A Wise Tongue

For all the difference between Western and Chinese medicine, they are alike in primacy of the tongue. A TCM doctor looks at your tongue before you even have a chance to use it, then feels your pulse. A Western doctor makes sure your papers are in order, then asks you to say "Ah". They both know the tongue speaks a lot more eloquently for your health than you can, with your vague palaver about "shooting pains" and "not feeling so hot".

Then again, a TCM doctor can write an extended essay on your overall condition after the tongue examination. Color, coating, size and shape are the supporting evidence for conclusions that, sadly, sound more poetic than scientific. But "subsiding yin" and "ghost winds" are valid, if lyrical, ways to describe imbalances in your health that grow more precarious the further you wander from Confucius' golden mean.

Nobody living a sit down and stress, KFC and coffee modern lifestyle boasts the shiny, firm, bright pink organ of perfect health. Just stick yours out at your nearest neighbors. Little chance they'll tell you how healthy it looks. But there's hope. See below for common tongue traits and what they say about your health. With a little adjustment and a lot more clean living, you can stick your tongue out at anyone and get an admiring smile in return. Wiggling your eyebrows helps.