Tongue Diagnosis- What To Look For

Tongue diagnosis has long been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to help medics work out what is going on in their patients. Often changes to the tongue may indicate problems in the digestive tract as well as nutrient deficiencies.

Here are few things to look out for:

Swollen tongue or white coating – maybe excessive production of mucous in the body. You may also have an imbalance in gut bacteria with a possible yeast overgrowth.

Thick yellow coating – maybe an imbalance in gut bacteria with problems in the colon.

Sore tongue – nutrient deficiencies particularly iron, zinc, B6 or B12.

Dents or teeth marks around the edges – impaired digestive function and spleen deficiency which may both contribute to nutrient deficiencies.

Crack running down middle of the tongue – maybe impaired digestion in the stomach with resulting nutrient deficiencies.

Small cracks or grooves in the tongue –  long term absorption problems with resulting deficiencies especially of B vitamins.

Pale tongue – low iron and/or poor circulation.

Bright red tip of the tongue – may indicate emotional stress, past or present.

See blog post Signs and Symptoms for more information about what your body is telling you.