Tongue scraping is the next big thing, I promise! Picture this, there is this really hot guy, or girl, and everything about them is an A+. Their hair is just right, they have a sparkle in their eyes that tells you life invigorates them, their style is unique and they wear it well, and everything is just dreamy 

But then, they start cracking this really funny joke, like it’s actually quite funny, but you notice this thick white coating on their tongue… gross. It’s all out the window. You don’t want to kiss that! You know why? Because it’s a bunch of toxins and waste hanging out on their tongue for all to see. If only they would have tongue scraped, poor thing.

Take the Garbage Out

Here’s the deal. At night, our body starts to detox. When we enter deep sleep, which is also called restorative sleep, our body begins to repair itself including repair of muscles and tissues. Our immune system is boosting, recharging, and even growth hormones are stimulated. 

The liver, which is an incredible organ, has over 500 metabolic functions and acts as the janitor sweeping all of the crap out that we ingested through the previous day. Even our lymphatic fluid circulates up to 10-15x more while we are asleep and detoxifies all of the deep spaces of the body. 

It’s safe to say two things 1) Your body is absolutely amazing and 2) this is why around 2 hours of deep sleep a night is so important because we need this detoxification to occur!

So garbage is getting swept up and out onto the streets. The streets are our tongue, colon, and pores of the skin. Morning elimination in the form of poop is important, and depending on it’s form or lack thereof, a wonderful sign of health, or imbalance in the body (but that’s for a different article). However, looking at the tongue is incredibly important as well!

After waking, before taking any drink or food, give your tongue a quick profile check. 

Does You Tongue Wear a Coat 

Do you notice any coating on your tongue? If so,

• How much or how little;
• What is the color of the coating;
• Where on the tongue does the coating exist;
• Are there impressions on the edges of the tongue or cracks.

Coating on the tongue then is a tale tale sign that there is ama, or toxins, in your body. If there is a lot of coating then there are a lot of toxins. If there is little coating then there are still toxins but not as much as the thick coat. 

You may notice after a night of drinking and eating alfredo pasta that the coating is much thicker than the night you ate veggies and a lean piece of protein. This gives you insight into how much detoxification you may need. 

Tongue’s Aren’t Just Pink

No my dear, they are not. The color of your tongue is helpful to identify which dosha is out of whack. Let’s look at your tongue, if the coating is thick and white then Kapha is imbalanced. If it’s yellow or greenish then Pitta is imbalanced. If it’s gray or brownish then Vata is imbalanced.

It may take some time familiarizing yourself with your tongue to really see the color because it can often be extremely subtle. One way to tell is, after you have scraped and knocked the ama into the sink, look at it laying there up against the whiteness of the sink. Does it blend in or have more yellow or brown coloring? 

What if Your Tongue is Red or Pale? 

A bright red tongue calls out heat in the body which is an indicator of high Pitta or fire. There may be no ama because Pitta is burning through all of your food and nourishment which, on the positive side, isn’t allowing any toxins to be left behind. However, you want to make sure there isn’t malabsorption and that you’re not burning through all of your food. Read further when we get to talking about a scalloped tongue. 

If your tongue is pale this could be an indicator of Kapha or a decrease in red blood cell health. Don’t confuse a white coated tongue with a pale tongue though. Just Google ‘pale tongue’ and you will find some images of the differences. 

Organs Live On Your Tongue

Not really but we can see which organs may be imbalanced by looking at your tongue! Check out the tongue site map below. Depending on where the coating is it will give you a great indication of which dosha, and organ, is out of balance. 

• Kapha presents itself around the lungs and the heart so more towards the front of the tongue. 
• Pitta is more present around the spleen, stomach, pancreas, and liver so towards the middle.
• Vata is present around the kidneys, intestines, and colon which is at the back of the tongue. 

If you have coating all over the tongue then there is a large presence of toxins and you can lean on the color to help you identify which dosha is imbalanced.

What About Teeth Marks and Cracks

If you notice, what we call, a scalloped tongue meaning there are teeth marks on the sides of the tongue then this is a sign of Vata and malabsorption. This is something you want to pay attention to because even if you are eating super healthy your body isn’t actually absorbing the nutrients of the food.

If you notice cracks on the tongue this is typically a sign of Vata and dehydration. I personally work with balancing Vata in my daily life and notice a big difference in the appearance of cracks when I drink demulcent teas and really focus on hydration. 

What’s Gut Microbiome Have to Do With It

Everything! When we tongue scrap we are gently removing the built up toxins from our tongue! If we don’t we are basically just re-swallowing the toxins that our body worked so hard to get rid of. Ew, David! Our gut microbiome begins in our mouth, so the cleaner we can keep our mouth, with the right microflora then the better our gut health and everything else down the line will be. 

Back to the hottie

It’s not a total loss. Just encourage that person to go out and buy a $10 tongue scraper, tell them why they should tongue scrape, and they will think you are a total holistic goddess. 

Tell them that every morning, before eating or drinking, gently take the tongue scraper all the way to the back of their tongue, gently pull forward to the tip, and repeat 7-10 times. Look at what comes off of their tongue, notice the color of the ama that’s left there in the sink, and then you can go give your hottie a smooch!

Trust me, once you start the practice of tongue scraping you will be slightly grossed out by people who don’t. You will also notice a huge difference in your breath and the clean feeling of your mouth. 

Drop a comment below and let me know if you tongue scrap!

Amazon Tongue Scraper