The tongue is a part of the body that we rarely pay attention to, and some people even forget to clean it when brushing their teeth.
However, it can say a lot about our health, and when we have a white tongue, it could be a sign of toxins accumulating in your body, acting as a potential source of illness.
It is possible to recover the healthy appearance of your tongue through detox and small changes in your habits.
A healthy tongue should be pink to red and covered with a thin layer of saburra, a stomach secretion. It must be able to move smoothly and have an optimum degree of moisture.
If this is not so, it is that there is something that is altering that well-being and, we must remedy it as soon as possible.
How Does the Tongue Relate to Toxins?
During the night, the body in its continuous work enters into what is called the "elimination period".
The waste products are going to be expelled through the emunctory organs (intestine, liver, skin, lungs). The mouth is also heavily involved in this process.
When we get up in the morning, nobody misses the fact that our mouth is doughy with halitosis (bad breath) and unpleasant taste. This phenomenon is absolutely ordinary and necessary.
Everything that enters the body, healthy or not, will be metabolized and excreted. At this stage, the morning saburral tongue manifests itself. That saburra is composed of toxins, germs and dead cells.
When saburra becomes excessive or different than usual, it is associated with something going wrong with our digestion, our stomach or our liver.
Also, the appearance of canker sores on the tongue is associated with a weak autoimmune system whose natural defenses need to be strengthened.
What Could Be Changing the Color of the Tongue?
The causes of our tongue having a yellowish or whitish appearance are:
- Lack of tongue hygiene. There are many people who, even if they brush their teeth thoroughly several times a day, do not take care of their tongue hygiene at all. Bacteria also accumulate on the tongue, and we must take care of them, just as we do with the rest of the mouth.
- Tobacco and alcohol. If you are one of those people who smoke daily or drinks regularly, you have probably noticed that your tongue is somewhat white, and you wake up with a doughy taste in your mouth.
This is because when we smoke or drink, the bacteria accumulate even more on our tongue. Furthermore, you may want to know more about smoking and its consequences. - Gastrointestinal issues. A thick white tongue is one of the most apparent symptoms of gastritis. Other symptoms associated with this condition can be a heavy stomach, a swollen belly, gas, nausea or a lack of desire to eat.
- Dirty liver. Sometimes our liver needs to be purified as it is loaded with toxins. The white tongue is one of the symptoms that indicate this, in addition to others such as heaviness indigestion, gas, oily skin, constipation, pain in the neck, cramps, etc.
- Oral Candidiasis. Also called oral thrush, its culprit is a fungus called Candida albicans, which usually inhabits the mouth, accumulates in the lining of the oral cavity.
It manifests itself mainly on the tongue, with a creamy, whitish mass, although it can also occur on the inner cheeks, in the upper part of the mouth, on gums and tonsils.
It usually happens when we are low in natural defenses and, besides having a white tongue, we will suffer other symptoms such as burning, bad taste in the mouth or pain when swallowing or eating something very hot or spicy. - Oral lichen planus. This is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the mucous membranes inside the mouth.
It manifests itself with white, reticulated patches on the tongue, inside of the cheeks, gums, and inner lip tissues. There may also be red, swollen tissues that cause burning, pain and discomfort. - Leukoplakia. Another reason why white tongue emerges is leukoplakia, in which thick white patches form on the gums, inside the cheekbones, under the mouth and on the tongue.
The exact cause is not known, but doctors indicate that it may arise from smoking, either cigars, cigarettes or chewing tobacco. - Tongue cancer. This type of cancer originates in the cells of the tongue. It begins in the thin, flat, squamous cells that line the surface of the tongue.
How to Detox in the Case of a White Tongue?
Tongue scraping
A practical and efficient way to eliminate it is by using a teaspoon. You place it so that the edges of it rest on the lingual surface at the back of the tongue, sliding it towards the tip.
If you look at the collected material you will see that it is whitish occasionally stained from the last swallowed at night; you rinse the spoon, repeat the procedure that may include the cheeks (flanks of the mouth) until you see that the spoon comes out almost clean; you rinse your mouth or brush your teeth according to the morning rite.
The tongue brushing when you brush your teeth is independent of this technique with the spoon, which is only done in the morning on an empty stomach. You can also help yourself by using mouthwashes with a little alcohol to eliminate bacteria.
Helpful Foods for Tongue Detox
- Consume a naturally fermented yogurt daily. It increases the good bacteria by raising the body's defenses.
- If the white tongue is the symptom of a dirty liver, it will be useful to take lemon juice alone or with a pinch of baking soda, as it helps clean the liver, as well as consuming large amounts of fruits such as oranges, tangerines and especially pineapple or papaya, as they are digestive and help eliminate toxins.
- Consume raw vegetables: spinach, peppers, tomatoes. Some vegetables rich on fiber will even absorb toxins on their way out through the intestines.
- Also consume more quantity of liquids. Cranberry juice is purifying.
If even following all these recommendations, your tongue still has that whitish color, the most sensible and advisable thing to do is to go to your trusted dentist to examine your whole mouth and give you the appropriate recommendations.
In cases where the white tongue is accompanied by sores or canker sores, it is vital to visit our doctor, as sometimes canker sores are also a symptom of something much more severe, such as tongue cancer.