Fatty liver disease: Odd looking tongue? Lesser-known signs are colour change and cracks

Liver disease: NHS Doctor talks about link with alcohol

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The liver is an important part of the body. It filters blood, detoxifies chemicals and metabolises drugs. In total, the liver has over 500 functions in the body, including breaking down about one alcoholic drink per hour. Therefore, when there are liver problems, there will obviously be a multitude of other problems. Your tongue could indicate your risk of fatty liver disease. What do you need to spot?

In Chinese medicine, the tongue is considered to be the window to total body health.

A Chinese medicine practitioner will do a thorough lifestyle and medical history check, and the first element of the body examined is the tongue.

Integrative medicine practitioners link the tongue to other areas of the body such as the liver, heart, bladder, spleen, and intestines.

Your tongue is a great indicator of the health of your digestive tract and liver.

Having either a yellow-looking tongue or one with a crack down the middle could indicate liver problems.

In most cases, the causes of a yellowish tongue aren’t serious.

However, the main exception is jaundice, which can also cause yellowish skin and eyeballs.

Jaundice is associated with late-stage liver disease known as cirrhosis.

Over time liver cirrhosis can progress to liver failure, which is a severe situation.

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Fissured tongue

Fissured tongue is the medical term for a crack down the middle of the tongue.

It can also include multiple small furrows or grooves on the top surface of the tongue.

In a study published in the National Library of Health, fissured tongue and liver disease was analysed.

“Several oral mucosal abnormalities have been reported to occur more frequently in patients with liver disease,” began the study.

“It has, however, not been determined if these conditions are related to the disease or are manifestations of extraneous factors not associated with the liver pathology.”

The study involved oral examinations performed on 300 candidates.

Abnormalities most frequently encountered were analysed for significant associations with classification of liver disease.

“Among these subjects, 175 (58 percent) had one or more abnormalities.

“The anomalies most frequently found were fissured tongues with 37 percent of cases.”

Ways to help keep your tongue looking healthy include:

• Brush tongue
• Brush teeth daily
• Avoid smoking
• Water
• Rinse
• Use hydrogen peroxide.

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