Is Geographic Tongue Really Incurable?

Geographic tongue w/ Fissures

Doctors say that Geographic Tongue is “Benign” … meaning it won’t kill you.

But that’s little consolation if it’s your tongue that is an ugly mass of bald patches, white rings, cracks or whatever.

In the next few minutes, I’m going to “give it to you straight” “pull no punches” because you deserve to know the truth and you may not get it anywhere else. Don’t worry the news is not all bad… as a matter of fact…

Just because Doctors say Geographic Tongue is incurable doesn’t mean there’s no hope.

Let me explain. When a doctor tells you it is “incurable” all he means is that he doesn’t have a “magic bullet” for it. After all not long ago infections were “incurable”… but then along came penicillin and everything changed.

What your doctor doesn’t know is that…

Geographic Tongue is Different

I believe Geographic Tongue is incurable because it isn’t  a disease. By that I mean, I don’t think  there is a specific virus or bacteria that causes it. If it was a disease they probably would have found a magic bullet to kill it by now, right? Think about it for a minute… How do you “cure” something if it isn’t even a disease?

If it isn’t a Disease, Then what is it?

Ahhh… that’s the million dollar question, and I’ll get to that in a moment. The good news is that it’s precisely because it isn’t a disease that we have hope. But first let’s look at why Doctors can’t find the solution. And why as long as you view it as a disease you will never find the cure either.

The Story of the Lost Coin

There’s an old joke about looking for a lost coin under a streetlight because “the light was better there” even though the coin was lost elsewhere. And although the story sounds silly that exactly the problem with Geographic Tongue … the researchers are looking in the wrong place because the light is better!

The Weird Thing About Geographic Tongue

There is a strange thing about geographic tongue. It tends to come and go. One day your tongue might be a mess of bald patches and look almost like raw hamburger and a few days later hope begins to build because it looks like it might be almost gone. And for some people it might actually go away for a day or two or even a week or two. It’s like it has a mind of its own, one day it just decides, OK I’ve bothered him (or her) enough… I’ll give them a break for a few days… just enough to taunt them and make them think they are getting better… You would think if it were a true disease caused by a bacteria or virus, it would continue to grow and grow,  and take advantage of every opportunity to multiply. Or your body would develop an immunity to it and it would go away. But not this back and forth, back and forth. This is something different… but what? We’ll get back to WHAT I think it is in a minute, but first…

You Are Not Alone

Believe it or not, roughly 3% of the world’s population is suffering with geographic tongue. Worldwide that’s more than 200 Million people with Geographic Tongue. And that’s not counting all the people with other tongue problems. If all the people in the world who have Geographic Tongue were in one country, it would be the fifth largest country in the world! (That’s a lot of people with Geographic Tongue). And, If it were really a disease it would be an epidemic.

So What is Geographic Tongue Anyway?

This ugly looking tongue problem goes by a variety of names in addition to Geographic Tongue. The official medical terminology for it is “Benign Migratory Glossitis”. Migratory of course means “moving around”, and Glosssitis means “inflammation of the tongue”. Which is exactly what it is but it’s not really much help in determining how to fix it. Doctors also refer to it as “erythema migrans”, boy is that a mouthful. I think they designed that name because people with geographic tongue couldn’t say it 🙂 . In more common language it is also known as Map Tongue, Geographic or Geographical Tongue. It got those names because with all the different shapes, bald patches, ridges and valleys it can make your tongue look a bit like a map. But inspite of all the fancy names doctors still don’t know what to do about it. But…

Let me introduce myself

My name is Tim McMahon and I’ve been there! I suffered from Geographic Tongue and through a strange set of circumstances I learned how to get rid of it. You see, shortly after college I fought the battle of my life (literally). Somehow, I developed Crohn’s disease and went from a healthy 135 lbs down to 95 lbs and literally thought I was going to die (and I looked like it too.) In the process, I had a huge chunk of my intestines removed. From that I developed Geographic Tongue and eventually that led to my discovering the solution. You can follow this link, if you’d like to hear My Whole Story or skip it and get to…

The Bottom Line

That was 25 years ago. Today I am a healthy active person, I’ve traveled all over the world. I’ve hiked up volcanos, ridden elephants in Thailand and visited places like China, Brazil, Ecuador, several countries in Europe and even the Ivory Coast, Kenya and Zimbabwe in Africa and I am rarely bothered by Geographic Tongue. Above is my picture taken recently by Hoover Dam, near Boulder City, Nevada. Over the years, I’ve discovered ways to reduce or eliminate my own Geographic Tongue and I have helped hundreds (or maybe thousands?) of other people, young and old, male and female, to do exactly the same thing. Over the last few years, I’ve had the opportunity to talk to people from all walks of life, from all over the world, who have suffered with Geographic Tongue. I know from personal experience what works and what doesn’t and I have the scientific research to back it up, too.

