Tongue Diagnosis

Tongue Diagnosis

Tongue reflects your internal condition. Back in a few thousands of years ago, we did not have a blood or imaging test, but tongue analysis gave us good information to interpret inside body condition

Tongue body or coating: Heat vs Cold

If your body is hot, it dries body fluid, in turn, your tongue's body color changes red. If your body is cold, you have a slow metabolism, in turn, your tongue's body color changes pale and puffy.

Tongue coating: Thin vs Thick

If your water metabolism is slow, your tongue coating becomes thick. If you have a white thick coating, you may experience fatigue, weakness, or poor digestion from a slow metabolism. You need to have more exercise to boost your metabolism.

Tongue muscle tone: shrink vs swelling

If you look at your side of the tongue, if it shrinks, it indicates your muscle is tight overall or in a certain location. You may have muscle tightness or pain. If your tongue is swollen, it indicates your body has swelling or water retention. You may have fatigue, heaviness, swelling, water retention, tired after eating, etc.

Location: Tongue reflecting internal organs

If you have any crack, pimples, or discoloration on a certain area, it means there is something going on inside. Please ask your acupuncturist about your internal condition.

Middle of the tongue: Spinal Health

If you have a vertical crack in the middle, it can indicate your spine has some issues which can be pain or spinal nerve issues.

Tongue body color: the status of blood

If you don’t have enough blood supply, tongue color can be pale in general. If your blood circulation is not good, your tongue can have a purplish color. If you experienced cupping therapy before, your acupuncturist or massage therapies, explained the more you have purple color, the more you have a blood stagnation. You can also check your blood circulation status by looking at the sublingual vein under the tongue. The more distended or dark color, it indicates more blood circulation issues. In cancer patients, it shows a black dot around the sublingual vein.

Jungmin Ahn
Silverlake Clinic