What Does Your Tongue Tell You About Your Thyroid?
Take a closer look to your tongue from time to time and see if there are any changes in surface, color, size and coatings. Your tongue can tell a lot about your health condition and therefore, any change may be a sign of something strange happening in your body.
tongue is the only part of the body which is directly connected to your stomach. So, checking your tongue will help you notice if there is something wrong with your stomach.
Moreover, your tongue can reveal what happens in your body even before some symptoms or signs appear or before the real condition comes into surface.
So, take a mirror and look at your tongue. Now answer the following questions:
Does it look normal?; Are there any changes?
What is the color of your tongue?
Is it pink? If not, what does this coloration mean?
Is it smooth?
Do you notice any cracks, crevices, or fissures?
Do you notice any strange coatings?
All these questions can show you the condition of your thyroid gland and sometimes can be even more effective than certain lab tests.
The tongue in a healthy body should be pink, smooth and with no coatings or cracks. Healthy tongue indicates normal thyroid function as well.
On the other hand, if your tongue doesn`t look normal it can be a sign of problems with your thyroid gland.
Red or beefy tongue is associated with vitamin B deficiencies, particularly vitamin B12 which is vital for proper thyroid function. There is a malabsorption of nutrients which can have a negative effect on your thyroid gland.
This condition also involves lack of iron, selenium and zinc which are necessary for thyroid conversion. If this is your case, you should try to improve your absorption by improving your gut health firstly.
If your tongue is cracked and resembles a map, it can be a sign of food sensitivity. Food sensitivity occurs as a result of a leaky gut, which is a long-term damage to your gut. So, if you notice this kind of change in your tongue, it may indicate a food sensitivity.
According to experts, food sensitivity can lead to the development of Hashimoto`s. Hashimoto’s disease is a condition in which your immune system attacks your thyroid gland.
If you notice cracks or fissure on your tongue, you should consult your doctor and check your thyroid antibodies like Anti-Thyrogobulin and Anti-Thyroid Peroxidase. Also, it is recommended to do the IgG food allergy panel, but if you are not able to do this, you should strictly avoid the consumption wheat, gluten, dairy and casein. Results have shown that many people felt much better after removing these foods from their daily diet.
Another important feature is the size of your tongue. If you notice that your tongue is large and with indentations on its sides, than it is a sign of excess toxins in the body. These indentations are commonly known as scalloped tongue.
They create a blockage to the cell receptors which prevents the thyroid hormones to carry their function inside the cells.
Toxins have harmful effect on your thyroid gland making it less effective and prone to disease, which eventually can result hypothyroidism.
The best solution to this problem is drinking a plenty of water. This can be an excellent detox treatment which can cleanse your body and improve your overall health. Proper hydration is the most important thing for your health. Try to drink at least 80 ounces of water a day.
If you notice coatings on your tongue, it can be a sign of a yeast overgrowth, such as Candida, which is a common infection that usually is not properly treated.
The lack of healthy gut flora can have many harmful health effects. This allows the bad bacteria to overtake residence in the digestive tract. Namely, yeast overgrowth has a negative impact on the conversion of T4 to T3.
It is a common case that people have yeast overgrowth but are not aware of that. So, if you notice any unusual coatings on your tongue, you should do blood and stool tests.
If the results from your tests show raised antibodies to yeast, you should consult your doctor for a proper therapy. Also, you should avoid carbs and yeast, and take probiotic supplements. Candida is also treated with medications but in more progressive stages only.
In conclusion, try to do a regular check of your tongue in order to have a close look to your health condition.