Perhaps You’re Skeptical

Well, I don’t blame you… since “everyone” says there is no cure. If I hadn’t seen it myself, I’d be skeptical too. After all if there is no cure how can you make it go away? Well, that’s a good question. And the answer is that when you create the right conditions in your body or eliminate the cause your body’s amazing healing power takes over and the problem goes away. Sometimes so quickly it seems almost miraculous other times it takes a bit longer. But because your tongue replaces its surface every 7 to 10 days… every day is another chance for your tongue to get better.

Everyone is Different

Sometimes the problem is a deficiency, sometimes it’s an irritant either natural or chemical. The difficulty comes because the cause is not always the same for everyone… And that makes it very difficult to track it down. I find it amazing that a great many different tongue problems are often lumped together as Geographic Tongue.

Typical Geographic Tongue

Typical Geographic Tongue has “bald patches” often surrounded by white rings.The rest of the tongue is often a bit whitish. If you look closely you will see that the papillae are actually missing in some places and much longer in other places.

Fissured Tongue

Another type of tongue problem that is often lumped together with Geographic Tongue is Fissured Tongue. Does it make sense that this type of problem has the same cause as Typical Geographic Tongue?

In this case we see the bald patches but there is also a thick white coating and raised red bumps (papillae). People often mistakenly think these are your taste-buds but actually the taste buds are nestled between and under the papillae.

So now we see why the solution to Geographic Tongue is so elusive. Different people have different problems. And whenever you don’t have a “one size fits all” solution the medical establishment claims that the solution is “anecdotal” which basically means that there is no proof and it might be just a coincidence.

My Pretty Good Tongue

“It’s not perfect yet but it is 98%…”

This is a picture of my tongue when I’m doing everything right. It may not be perfect but it is much better. I hear this same thing quite often after people start using my system to improve their tongue. “It’s not perfect yet but it is 98%…”

The fact that most tongues aren’t perfect isn’t surprising to me because… due to the modern diet most people are deficient in something.

A Recent USDA study showed that only 4% of Americans are getting the minimum recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of their essential vitamins (and that’s just the “minimum” of the “essential” vitamins). Another US Government survey found that out of 21,000 people surveyed, NOT ONE of them managed to eat the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of all ten of the basic nutrients studied. (It’s hard to believe not one out of 21,000, but that is what the test results said… so what are the odds that you are getting what you need?) On any given day, 91% of Americans don’t eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables (Do you? I don’t). And 65% of Americans don’t get the minimum daily requirement of Zinc! Zinc is essential for your immune system, your reproductive system (prostate in men) and one of the minerals deficiencies linked to Geographic Tongue.

The Case of the Missing Vitamins

Because of Modern Agriculture, the food you eat doesn’t have the nutritional value your grandparents got from eating the same food. For instance, incredible as it seems, today you would have to eat 60 servings of spinach to get the same amount of iron as in one serving of spinach in 1948! That sounds crazy! How can that be? The answer is simple, soil depletion, hybridization, irradiation, storage and shipping methods, and genetic engineering. As they breed plants to be sweeter and store longer they have trade-offs and one trade-off is a loss of nutrients. Think of one of those “Plastic” tomatoes you get in the grocery store today. They are almost perfect looking, no bruises or brown spots, perfectly shaped and when you get it home they are bland and tasteless. Sometimes it seems like cardboard would taste better. We’ve all had a tomato like that. I often pull them off my hamburger or out of my salad because they taste so bad! Now imagine a freshly picked heirloom tomato straight out of the garden. It is warm and juicy, may have a crack or a brown spot here and there. But when you take a bite the warm juice runs down your chin, the tomato is slightly acidic and the taste is wonderful.

What’s the difference?

Most tomatoes in our stores today are grown half-way around the world, picked green and then stacked in a warehouse and gassed with ethylene (C2H4), which is a flammable gas kind of like Propane (C3H8). The ethylene gas starts the decay process which breaks down the cell walls and turns them red. Sounds wonderful doesn’t it? Another problem is that the variety chosen to be grown is not chosen because of taste or nutrition but because of shippability, disease resistance, year-round availability, and profitability. So modern agriculture has not only soil depletion, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and genetic engineering but the fruit isn’t even allowed to store the maximum amount of sunshine, instead it is gassed to ripen. And tomatoes aren’t the only “fruit” treated this way. Is it any wonder that we aren’t getting the nutrients?

