Although nails make up our external appearance, they are usually the last to be looked after. Many of us tend to have brittle nails that chip easily or discolored nails that we just don't know what to do with them. Now hear this... a simple change or improvement in what we eat can change our nails for good for the better!
Nutrients necessary for Healthy Nails
Let's take a quick look at the various nutrients that are absolutely vital for good nails:
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Biotin is an essential vitamin for the nails and a deficiency results in growth problems such as very thick colorless nails as compared to naturally healthy light pink ones.
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Another element for nails is Silica. It helps in the structural formation of nails and the production of collagen. A Silica deficiency gives rise to brittle nails.
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Zinc and Folic Acid are also vital for good nail and hair growth. People who suffer from hair loss problems usually respond well when they're put on a zinc supplement.
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Vitamin C is vital to the structural development of nails as iron is for the haemoglobin level in blood which is important for nail bed growth. Deficiency of these shows up in spoon-shaped nails.
Abnormalities of nails
Sometimes nails show signs of injury or deficiency:
- A horizontal line across the nails corresponds to periods of severe nutrition problems or a disease leading to malnutrition
- Malformation and yellowish color of the nails can be due to many respiratory diseases that lead to low oxygen levels in the blood. The yellow color in women can sometime be due to nail posh pigments diffusing into the nail (nails incidentally are porous and can absorb surface agents).
- Pitted nails which occurs in many severe diseases.
Diet for Healthy Nails
A good healthy diet can change the above abnormalities. What one eats makes a huge difference to every part of the body. Here are some things to change in your diet if you'd like to have healthier, better looking nails:
- Raw salads for enzymes, vitamins B and C.
- Lightly steamed or sauted vegetables.
- Protein-rich foods like soy, paneer, and dals (pulses).
- Primrose oil, nuts and oil seeds like linseed, flaxseed, walnuts and almonds.
- Calcium-rich foods like dark green leafy vegetables, dairy products and soy.
Some other things that you could do to improve nail health are wear gloves while using strong detergents, weekly oil treatments, cutting the cuticles carefully (not too short) and last but not the least, stop using fingernails as a tool.
