When it comes to digestion, most people think about food choices, probiotics, or avoiding that spicy burrito. But what if your gut issues were caused by something as unexpected as your tongue? That’s right—a tongue tie could be the root of your bloating, reflux, and slow digestion. Let’s dive into the surprising connection between your tongue and your gut health, and how fixing a tongue tie might just be the digestive breakthrough you’ve been looking for.
Your Gut Called: It Wants You to Fix Your Tongue Tie
What Is a Tongue Tie?
A tongue tie occurs when the band of tissue under your tongue (the frenulum) is too tight, thick, short, or positioned too far back. This restriction limits the tongue’s movement, which can cause issues far beyond difficulty speaking or eating. A tongue that can’t move properly disrupts critical functions like chewing, swallowing, and even breathing through the nose.
How a Tongue Tie Affects Digestion
Digestion starts in the mouth. Proper chewing breaks food into smaller, manageable pieces, and the tongue helps create the right pressure to swallow effectively. But when your tongue is restricted, this process doesn’t go as smoothly as it should. Here’s how it impacts your gut:
- Improper Chewing: Poorly chewed food makes it harder for your stomach to break down, causing bloating and indigestion.
- Reflux and Swallowing Issues: A tongue tie disrupts the pressure needed to move food down the esophagus, often leading to reflux.
- Slow Digestion: When food isn’t broken down efficiently, it moves more slowly through your digestive system, causing discomfort and bloating.
In short, if your tongue isn’t doing its job, your gut is left to pick up the slack—and it’s not happy about it.
Why Myofunctional Therapy Is the Solution
The good news? You don’t have to live with these digestive issues forever. Myofunctional therapy—a specialized exercise program for your tongue—can help retrain it to move properly. Here’s how it works:
- Strengthening and Coordination: Targeted exercises improve tongue strength and mobility, making it easier to chew and swallow.
- Breathing Optimization: Myofunctional therapy often includes techniques to encourage proper nasal breathing, which supports overall digestion.
- Whole-Body Approach: Nutrition trained therapists (like Carmen) address nutrition and other lifestyle factors to create long-term digestive health improvements.
Common but Not Normal
Many people live with bloating, reflux, and slow digestion for so long that they assume these symptoms are normal. But just because something is common doesn’t mean it’s healthy. If you’ve been suffering from digestive discomfort, it’s time to consider whether a tongue tie might be the underlying cause.
Take the First Step Today
Wondering if your tongue might be behind your digestive issues? Start by identifying whether you have a tongue tie. Download our free Getting Started Guide to perform a simple self-exam. This could be your first step toward fixing the root cause of your gut distress and saying goodbye to bloating and discomfort for good.
Your gut is calling—are you ready to answer? Fix your tongue tie, and give your digestive system the support it deserves. We can help you!
Meet Carmen Woodland
Carmen found this path of passion years ago as a dental hygienist.
Her story is personal and close to home. Her sweet granddaughter, Linzee, was passed back and forth amongst doctors and therapists for years trying to figure out her speech, breathing, sleep, chewing and swallowing issues. It wasn’t until Carmen completed post graduate training that she knew Linzee’s problem was a significant tongue-tie. Bingo. Fast forward to now. Carmen is a crusader. An international wellness warrior like you’ve never met! Carmen has continued her wellness education to include certifications in nutrition, toxins, environmental health, blood chemistry and sleep.
Carmen helps tired humans feel better. Yep–that can sound like a pretty generic term, but the results she gets for clients distills down to them feeling like their most amazing self…energetic + vibrant + rested + living without anxiety, dread, and other similar symptoms. Carmen doesn’t “just do myofunctional therapy.” Her magic happens when she tackles the root cause of poor sleep, digestion, weight gain, snoring, chronic fight or flight, mindfulness and more. It’s “More Than Myo™”!
Regardless of how much myofunctional therapy you do, if your blood sugar regulation is a mess, then sleep won’t be optimized. If you’re trying to solve snoring with weight loss, but can’t lose an ounce, maybe you need to take a look at the vicious cycle of sugar and processed carbohydrate addiction or “adrenal fatigue”. If your digestion is a mess, simply releasing your tongue tie won’t solve the whole equation. If you’re trying to learn how to nasal breathe but are a congested mess, perhaps you need some food sensitivity testing to see where your inflammation is coming from. This is the work that Carmen and her team at Impact Myofunctional Therapy / Impact Health Restoration work on. No easy answers. No easy clients. Carmen works with clients all over the world in her practice.
In addition, she also
- Teaches at the Myofunctional Therapy Training Academy.
- Coaches dental offices on how to implement myofunctional screening into their daily practice
- Speaks in various settings
Carmen is also an airway provider for the Foundation of Airway Health, where she works diligently for the recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of airway-related disorders. And last but not least, Carmen is a proud member of several professional associations that afford the opportunity to learn so that she can help you. Her professional memberships include: