Tongue Scraping & Warm Water

Reap the benefits that come with a cleansed and healthy intestinal tract!   

Ayurveda recognizes that our overall health begins with our digestive tract. As you may or may not know, all of the nutrients in our food are absorbed from the small intestine into the blood stream, and then circulated throughout the body to nourish the rest of our tissues. Hence, the food that we eat and, more importantly, our ability to digest it, has a very significant impact on the health of all of our bodily systems. This is why these next two recommendations are so important, and are the first two things I recommend in an initial consultation. Implement these two habits into your daily routine, and reap the benefits that come with a cleansed and healthy intestinal tract! 

•••TONGUE SCRAPING•••

To scrape the tongue clean every morning, before ingesting any liquid or food, is done in order to remove the AMA (toxins) that accumulate on the tongue overnight. AMA is known in Ayurveda as a sticky and toxic white substance that forms on the inner lining of our intestinal tract due to improperly digested food. The buildup of AMA can cause a numerous amount of problems, especially as it builds up over time, but we won’t go into too much detail about that here. What’s important to know is that AMA can inhibit nutrient absorption, it slows down metabolism bringing lethargy and heaviness to the body, which in turn will slow down the process of actually removing AMA/waste/toxins out of the body. Throughout the day, and as we sleep, the AMA that lines our intestines, gets pushed upwards towards the throat and onto the tongue. This is why looking at our tongue every morning can be a good indicator of the current state of our overall health. For those already somewhat familiar with the Doshas, a very white colored AMA will indicate more Kapha, a yellow tinted AMA will point towards more Pitta, and a brownish discoloration of AMA will indicate higher Vata. AMA is a whole topic on its own, but the main gist is, we want as little of it as possible! By scraping our tongues, we are removing the dead bacteria in order not to swallow it back into our system. 

As you can probably already imagine, cleaning our tongues also helps to maintain a healthy oral cavity! This is truly an incredible remedy for those who battle with gum disease or general bad breath throughout the day. 

Another reason to scrape the tongue in the mornings is to wake up the organs. As you can see in the image, in both Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, different areas of the tongue are connected to different organs (Chinese medicine will differ slightly from the Ayurvedic). As we pass the tongue scraper along the tongue, it stimulates the corresponding organs. 

I usually recommend the stainless steel tongue scrapers, vs. the copper ones, because stainless steel is known to be tri-doshic, balancing all of the doshas and the organs.

•••WARM WATER WITH HONEY AND LIME••• 

To drink a cup of warm water in the morning with 1 tsp. of honey and a squeeze of fresh lime juice is another great way to maintain healthy digestion and digestive fire (AGNI). Make sure the water is lukewarm and not boiling hot (under 45 degrees Celsius), as honey will turn toxic when submerged in heat.

The warm water helps to wake up our gastrointestinal tract and to rehydrate all of our cells, after a long night of fasting! If we’re in a balanced state, this water should also stimulate enough peristalsis in the colon, causing a smooth and clean bowel movement. There is really nothing as important as a bowel movement first thing in the morning, and Ayurveda helps us to regain proper and healthy elimination. If you’re not used to talking about bowel movements yet, Ayurveda is sure to get you comfortable with the subject! 

The honey in the warm water typically has a heating and “scraping”/cleansing effect within the body, called lekhana in Sanskrit. This helps to actually “scrape” the AMA off of the wall of the whole intestinal tract. Essentially we’re bringing that AMA through the intestines, into the colon so that it can be easily and effectively expelled. A lot of times we’ll use specific herbs that help with more efficient expulsion of AMA. 

The lime helps to alkalize the body, balancing our pH levels, which is crucial for the overall health of our bodily systems. And again, hydration is another important component of this, as we’ve just spent (hopefully) anywhere from 7-9 hours without ingesting a single drop of water! 

If you find yourself grabbing for your delicious coffee first thing in the morning, consider enjoying a warm cup of water with some honey first! 

These two recommendations are simple enough that one can begin to implement them in their daily routine with ease. This is a great place to start one’s Ayurvedic journey. It all begins, in our gut.