What should you eat for healthy nails?

If you want to develop strong, pink and healthy nails that are not prone to delamination and breakage, it is enough to eat more lean red meat, shelled seafood, dark green leafy vegetables, whole grains and whole eggs every day. There is no need to follow the trend and buy high-priced nail care supplements.

Two years ago, I helped my best friend who often did manicures to adjust the condition of her nails. At that time, her nails were as thin as translucent plastic sheets, and they would split when lightly bumped on the desk. There were always small white spots on the nail surface, and the barbs on the finger edges grew and disappeared. She had followed the trend and bought a box of collagen manicure drink worth more than 300 yuan. After drinking it for two months, there was no movement. Later, I accompanied her to the nutrition department for consultation, and I realized that the food she had eaten before had not touched the needs of the nails at all.

More than 90% of nails are composed of keratin, which must be synthesized by high-quality protein ingested by the human body. Collagen cannot be directly added to nails. Foods such as lean beef and oysters not only contain sufficient high-quality protein, but also contain sufficient zinc and iron. When iron is deficient, nails will not only turn white and bloodless, but in severe cases, they will also turn into spoon-shaped onychomycosis with a depression in the middle. Zinc deficiency is a common cause of small white spots on nails and recurring barbs on the edges of fingers. At that time, my best friend always ate light food and basically avoided red meat and seafood. Later, she adjusted to eating soy sauce beef twice a week and steamed oysters once a week. She no longer threw out the egg yolk in the hard-boiled eggs for breakfast. She also added a small handful of stir-fried spinach to her rice. Occasionally, she would grab two handfuls of plain almonds as snacks. Within two months, the hangnails disappeared, and her nails became much harder, even one centimeter long without breaking. Even her pink nails looked good without the need for nude nail polish.

There are a lot of controversies on the Internet about the nail-nourishing diet. One group says that dietary supplements are too ineffective and that direct consumption of multivitamin supplements with biotin added will give faster results. The other group insists that dietary supplements are safer and excessive supplements can cause harm to the body. In fact, judging from clinical data, biotin deficiency can indeed lead to brittle nails. However, people with a normal diet will not be deficient in biotin as long as they regularly eat egg yolks and nuts. If you have dieting habits or poor gastrointestinal absorption function, you can indeed supplement supplements under the guidance of a doctor. Just don’t buy high-dose ones. I have seen netizens who randomly supplemented high-dose biotin, which ended up with acne on their faces and affected thyroid-related physical examination indicators. Oh, by the way, some people say that eating more collagen jelly and pig's trotters can nourish nails. In fact, it is not that great. The collagen in these foods will be decomposed into amino acids after entering the human body. The amount that can be allocated to the synthesis of nails is very small, and the price/performance ratio is really not high.

Don’t expect to see results in just three to five days. The growth cycle of nails lasts 3 to 6 months. Only by adjusting your diet for one or two months can you slowly see changes. If your nails still have sunken, black lines, or abnormal thickening after adjusting your diet for more than half a year, don’t think about improving it by eating. Go to a dermatologist first to check whether it is onychomycosis or other diseases.