Posted on October 25th, 2008 by admin

What about nutrition for your nails? There is a lot of controversy on this point, with some authorities emphasizing the importance of adequate protein, iron, calcium and zinc. Others claim nutrition is of little or no importance. Actually, very little, if any, real scientific research has ever been done concerning the effect of improved nutrition on the nails. What is clear is that every part of the body requires adequate nutrition to perform properly, and there is no reason why that shouldn’t apply to the cells that produce nail tissue.

Certainly, if you are on a crash diet and you notice that your nails look like something crashed on them, you need look no further for the source of your problem. And there does seem to be good evidence that iron-deficiency anemia can make nails unusually brittle or even cause them to grow in a peculiar shape resembling the inside of a spoon. You might even want your physician to check out your iron status if your nails begin to look like that.

A multiple mineral supplement might help, too, especially if your diet seems unusually limited in amount or quality. But remember, nails grow slowly, and it will take at least three to four months before you begin to see any improvement.
Two rather common problems with nails are white spots and pitting. Some nutrition-oriented physicians believe white spots on nails are caused by zinc deficiency, but most other doctors either don’t agree or don’t care.

A more common explanation is that tiny air pockets manage to infiltrate the nails when they are being formed—perhaps because of injury—and turn into white spots that eventually grow out with the nails. Japanese physicians have found that white spots appear most frequently in the nails of young women and least often in those of older people.

Many of us from time to time find that we have a few tiny pits in our nails. Sometimes these pits are taken as a sign of psoriasis, but in the absence of other symptoms, they mean no such thing. When doctors in London carefully examined the fingernails of people who had absolutely no signs of active skin disease, they discovered that more than half had several tiny pits (the average being about three or four) with men having more than women.

How pitting can be prevented, we can’t exactly say. But we do know that overaggressive cuticle control can put all manner of dents and ridges in the nails. The safest way to control cuticles is the gentlest: Put some cuticle cream or hand cream on your nails and massage against the cuticles with a cloth. Never use the pointy end of a nail file.

In fact, you shouldn’t use a nail file to file your nails. Use an emergy board, held at a 45-degree angle. Stroke in one direction only—not back and forth—working from the outside of the nails toward the center.
One thing you can use a nail file for is gently removing dirt from under the nails. If you’re going to be working in the garden, though, you can make the cleanup a lot easier by first rubbing a little bit of hand cream or Vaseline under your nails.

Afterward, brush your nails clean with a gentle nailbrush and warm, not hot, soapy water.
If your nails tend to split at the ends, says dermatologist Gerald A. Gellin, M.D., of the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine, nail polish will lend not only a touch of elegance but a touch of added strength as well.

Tags: manicure, nails care, nails nutrition