Why is my tongue yellow?

[kaypeeoh]

after two months on Adkins I've lost significant amount of weight. No problems living on low carb. I drink copious water. Just today I noticed a yellowish coating on my tongue. The ketostix say I'm not in ketosis. Any ideas?

[wordlady]

Plaque?
The tounge collects much more plaque than all the teeth put together. I'd also use some listerine. (You can take the girl out of the dental office, but ya can't take the dental office out of the girl)

[2berners]

You haven't been watching too much X-Men, have you?

[MsJinx]

hahahashahahahhahaha. I thought she said PlaGue!!! Plague!!! Ya know, us only children sure know how to entertain ourselves...

Ha!
Jinx

PS I love x-men!

[motis]

My first thoughts are jaundice. Although, I can't recall if the tounge turns yellow as well. Check the whites of your eyes. Do they appear yellow, too? If they do, then go to the doctor. It could be jaundice (a problem with liver function). I believe that in most cases it's not a serious problem. But you should have it check anyway.

~Angi~

[doreen T]

Ketosis in or ketosis out ... it'll have no effect on the colour of your skin or mucous membranes.

Do you drink a lot of tea or coffee? Or do you smoke? It could be staining.

Another thought (this is way out in left field, but worth mentioning) ... do you eat a lot of cheese? Most orange-coloured cheeses use natural beta-carotene as the dye .. and it could stain your tongue.

Wordlady is right though ... you might want to brush your tongue at the same time when you brush your teeth.


hth,

Doreen

[black57]

Originally posted by motis
My first thoughts are jaundice. Although, I can't recall if the tounge turns yellow as well. Check the whites of your eyes. Do they appear yellow, too? If they do, then go to the doctor. It could be jaundice (a problem with liver function). I believe that in most cases it's not a serious problem. But you should have it check anyway.

~Angi~

That was my first thought also. However if it is a coating you can use toothpaste and a toothbrush to clean your tongue. If it is the color of the tongue and not a coating, you should have it checked.

Black57

[deb146]

Or it could be oral thrush. Are you having any other symptoms of excess yeast in your system? There are a number of different symptoms listed in the New Diet Revolution. You should check the chapter called Yeast Reactions to rule it out.

[Karen]

Have you eaten differently from the way you normally do recently? When I travel off into the land of anything more than pure, natural foods, it happens to me.

In alternative medicine, they would say that it's your body either cleaning itself out or that it can store no more toxins. This is very evident during a fast. Your tongue becomes heavily coated and then it all disappears.

Karen

[kaypeeoh]

Thanks for all the replies to my yellow tongue querry. I had a physical and full blood panel before starting the Adkins Diet. It showed no health problems beyond the chronicly elevated cholesterol.

I study TCM (traditional chinese medicine) and am aware that a tongue coating can be a sign of yin excess or yang deficiency. If it's yellow it suggests false yang excess. The tongue reflects the state of the heart, in some cases. Last week I took a blow to the chest that bruised a rib but it's on the right side, nowhere near the heart.

In my case it's not a coating, really. I can't brush it away with my toothbrush. Regardless, it seems to be going away. Today the yellow is a stripe along the midline of the tongue, no longer an entirely yellow tongue.

I think it's related to something I've eaten, but I can't think what that could be. Certainly nothing new or different recently. The only new thing is the bruised rib and perhaps the ibuprofen I'm taking for the bruise.