What Colour Is Your Tongue Supposed to Be?

The colour of your tongue is a sign of your overall health. The tongue is constantly in contact with the outside environment. It is the first point of contact with anything you ingest and carries the taste buds that identify food. In addition, it is linked to many of our vital organs and the different colours, textures, and coatings can give clues about what is going on in the body. Here’s a guide to help you learn how to read your body’s messages based on the colour of your tongue.

The Anatomy of the Tongue

The tongue is a sensory organ that is in charge of tasting food, detecting taste and texture, and feeling texture. It is a muscular, tubular organ that is about 10 inches long and 2 inches wide. The tongue has two sides, the inside and the outside. The inside has a mucus membrane, called the mucosa, that has many taste buds on it. The outside has papillae, which are bumps that are covered in taste buds. The papillae are also covered in a thin membrane and they can be found on the outside of the tongue. The papillae are there to help the tongue to taste food. The tongue is supposed to be a light pink colour and it is covered in tiny bumps, called fungiform papillae. The tongue is also supposed to be smooth and moist.

What Colour is Your Tongue Supposed To Be?

Everyone has a different colour of tongue, but it is usually a dark shade of pink. The colour of your tongue is a genetic trait. The colour of your tongue is not determined by what you eat or drink. The colour of your tongue is determined by the colour of your blood. However, some people's tongues may be a lighter pink or a darker pink. The colour of your tongue is due to the blood vessels in your tongue and the amount of blood that it carries. The colour of your tongue is not something that you can change, but it is something that you can maintain.

When The Tongue is Not It’s Normal Pink Colour

Changes in the colour of your tongue may indicate an underlying health condition, such as an infection. Below are other colours that your tongue may be and what they could mean:

Red (not dark pink): This could be indicative of a vitamin B deficiency, which can be treated by supplementation. A red tongue could also be a result of geographic tongue, which is a usually harmless condition characterized by red patches with white borders along the tongue. In addition, your tongue may also turn red if you have eczema, scarlet fever, or Kawasaki disease.

White: Often a white tongue is caused by white patches that develop on the tongue’s surface as a result of a fungal infection, such as oral thrush. Antifungal medications are often used to heal these white patches. Additionally oral lichen planus and leukoplakia are two benign disorders that can also result in a white tongue.

Yellow: It is common for individuals who smoke or chew tobacco to have tongues that appear yellow. Additionally, yellow tongue can occasionally result from psoriasis and jaundice.

Purple: Your tongue may become purple if you have cardiovascular issues or poor blood circulation in general.

Blue: A blue tongue may be a sign that the blood in the tongue region is not getting enough oxygen. This may be due to lung or renal issues.

Gray: Digestive issues are often to blame for your tongue appearing grey. A gray tongue may also be seen in individuals who experience peptic ulcers or eczema.

Brown: A brown tongue is usually caused by something you ate or drank. It also could be caused by smoking or chewing tobacco products.

Black: A black or dark brown tongue is often caused by large number of bacteria in the tongue and mouth. This can be prevented by properly and regularly cleaning your teeth and tongue as well as visiting the dentist regularly. This means brushing your teeth at least twice per day, flossing at least once per day, and regularly using mouthwash and a tongue scraper. Dentists suggest that for proper dental hygiene and to fight bad breath, it is critical to not only clean the teeth and gum area using your toothbrush, but also to clean your tongue. The easiest and most effective way to clean your tongue is by using your Gunkii and gently scraping down and off your tongue. The tongue is not smooth, but instead like a shaggy carpet. The bottom of these little shaggy pieces is where bacteria tend to hang out. If you have a thick coating on your tongue, it may take between two and three weeks to completely remove it.

Additionally, the colour of the tongue is determined by the amount of melanin in the body. Melanin is the pigment responsible for giving colour to our skin and hair. As a person becomes older, the amount of melanin in the body decreases. This is the reason why the colour of the tongue changes as we age. It is also known that the colour of the tongue can change slightly due to fluctuations in your diet.

4. Conclusion

Your tongue may not be something that you regularly notice or look at, but it can actually reveal a lot about your general health. This is why it is crucial to regularly clean your tongue using a tongue scraper, so you can spot any possible changes in colour, texture, coating, or shape right away.

References

[1] Tongue color: What does it say about health? 2020. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/tongue-color (accessed August 19, 2022).

[2] Tongue Color: What’s Healthy, What’s Not, Plus Tongue Diagnoses. Healthline 2019. https://www.healthline.com/health/tongue-color (accessed August 19, 2022).

[3] Black Hairy Tongue | NEJM. New England Journal of Medicine n.d. https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMicm1800351 (accessed August 19, 2022).

[4] Jiao W, Hu X, Tu L, Zhou C, Qi Z, Luo Z, et al. Tongue color clustering and visual application based on 2D information. Int J CARS 2020;15:203–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11548-019-02076-z.