Red, hairy, bumpy: 10 clues your tongue can tell you about your health

When you go to the doctor, one of the first things they ask you to do is stick out your tongue. This is because the tongue can actually tell a lot about your health. Its texture and color can be obvious signs that there is something wrong inside your system.

Go ahead. Take a look in the mirror and see if you find any of these signs on your tongue.

1. Black and hairy-looking

This indicates poor oral hygiene. As Ada Cooper, DDS, an American Dental Association consumer advisor spokesperson and practicing dentist in New York City puts it, the small papillae on the surface of our tongue harbors bacteria or becomes discolored by food over time. Jack Der-Sarkissian, MD, a family physician with Kaiser Permanente in Southern California added that this can be caused by drinking coffee and dark teas and smoking. This condition is not so serious and will clear up when you get proper oral hygiene and brush your tongue.