Are there some white spots on your tongue or is your tongue fully coated? What are those white spots? How did your tongue become white? There are many questions that come to your mind when your think about the reasons behind tongue coating. Let’s try to answer your question” why is my tongue white? Zinc deficiency could be the reason.
Tongue coating is usually harmless
Usually, white tongue is caused purely by bad oral hygiene. Our tongue is covered with papillae, which must be pink under normal conditions. When dead bacteria, debris and dead cells get stuck in papillae, they cause inflammation. Once the inflammation spreads, you notice a thick white layer on your tongue, which is known as white tongue.
7 common causes of white tongue
- Dehydration
- Smoking or tobacco intake in any form
- Alcohol intake
- Poor oral hygiene, no proper brushing or flossing
- Dry mouth
- Fever
- Zinc deficiency
Other serious issues like oral cancer or Syphilis can also cause white tongue, which must be treated by qualified medical professionals.
Does zinc deficiency cause tongue coating?
As the 6 causes of white tongue mentioned above are self-explanatory, I need not explain what to do to avoid those types of general tongue coating. However, the 7th point of zinc deficiency is something that I’d like to focus on as it could be one of the reasons of your white tongue if the other 6 are not applicable to you.
What is Zinc?
Zinc is an essential mineral required by our body to fight off infection and to produce healthy cells. Zinc maintains our sense of taste and smell. It also boosts our immune system. Usually the white layer on your tongue will disappear if you take appropriate steps to minimise or eliminate the effect of above mentioned 6 causes of white tongue. If the white layer is persistent, then zinc deficiency could also be the reason behind it.
Here are some symptoms of zinc deficiency
- Loss of appetite
- Slow healing
- Decreased sense of smell and taste
- Frequent diarrhoea
- Sudden and unexplained weight loss
- Open sores
- White tongue
- Low sex drive and diminishing libido
- Hair loss
Various health conditions such as chronic liver or kidney disease, cancer, celiac diseases, diabetes and pancreatic issues can also cause zinc deficiency. For these issues, expert medical advice is required.
Zinc rich food
Nuts: Though all types of nuts are a rich source of zinc, cashew nut is one of most zinc rich food. 100 grams of cashew nut will offer you approximately 37% daily value (DV) of zinc, while almond, peanuts and walnuts give you approx. 6% each. So make cashew a part of your diet to fight zinc deficiency.
Pumpkin seeds
100 grams of pumpkin seeds give you approximately 10.3 mg of zinc or 69% DV of this powerful and effective mineral.
Oysters
One of the richest sources of zinc is oyster, giving you 327% DV of zinc in every hundred grams of serving. You can also eat various other types of seafood such as lobsters and crabs to combat zinc deficiency.
Crabs, lobsters and mussels
If you are a fish eater, then make shellfish a part of your diet. If will help you fight zinc deficiency. 100 grams of shellfish can give you approx. 76mg of zinc.
Soyabean
Approximately 1 cup of soyabean will give you 9mg of zinc. Eat soyabean everyday if you are zinc deficient.
Mushroom, spinach and broccoli
It goes without saying leafy vegetables are a good source of various nutrients anyway. If you are aiming at fulfilling your zinc requirements, then start eating mushroom, spinach, broccoli in ample quantities.
Garlic
Garlic is a good source of not only zinc but also many other nutrients that work wonders for overall health. In fact, heart patients or those suffering from cardiovascular diseases, must eat a few cloves of garlic every day.
Beef
Usually animal products are richer in Zinc content than plant products. So if you are a meat eater, then handling Zinc deficiency can be easy for you. 100 grams of steak can give you 99% DV of Zinc. However, care should be taken so that eating beef does not interfere with any of existing diet or medication.