The Color of your Tongue & Health Issues it May Hide

Oral health says a lot of things about general health, this is why it is so important to pay attention to the color of your tongue.

When you go to the doctor for a general examination, you will most probably need to stick out your tongue so that he can examine it. Oral health says a lot of things about general health, this is why it is so important to pay attention to the color of your tongue. Chinese medicine actually regards the tongue as the main “reflector” of any type of internal disease.

Tongue with white coating — if your tongue looks like it is coated with a pasty white matter, this means that you are struggling with a bacterial infection. This may be thrush (Candida overgrowth or yeast infection). You need to go for a checkup, and the doctor will prescribe anti fungal medication to treat the problem.

Dar colored tongue — It is important to mention that a healthy tongue will have a natural, pinkish color, without any spots or colorations. When the tongue has a brownish or even black-ish coloring, this means that there is a problem with your dietary intake.

Drinks, foods, antibiotics and even lozenges might color your tongue. Medicine or food are the two possible reasons for which your tongue looks brown or black, and there is no big need to worry. Just make sure to brush your tongue thoroughly with the special tongue cleanser, every time your brush your teeth.

Sore spots on the tongue — canker sores normally take up to 10 days to heal. If after this time you still have painful canker sores in your mouth, or on the surface of the tongue, you need to go for a checkup. Quite often these sores appear when the patient is down with flu and fever, when consuming too many citrus fruits or when accidentally biting the tongue.

Painful & Red Tongue — a bright or dark red colored tongue might indicate nutritional problems. When there is not enough Vitamin B3 (niacin) within the organism, the tongue might get such deep red colorations. Other underlying conditions include anemia or B12 Vitamin deficiency.

A yellow tongue — indicates a bacterial infection, or the yellowish hue might be the result of gastric acid reflux. According to experts, acid actually throws over the entire bacterial flora balance within the mouth, and this is why the tongue might look entirely yellowish, or with yellow spots.