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Treat Your Nails Right

Like hair the condition of your nails is a good indication of your general health. Your nails should be a pink color - due to the blood vessel below the nail. You can tell you a lot from looking at fingernail about whether you have a heart, thyroid, digestive or even fungal disorder.

The meaning of nail conditions

The look of your nails can reveal other health problems:

• Bluish Fingernails - circulatory problems

• Vertical ridges - May indicate an iron deficiency

• Spoon-shaped nails - Those that curve upward, can be a natural sign of aging or a sign of anemia. This can be caused by deficiencies or iron and/or B12.

• Thickening of the Nails - insufficient oxygen reaching the nail, a sign of lung disease.

• Holes or sharp pits - may be a sign of psoriasis (a skin disease that causes redness and scaling)

• Yellowish discoloration (of the nail or the skin under it) - If nicotine use is not applicable or either nail polish or hair dyes, it can be a sign of fungal or yeast infection, psoriasis, lymph disorder or even liver disease.

• Disappearance of the lunula (the light colored "moon" at the base of the nail. Lung disease is possible.

• Broadening of the nail - a sign of possible lung disease. It's called a watch glass deformity because of the way the nail's convexity is accentuated.

• Brittleness - Usually caused by detergents, chlorinated water, nail polish remover, or aging. Vitamin A and calcium deficiencies cause dryness and brittleness of the nails.

• Ridging or buckling - which may be accompanied by inflammation of the skin around the nail. It's a sign of possible fungal infection. The condition can be particularly dangerous when it occurs in the toenails.

• White spots on nails (medical term: leukonychia) - injuries frequently bring on such spots, the primary cause seems to be a zinc defeciency.

• Spots or furrows - caused by virus infections, colds, high fever or other severe stresses

• Nail abnormalities - often seen in people with hypertension who are know to have high serum copper - the nail will be constricted in from where the nail normally is located.

• White nails - may signal poor circulation or anemia (when circulation is poor, the nail bed - skin under the nail doesn't receive enough blood - this causes the color to change from healthy pink to pale or white

• Green nails - indicate a bacterial infection which usually occurs when the nail is slightly separated from the skin, leaving an open space where bacteria can thrive

• Red splinters - tiny hemorrhages in the capillaries in the nail bed - they may be caused by minor injury to the nail or in rare cases by liver trouble or psoriasis

• Dark horizontal streaks - may indicate an underactive adrenal gland - the streaks usually fade after the adrenal gland begins to get stronger

• Hangnails - lack of protein, folic acid and Vitamin C can cause this nail problem.

• Splitting nails - lack of Hydrochloric Acid (HCL) contributes to splitting nails.

• Fungus in and around the nails - can be caused by lack of friendly bacteria in the intestinal system.

What to do about nail problems

Your nails are a reflection of your general health so it is important to work on improving your health. The fist place to start is to remove as many toxins from your body as you can. The build up of toxins in your system will lead to many diseases including those of the circulatory, immune, digestive and liver and hormones. These will all contribute to poor nails.

Herbs, nutrients and eating certain foods will assist in improving your general health as well as the health of your nails.