The tongue is like a map that serves as a topography of what's happening in our body. Each area of the tongue points to another part of the body. For example, the sides of the tongue point to the liver and gallbladder, the tip of the tongue relates to the heart, the center of the tongue to the spleen and stomach, and the back of it refers to the kidneys.
The diagnosis itself examines the tongue's color, moisture, structure, size, and even the natural coating on top of it. A healthy tongue will be a pale red or pink color, thin and smooth (without cracks, indentations, or strange bumps), with a thin and white coating, and its size will be proportionate to the body’s measurements.
So how can you diagnose yourself according to Chinese medicine through the tongue? Here are some basic tools that will help you do so:
1. Pay Attention to the Structure of Your Tongue
The shape of your tongue indicates the organs in your body and their condition. If it is stiff or soft and trembling, short or long, full of cracks and bumps, or alternately smooth – it all reflects your health status.
A narrow or thin tongue – may indicate anemia, as less nourishment and blood in the body naturally also means the tongue does not fill with enough blood and becomes thin.
A thick, wide, or swollen tongue – may indicate fluid or moisture accumulation in the body.
Cracks on the sides of the tongue or teeth marks – may indicate a flabby tongue that the teeth press against or swelling in it. When the tongue muscle appears weak and flabby – there's a suspicion of a weak and tired digestive system.
A deep crack in the middle of the tongue - may indicate stomach issues, like damage or inflammation.
2. What is the Color of Your Tongue?
The color of the tongue expresses the cold or heat felt in the body. It doesn't refer to the fever felt when sick but rather a disorder in a specific organ.
A red tongue or one with red spots (called "papillae") - indicates heat in the body. However, if only the tip of the tongue shows red spots – it might signal heat in the heart. This means there is likely restlessness, fear, stress, palpitations, difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, and sweating.
A pale or blue tongue – indicates cold in the body. It is mainly seen in older people who suffer more from the cold and are more sensitive, needing to warm their bodies more frequently.
A purple tongue indicates states of stagnation. Likely, it suggests an impact on an organ in the area where the purple color appears, mainly for the liver and poor circulation in the body. It's also accompanied by a negative mood of physical and mental tension, irritability, impatience, and sadness.
3. What is the Moisture Level of Your Tongue?
The body’s fluid levels are also observed through the tongue, thus a wet or dry tongue serves as a gauge for the fluid level in our bodies.
A dry tongue – indicates a low fluid level in the body. For example, a tongue will look dry and thin in a dehydrated person.
A wet tongue – may indicate cold and fatigue, or alternatively, impairment in the digestive system, characterized by soft stools and diarrhea.
4. Pay Attention to the Coating on Your Tongue -
If the thin layer covering your tongue (the coating) is pathological, it may point to a virus you are suffering from or poor nutrition.
The coating in a normal and average tongue is thin and white.
A sticky and greasy coating – indicates a fatty diet and even phlegm and moisture in the body (originating from our diet). Too fatty food produces phlegm. A carbohydrate-rich diet will produce moisture.
A thick or sticky coating (yellow or cloudy) – will indicate consuming liquid diets or insufficient food chewing.
A dry coating (yellow or cloudy) – usually results from alcohol or smoking, which dries the fluids on the tongue.
Now, surely you'll all run to the mirror to examine your tongue's condition. If it doesn't look right to you – it's recommended to change your diet and switch to something healthier. The recommendations are healthy, fresh, non-processed food, plenty of water, and correct eating habits.
