Tongue color reveals health status

Introduction: Every time you go to the doctor because you are sick, the doctor will always ask you to stick out your tongue to show him, which shows that the tongue is also a barometer of your physical health. Many diseases of the human body can be manifested through the tongue. Let’s take a look at some abnormal phenomena of the tongue.

Yellow tongue coating

It is usually seen in the course of febrile diseases, indicating that the struggle between the evil and the righteous is very fierce, the disease has entered the interior, and the evil has turned into heat.

A yellow and greasy tongue coating is a sign of damp heat, with the main symptoms being the liver and spleen. You also get thirsty easily, which also shows that it is a liver problem. It means that you have a strong liver fire and are prone to being irritable and losing your temper. Liver disease can affect the rise and fall of the spleen and stomach and the excretion of bile. Bad breath is caused by spleen and stomach imbalance, excessive stomach fire, and indigestion; bitter taste in the mouth is caused by bile excretion disorder.

In addition, the liver opens up to the eyes, and liver diseases usually cause dry eyes and decreased vision. You can take some medicine to nourish yin, strengthen the spleen and nourish the liver, and regulate the spleen, stomach and liver.

Black tongue coating

It is mainly caused by the proliferation and darkening of the filiform papillae of the tongue. There are different shades of brown, gray, charred, and even pitch black. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that if a patient has this kind of tongue coating, the illness must be of a long duration and the disease is complex and serious.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that black tongue coating is caused by extreme heat turning into fire. Some people with gastrointestinal problems are prone to cold and dampness, and their tongue coating will become thick and greasy. It is white at first and gradually turns yellow or black. Clinically, it has been found that some chronic diseases, such as uremia and malignant tumors, will also cause black tongue coating when the condition worsens. This is a sign of serious illness and you should go to the hospital to see a doctor in time.

Black tongue may also appear when the mind is under high stress. Staying up late and smoking too much can easily cause black tongue. In addition, some foods, such as sour plums, black sesame paste, or medicines, such as compound licorice tablets and iron supplements, can easily dye the tongue coating black. This is only a temporary phenomenon and there is no need to worry.

White tongue coating

White tongue coating may appear in patients with water retention or phlegm in the body. It is clinically common in patients with certain pleural effusions, ascites, chronic nephritis, asthma, chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis, etc., who have dampness or phlegm in the body, causing thick white or greasy tongue coating.

From the perspective of modern medicine, it may be due to excessive saliva secretion in the mouth and increased sputum secretion in the trachea, which soften the keratinized cells or parakeratinized cells of the tongue, causing the cells to swell and not easily fall off; coupled with tongue tissue edema and lymphatic drainage disorders, the old keratinized cells on the tongue surface do not fall off while new keratinized cells accumulate, so the tongue is swollen and the tongue coating is thick and greasy white.

No tongue coating

That is, the tongue surface is free of coating and is as smooth as a mirror. In mild cases, it is due to malnutrition, or lack of iron or vitamin B2 in the body; in severe cases, it indicates a lack of body fluids and a serious illness.

If the patient has been ill for a long time and has a mirror-like tongue with crimson color, sepsis should also be prevented. If an elderly person's tongue is as smooth as a mirror and the two veins at the bottom of the tongue are thickened and elongated, it indicates cor pulmonale.

Dark red tongue coating

That is, the tongue is dark red and the tongue coating is smooth and peeled like beef. Beef tongue is commonly seen in patients with pernicious anemia.

People who eat corn and sorghum for a long time are prone to niacin deficiency. Long-term niacin deficiency can lead to memory loss and Alzheimer's disease. Foods rich in niacin include animal liver and kidney, lean meat, whole wheat products, beer, yeast, malt, fish, poultry, figs, and dried fruits such as peanuts. Be careful when eating peanuts. People with yin deficiency and internal heat should not eat fried peanuts to avoid generating heat. Adding baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) when cooking corn can enhance the body's absorption and utilization of niacin.