Tongue Diagnosis
December 15, 2009
Enough on herbs for awhile, I think…
A little-known facet of Chinese medical diagnosis involves looking at a person’s tongue. A lot can be learned by this exercise. We look at:
1) Tongue body: the color and shape
2) Tongue coating: the color, thickness, location on the tongue body and root (is the coating an integral part of the tongue or does it seem to just sit on top)
3) Tongue moisture
For example, if your digestion is weak, your tongue could be larger than normal (a bit swollen) and scalloped around the edges and/or coated.
If you have a pale, gray and very wet tongue, it could indicate hypoglycemia or an inability to utilize the nutrients in your food. Try eating more cooked foods and spice them up.
A dry, red tongue with cracks indicates a state of dehydration and/or internal inflammation. You could have acne, hot flashes – or could be a smoker. Cooling spices would work for this tongue, as well as increasing your consumption of vegetables – and, of course, drinking more water.
These are just a few examples. It’s interesting to look at the changes in your tongue from day to day. In general, pale colors indicate “cold” or low metabolic issues and red colors are related to “heat” and higher metabolic, inflammatory conditions.
The ideal tongue is a healthy-looking pink tongue, with some moisture. It’s smooth without cracks and papillae (those red, raised dots).
