Anyone who has ever been to the center, or to any acupuncture or Ayurvedic practitioner in general has probably been asked to stick out their tongue. No, they weren’t joking or being silly – in fact, it’s a serious question. A little-known fact is that your tongue can tell quite a bit about your health.

In fact, the texture, color and overall appearance of your tongue can give a professional insight into the state of your overall well-being.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, there are different meanings for different appearances. If your tongue has a white coating or white spots, for example, it could be a sign of oral thrush (a yeast infection), leukoplakia (when mouth skin cells grow excessively) or oral lichen planus (white lines on your tongue.) On the contrary, if the tongue has a redder appearance, it could signify a vitamin deficiency, Scarlet Fever or Kawasaki disease.

It doesn’t end there.

Sores or bumps can typically show if you smoke, have canker sores, or trauma, too. What else?

According to Ayurveda, the tongue is a strong diagnostic tool with connecting organs. Ayurveda.com states, “The ancient art of tongue diagnosis also describes quite characteristic patterns that can reveal the functional status of respective internal organs merely by observing the surface of the tongue.” For example, the front 1/3rd of the tongue relates to the lungs, heart, chest and neck, so any anomalies found in that subsection is cause for concern in the related body parts. 

Because of these beliefs, keeping your tongue healthy is extremely important. One of the best ways? Tongue scraping. Yep – tongue scarping. The ancient practice suggests using a special scraper (or spoon) to remove the coating, revealing a cleaner and healthier tongue.

We bet you’ll never look at sticking out your tongue the same.