Fingernail health facts

Healthy fingernails should be pink, smooth and naturally curved without any abnormalities or discolorations. On the other hand, fingernails which contain uneven structures, curves which are abnormal, discolorations, dots, lines, ridges and other sorts of strange appearances and occurrences may be signs worth of your attention. Namely, even though some of these may not be serious signs, other may present underlying illnesses, infections, diabetes, asthma and many other conditions. In fact, even Hippocrates, who is considered to be the father of medicine, claimed that the health of the nails was closely connected to the internal health of a person.

Eating for Healthy Fingernails

If you fingernails lack quality or sturdiness, this can be a sign of a mineral or vitamin deficiency. If the nails are brittle and dry, they are such due to lack of calcium in the diet. Ridges, on the other hand, are a sign of vitamin B deficiency while cracks signify the lack of omega3 fatty acids. Finally, hanging nails are a clear signifier of vitamin C and folic acid deficiency.

So, you need to find these nutrients in the food you consume and modify your diet so that it provides you with these.

Food for Your Nails

The vitamin B complex can be found in meats such as kidney and liver, as well as eggs, yogurt, milk, cheese, nuts, beans, mushrooms, bananas, various seeds and avocadoes, while vitamin C resides in citrus fruits, kiwis, strawberries, darker green leafy vegetables, red peppers and broccoli. Green vegetables contain folic acid as well. Moreover, this acid can be obtained through whole grains, green vegetables, beans and oranges you eat. As for the omega3 fatty acids, you can supply your organism with these if you eat fatty fish like herring, mackerel, trout, tuna and salmon. However, those who do not consume meat may obtain the essential fatty acids through seeds, nuts, tofu, flaxseeds, primrose oil and flaxseed oil.

Nevertheless, if this diet list may seem quite unobtainable during certain parts of the year, you can opt for supplement pills which are bound to boost the health of your nails, containing all the nutrients they need.

Keeping Fingernails Healthy

Trim your nails regularly and keep the surface beneath them clean. Also, make sure that the edges of the nails are kept smooth after trimming, since rough edges may lead to breakage. Never pull off your hangnails. Rather, clip them off and avoid nerve damage this way. Naturally, do not use your fingernails to pull, push, press, pry, poke or do similar actions. Also, restrain yourself from biting your nails and keep them protected when you handle chemicals by wearing gloves. Finally, wash your hands often in order to moisturize your nails and stay away from acetone nail polish removers since these destroy the nails.