What to eat for healthy nails

In fact, there is no "god-level food" that can instantly produce shiny and tough nails. The condition of nails is essentially an external projection of the overall nutritional status. The core premise is to first have a balanced diet and then supplement the corresponding nutrients in a targeted manner. There is no need to buy hundreds of online celebrity nail care products. Two years ago, when I was working on a project, I relied on fried chicken and spicy hotpot every day for more than three months. First, my nails grew densely packed with small vertical lines, and then they became as soft as thin PVC sheets. I could cut them in half with a courier. At that time, I followed the trend and bought several imported nail-nurturing gummy candies. After eating them for two months, I had no use at all. I had to go to the nutrition department to talk to an old classmate to find out what the problem was.

For example, many people say that soft nails require calcium supplementation. In fact, there are quite a lot of disagreements on this statement in the academic community. After all, the main component of nails is keratin, not calcium. Insufficient calcium intake will not be directly reflected on the nails. However, if long-term vitamin D deficiency affects calcium absorption, even calcium absorption may be affected. With keratin metabolism disorders, nails may break easily and become delaminated. My vitamin D test at that time was only 11ng/ml, which was more than half less than the minimum standard. I supplemented with 400IU of D3 and a cup of whole milk every day for about two months. I never split my nails again while driving express delivery.

When it comes to keratin, some people must have heard the saying "eat collagen to nourish nails". This is even more controversial. Opponents say that collagen will be decomposed into amino acids when eaten, making it impossible to accurately supplement nails. However, there are also small-scale clinical studies showing that supplementing 2-5g of small molecule collagen every day for 3 months Peptides can reduce the frequency of nail breakage by about 40%. I tried it for two months myself, and the hangnails were indeed reduced a lot. However, during that time, I ate two more egg whites and a piece of chicken breast every day. I can’t say which one played the role. Anyway, high-quality protein is the raw material for synthesizing keratin, so eating more never hurts.

For example, girls who love to do manicures must have had the experience of having their nails so thin that they are translucent after removing them. At this time, don’t just apply layers of nail polish on your nails. When eating, add two more bites of lean beef or salmon, and add a small plate of dark green spinach or rapeseed. The iron and folic acid in it can provide sufficient nutrients to the nail matrix. When new nails grow out, they will naturally become stronger, which is more reliable than applying any number of external products. There are also those who always like to have barbs around their nails. Don’t always think about tearing them off. Usually grab two handfuls of peeled almonds or macadamia nuts, or eat an avocado every week to supplement some vitamin E and unsaturated fatty acids. Several of my friends tried it, and more than half of the barbs were reduced in less than a month.

Many people panic when they see vertical lines on their nails, thinking that they are missing something and need to make up for it. In fact, most of the time this is a normal physiological phenomenon. It is the same as wrinkles on the skin. The older they get, the more obvious they are. Don’t worry about it at all, unless they suddenly appear in a short period of time. If there are many deep vertical lines, along with uneven nails and white spots, it may be due to insufficient intake of B vitamins. Usually, replacing white rice and white flour with some whole grains such as oats and brown rice can basically make up for it, and you don't have to buy hundreds of multivitamin tablets.

Anyway, after I adjusted my diet in the past two years, the condition of my nails has been quite stable. I also have friends around me who are vegetarians. Their nails are soft all year round. It took half a year of iron supplements and vitamin B12 supplements to gradually improve them. To put it bluntly, nails are like small barometers growing on the hands. Most problems with them are due to the overall nutrition. Don't focus on this small piece of nail and just eat three meals a day. It is better than anything else.