Noticed a white coat on your tongue? They are toxins. Discover how to get rid of those toxins and the benefits of tongue scraping in this blog
Ever woken up in the morning and have bad breath?
Ever noticed that your tongue has a white-ish coat on it?
The reason why is due to toxins called ama in Ayurveda.
While most of us brush our teeth, few of us scrape our tongues. And I’m not talking about mildly brushing your tongue with your toothbrush but actually using a tongue scraper.
Overnight, bacteria, food debris, fungi, dead cells, and toxins accumulate on the surface of our tongues. That’s what bad breath is.
Now it’s more than just an embarrassment you have to wake up with every morning. It’s actually harmful.
If we let the toxins sit in our mouths without removing them, they get reabsorbed by the body and can cause digestive issues, a weak immune system, and a host of other imbalances, depending on your mind-body type
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In fact, Dental Research has determined that a tongue scraper is more effective at removing toxins and bacteria from the tongue than a toothbrush. Brushing and flossing only move debris around but they do not actually remove it. Over 50% of our oral bacteria lives in the deep crevices of our tongue. If you’ve ever used a tongue scraper, you literally see blobs of white stuff coming off your tongue even where its not visibly white. Even writing this article makes me want to go scrape.
Do this activity:
I want you to go look in the mirror and open your mouth and stare at your tongue.
Do you see a layer of white mucus? That’s ama, the toxins I’ve been mentioning.
In my 12 Week Online Program, we use our tongue to analyze exactly what parts of our bodies are imbalanced, for example, the color of our tongues, where the ama is located, the color of the ama, etc. You can read more about my program here.
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Benefits of tongue scraping:
- Enhanced taste buds, making you taste more and need to eat less
- Improved digestion
- Increased immunity
- Improved dental health
- Less gum infections and recessions
- Enhanced saliva production to break down foods
How to Tongue Scrape
It’s super easy (way easier than flossing!)
- All you do is hold the scraper with two hands on either ends, stick that beautiful tongue out and place the scraper as far back on your tongue as possible.
- With gentle pressure, scrape the surface of your tongue in long strokes.
- Rinse the scraper with water (you’ll see lots of white stuff if it’s your first time and repeat about 10 times, or until you feel your tongue is cleaned.
You’ll notice that ama, the white sticky stuff, is revealed when you continue to scrape parts that may look pink and that’s because it’s deep in the crevices of your tongue.
With daily practice, you’ll gradually see less and less ama until your tongue is perfectly pink all the time!
My 12 Week Program will help you look out for signs that ama is building back up.
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Which Type of Tongue Scraper to Use?
I recommend the Ayurvedic classic, a copper tongue scraper. Copper has been used for medicinal practices back to the 5th and 6th millennia B.C. The Egyptians used copper for their water pipes because water stored in copper gave health benefits for those who drank the water. Copper is also antimicrobial and shipbuilders used copper to keep algae off the ships. Copper is also antibacterial and antifungal, making it used for everything from IUDs to tongue scrapers.
You want to avoid tongue scrapers made of plastic, as the plastic chemicals can leach into your bloodstream and you definitely don’t want to be scraping your tongue, the most sensitive spot in your body, with something potentially dangerous. Copper is super easy to clean, resistant to bacteria, and ideal for all Doshas.
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Happy Scrapping,
