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Geographic Tongue and Speech Lessons

image-300x225[1]When I was in kindergarten, I had to take speech lessons. Oh, I could talk, and I did nonstop to anyone who would listen. The problem was that nobody could understand a lot of the things I had to say. When I spoke, I heard “s.” Other people heard “sschhshs.” Kids at school would ask my name. I would say, “John.” They would ask, “Sean? Joe?” My friends would tell them my name.

I remember once, my speech therapist, a kindly older woman, remarked that I had geographic tongue. She stuck her tongue out to show me hers. It looked like the photo here. Gross!

This is actually what my tongue looks like from time to time. Actually, this is a photo of my tongue from several years ago. Yes, it is painful.

Doctors told me they didn’t know why it looked that way. For all of my childhood, I thought that was just the way I was.

Well, the cause is

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) Deficiency

Chicken Kabobs on the Grill...umm Riboflavin.
Chicken Kabobs on the Grill…umm Riboflavin.

What Is Riboflavin?

Riboflavin, also called vitamin B2, is fundamentally required for the breakdown of carbohydrates, amino acids, and fats in metabolism, enables oxygen to be used by cells, and acts as a component of more than a dozen enzymes involved in energy production and use.

Some enzymes needing riboflavin also require magnesium to properly function.

In other activities, riboflavin is required for healthy cardiovascular and nervous systems, eye health, and supports antioxidant protection.  Functions are more fully described below.

Urinary excretion of riboflavin cannot be detected when vitamin intake is below the required levels. On the other hand, when intake exceeds saturation in the body, the vitamin and/or its metabolites are actively excreted into urine to prevent excessive toxicity of the vitamins.1

There is no specific name for riboflavin deficiency disease.

What Is Riboflavin Deficiency In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

Sources:
  1. Shibata K, Hirose J, Fukuwatari T. Relationship Between Urinary Concentrations of Nine Water-soluble Vitamins and their Vitamin Intakes in Japanese Adult Males. Nutr Metab Insights. 2014 Aug 5;7:61-75. doi: 10.4137/NMI.S17245. [↩]