Case Study #1:

Let me tell you about Karen, She started out very skeptical, perhaps like you, she didn’t think my system would work, she had tried other things and looked other places… But she turned out to be my most amazing example… you probably won’t believe this… even I find it hard to believe and I’ve seen a lot of people quickly improve their Geographic Tongue… But Karen’s case was truly extraordinary. Here is exactly what she said in her own words… Two days is not typical. The only thing I can think of is that because she was pregnant her body was in “overdrive” and once it had the “building blocks”it needed it “went to town” rebuilding.   Interestingly, she’s not the only one who has seen results in as little as 2 days. Here is what a Grandmother from the U.K. said,

Case Study #2

Hi Tim, I have meant to email you for ages to let you know the success we have had in curing my 5 year old grand-daughter’s geographical tongue. She had it for 2 years, and last February she simply could not eat her dinner one night, as her tongue was so sore. I tried the Internet to help my daughter a few years ago as she had it too, but with no success. However this time when I looked I found your advert and immediately downloaded the book, although I must admit I had reservations about it helping, but I was desperate because a child had it… and it worked in 2 days. Thank you very much for your help. Grandma Christine

Case Study #3

Not everyone sees 100% results in 2 days, sometimes it takes longer and the results aren’t always perfect. Here is what Sylvia told me about her little three year old daughter with Geographic Tongue,

Case Study #4

Jaqueline had raised white bumps on her tongue:

Case Study #5

Jon was a college student, obviously he wasn’t pregnant or a toddler. Although he had been suffering with Geographic Tongue since he was 7 or 8. Here’s what he had to say in his own words.  

Jon’s Tongue Before

Jon’s Tongue After 1 Month

The Good News

There is hope because your tongue is actually an amazing organ.

Starfish on the Beach

Believe It or Not, Your Tongue Is a Bit Like a Starfish…

Everyone knows a Starfish can replace it’s limbs if one gets broken off. Right? But what you may not know is that… just like a starfish, your tongue actually renews it’s surface every 7-10 days! No matter how bad it looks, your tongue is still doing it all the time

Black Hairy Tongue

Researchers agree that your tongue is constantly replacing it’s surface. Your taste-buds get worn out and scrubbed off just like the rest of the skin on your body. And if it doesn’t get rid of them it can develop long papillae (sort of the opposite of geographic tongue’s bald spots) which can turn into Black Hairy tongue. So it is a good thing that they do get scrubbed off and replaced.The problem comes in when the timing is off. If it takes too long to grow back you get bald patches. And if they grow too long before they come off you get a “hairy tongue”.

But the key is that your tongue is designed to constantly be rebuilding itself. And in the normal course of events, given the proper “building blocks” it does that quite well. But at the other extreme, if the taste-buds are coming off faster than they can be replaced… that is what gives geographic tongue its “Migratory” appearance. Taste buds come off and are finally replaced only to have another section come off. In a “normal” tongue the papillae are replaced from underneath fast enough that you don’t notice that they were gone.

So let me ask you a simple question-

Is your tongue entirely bald? No? Good… I’ve never seen one that is… So that means that your tongue must be replacing at least some of the papillae. If it wasn’t in 7 – 10 days they’d all be gone. So if the papillae are being replaced, what’s the problem? The problem is that it isn’t replacing them Fast Enough! Has your tongue forgotten how to rebuild itself? No, Your tongue knows how to rebuild itself perfectly, it is just missing something … If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. The problem comes in when your tongue doesn’t have all the building blocks necessary to do it.

Let me tell you a little story…

Once upon a time, there was a brick layer… His hands were rough as sandpaper and he always wore a little leather apron while he worked. Over the years he had built hundreds of brick walls… He enjoyed his work and often whistled while he layed the bricks. He loved doing quality work… His greatest thrill was when people would admire his beautiful brick walls. One day, he got an urgent message from the King to build a brick wall, to protect a certain area of the city. It was a matter of national security and he absolutely had to have it done in the next 7 days… This was his most important job ever and he was determined to build the best wall of his life. So he rushed to the job and quickly calculated that he would need about 10,000 bricks to finish the job. But unfortunately he only had 5000 bricks on hand… so he ordered 5000 more bricks. And got started building… He figured by the time he was finished laying the first 5000 bricks someone would bring him the rest of the bricks. At first things were fine he was moving quickly and progress on the wall was going well but before long he realized that the bricks were coming way too slowly. He could lay 100 bricks per hour but the bricks were being carried one at a time and so only 4 or 5 an hour were arriving. So he used the bricks he had and then he just started using more mortar. Then he started substituting a small rock for a brick every now and then. After all he was running out of time and this was important! The king was depending on him to protect the city. After a while, the brick wall wasn’t as smooth as it used to be. Before long, the shortage of materials got so bad, he started using mud and sticks instead of bricks… and before he knew it his nice, straight, beautiful, new, brick wall looked a bit like this one, full of holes, cracks, excess mortar… and he was ashamed of his wall. But it was the best he could do with what he had.

That’s exactly what’s going on with your tongue on a day by day basis.

Your tongue is constantly trying to rebuild itself, replacing worn out and damaged parts but if you don’t give it the nutritional “bricks” it needs… it can’t just stop and wait for you… it has to do the best it can with what it has. So it “makes do”… It skimps here and substitutes there. It allocates resources to where they are needed most.

When nutrients are plentiful your body can rebuild everywhere but when resources are limited, it is constantly faced with choices…

Let’s see… should I send those nutrients to the brain or the tongue? Given that choice your body will choose the brain, every time.

The Secret Message from Your Tongue – You’re Starving to Death

When your tongue has a problem like Geographic Tongue it is actually trying to tell you something. It is saying that you are actually starving to death. Now, If you’re like most people I know… You think, you’ve probably got a few too many pounds, so how can you be starving? The problem isn’t calories, most of us eat too many of those… but unfortunately just like the tomatoes I mentioned before… They look good on the outside but really, you might as well eat the box they came in. So your body is starving… not for calories which keep you alive (barely)… but for nutrition that improves the quality of your health and life.

I’m not making this stuff up…

In my quest to find every scrap of information on geographic tongue and other tongue problems, I’ve found several medical doctors and researchers that have discovered the same nutritional links to Geographic Tongue that I have. (But they are the rare ones.) I’ve included research in my book from everywhere from Scotland to Japan that tied fancy sounding things like “recovery from taste receptor disturbance”, (say what? Oh they must mean bald patches on the tongue) to various specific vitamins and minerals. Nancy Burkhart, RDH, EdD, is an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Periodontics at Baylor College of Dentistry and Texas A & M Health Science Center in Dallas. She says, “Geographic tongue is a benign condition that has been associated with emotional stress, allergies, diabetes, hormonal factors, and vitamin deficiency. Genetic predisposition has been reported, along with a specific association in those individuals with hereditary cutaneous disorders such as psoriasis and pityriasis”. To read her full report go here. Note that she admits that it has been associated with “vitamin deficiency” but then she goes on to say, “To date, no conclusive evidence supports any of the above-mentioned etiologies.” But there she is wrong… there is conclusive evidence! A Doctor in England found…

• A mineral deficiency that can cause a pale fissured tongue.

and he also found…

• A Vitamin deficiency that can cause a sore painful fissured tongue.

A Scientific study in Napoli, Italy found…

• A link between a “miracle antioxidant” deficiency and burning mouth syndrome.

Tests on rats showed…

• A taste abnormality appeared quickly when there is even a slight deficiency of this mineral. And this same mineral resulted in lingual (tongue) nerves sensitivities, tongue or mouth pain and has even been linked to tongue or throat cancer.

A Scottish study on 25 Geographic Tongue patients showed that…

• Supplementation with this same mineral cured almost all cases.

Plus other studies have shown,

• Another vitamin deficiency can cause a painful sore tongue with a smooth appearance
• Cheilosis (A disorder of the lips characterized by fissures, especially in the corners of the mouth) has been tied to another different vitamin deficiency.

So research is finally building to show what I found out many years ago, and the pieces of the puzzle are finally coming together.

An important key to Treating Geographic Tongue:

Learn to Look in the right place… Don’t treat Geographic Tongue as a disease. Treat it as a symptom. If you go looking for a magic bullet to kill the “GT disease”, you won’t find it… But if you search for the factor that is manifesting itself as a Geographic Tongue in your life, you are miles ahead. Unfortunately, since there are a variety of different possibilities, all I can do is point you in the right direction… but usually that is enough for you to discover the secret yourself. The problem is that it takes more space than I have here. So I have compiled all my years of research into a 172 page book called Treating and Beating Geographic Tongue and other Tongue Problems.

Here is a list of some of the possible causes:

1) Vitamin Deficiencies– The problem could be one of many vitamins. If you’ve searched at all you may have heard that this vitamin or that vitamin is the key. The problem is that there are actually a variety of tongue related vitamins. I’ve actually developed a whole table (several pages long) of vitamin deficiencies and their associated symptoms. In addition to your tongue other problems are related to specific deficiencies as well. Do you have one or more of these symptoms- depression, fatigue, insomnia, muscular pain, nervousness, grey-skin and a pale- smooth tongue ? See the vitamin at the top of the table on page 146. What about any of these- constipation, moodiness, dizziness, fatigue, depression, body odor, nervousness or geographic tongue? See the vitamin at the top of the table on page 145. Plus there are many others- Obviously I can’t tell you all 173 pages worth of information in this brief article. 2) Mineral Deficiencies- Another problem could be a mineral deficiency. If you have acne, brittle nails or Eczema your problem could be the mineral on page 157. On the other hand Scalloped tongue, low body temperature, hair loss, dry skin? See Page 152. If you have anxiety, migraines, muscle pains, or vertigo your problem might be the mineral on page 153. 3) Irritants- A vitamin or mineral deficiency is something that is missing from your body but on the opposite end of the spectrum is something entirely different. What if something finds its way into your body that shouldn’t be there? These irritants or “triggers” can be food allergies, irritating foods, or chemicals. There are a variety of them some are found in household products and others could be the result of medical or dental procedures. See Chapters 10 and 11. 4) Absorption Issues- What if you are taking vitamins and minerals and the problem still isn’t going away? It could be an absorption issue either through heredity (p. 24 & 54) or digestive problems (p. 30-34). What about gluten (p. 33-36, 71), yeast (chapter 16), lack of digestive enzymes (p. 88, 112, 162)? 5) Terrain- Terrain is not commonly talked about anymore (other than in referring to geography) but your intestinal terrain is made up of the naturally occurring intestinal flora and the overall health of your digestive system. Since your tongue is involved the first phase of your digestive system wouldn’t it make sense that it’s health is tied to the health of the rest of your digestive system? The key is to develop a healthy intestinal terrain and your tongue will take care of itself. I’ve developed a series of factors in developing a healthy terrain. 6) Stress- Some people think stress causes Geographic Tongue, but I don’t. Although I do cover it in the book. Stress is like the tension on a chain. It causes the weakest link to break. The problem isn’t the tension… that’s what chains are for. The problem is the weak link. Fix the weak link and the problem goes away. I could go on and on about the possible causes. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could have all of these pieces in one place? That is why I put it all down in a book called Treating and Beating Geographic Tongue and other Tongue Problems. In it I cover not only Geographic Tongue but also Thrush (Candida), Tongue Fissures, Black Tongue, Hairy Tongue, Hairy Leukoplakia, Burning Tongue and Burning Mouth Syndrome, Pigmented Tongue, Tongue coatings and much more. Here is what Mimi had to say when she first saw my book: Hi Tim,

How much would it be worth to have a healthy tongue like this?

Yesterday I downloaded all the information you sent me. Thanks for sending it. I had no idea that so much content was being provided. You really should tell your readers how much information they will get if they make a purchase. I was thinking it would be a 40 page booklet with lots of “filler”. Boy was I wrong. Thanks again, Mimi

So in following Mimi’s advice,

Plus the Book also contains a Specific system developed by a Board Certified Doctor that he gives to his own patients that are suffering from Geographic Tongue. Many people have found this section alone worth the price of the book. In addition I will share what vitamins and minerals I take and what I do to create a healthy intestinal terrain. Plus the book includes vitamin tables, possible causes for Geographic Tongue, Burning Tongue, Thrush and a variety of other tongue problems. In it you will find out how people like Sylvia’s Daughter, Karen, Diane, Christine’s Granddaughter, Jon, and hundreds of others have reduced or eliminated their tongue problems.

Yes! I’d like to Download My Copy Now!

Case Study #5

Like all the other case studies mentioned, I’ve never met geographic tongue sufferer Dorothy Chalmers she’s simply read my book . She’s a retired schoolteacher from Scotland and here’s what she says,

Well done in producing this excellent resource for the world! It is pure genius… your book is absolutely fantastic!… Each and every physician ought to study your manuscript before practicing his/her profession. — Dorothy Chalmers

Your Copy Of :

Treating and Beating Geographic Tongue and other Tongue Problems

Is Available For Instant Download!

No waiting for Postal Delivery– Read it Now

Cover

Contents

Index

It seems that once people try my methods they start gushing enthusiasm! It’s embarrassing. 😳

So now it’s your turn. Are you going to put it off for years more like Charlene initially did…

Cover

If you act today, you can take advantage of my limited-time, introductory offer and get my revolutionary book Treating and Beating Geographic Tongue for only $39.95. Sincerely, Healthy Tongue Secrets

More questions? Concerns?

Just want to be sure I’m a real person?

Drop me a line at editor@HealthyTongueSecrets.com

And I will be happy to help you in any way I can.

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