The normal tongue in Traditional Chinese Medicine has a light red or pinkish body with a thin white coating.
When examining the tongue, Jacqueline looks at the color of the tongue body, its size and shape, the color and thickness of its coating or fur, locations of abnormalities and moistness or dryness of the tongue body and fur and assesses the sublingual veins. These signs reveal not only overall states of health, but correlate to specific organ functions and disharmonies.
There are over 30 different manifestations of the tongue body and around 40 of the coating.
Not all tongue irregularities are indications of disharmony, however. Food and drugs may change the coating or color of the body of the tongue. For example coffee, black tea and special spices change the coating colour. Therefore Jacqueline advises you not to take in such foods 2 hours prior to treatment.