What to avoid:

Hot and spicy food

Hot and/or spicy food can irritate your tongue, causing additional pain and discomfort. Moreover, because the jewelry in your mouth can conduct hot and cold temperatures, you may burn your tongue if the food you’re eating is too warm.

Food with sticky texture

Avoid food like oatmeal or mashed potatoes during healing as these can be difficult to clear from your mouth. With that, you also run the risk of developing an infection. To further avoid this, cleanse your mouth with an antimicrobial mouthwash.

Acidic food

Citrus fruits, such as lemons, oranges, grapefruit, pineapples and tomatoes, as well as the juices of these fruits can possibly irritate your piercing while it’s still on its healing stage.

Food with crunchy or hard texture

Because they require more chewing, food like cookies, popcorn or toast can be uncomfortable to your pierced tongue and can increase the risk of infections from swelling.

What to eat:

Smoothies

With a newly-pierced tongue, you may find it difficult to chew food because of swelling. That’s why it’s better to consume complete and balanced food in liquid consistencies. And what better example is there than a smoothie? They’re delicious and totally good for you.

Soup

If you want something savory, then go for clear broths with bits of soft vegetables. Just make sure that they’ve been cooled down because burning your healing tongue is the last thing you want!

Other soft food

What other alternatives are there? You can try yogurt, which when eaten cold, can help to ease pain and offer your body nutrition. If you’re up for it, go and get some ice cream or even baby food as these do not require a lot of chewing. Just always remember that the less pressure that you put on your new tongue ring, the faster it will heal.

For more piercing safety tips, follow the WildKlass blog!