Balanced: Tough as Nails - What Your Fingernails Have to Say About Your Health

If you're anything like me, at any time your nails are either half broken off or half peeling. Right now, looking at my own hands, I see that I a) need lotion, b) need to file them and c) need lotion. Maybe instead of our eyes being the windows to our souls, our fingernails should be; taking a quick look at your nails can tell you a bit about your health status. Holistic nutritionist, Lisa Petty, author of Living Beauty (Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2005) knows that "nails suffer the most when we don't treat our bodies well," so let's take a look.

Are your nails brittle or splitting? This could be caused by a lack of vitamin B or a lack of moisturizer. To help with brittle nails, take 2,000mcg (micrograms) of biotin daily according to Dr. Richard Eisen, Massachusetts dermatologist. Another suggestion? Snack on biotin-rich foods like lentils, cauliflowers and peanuts. To keep nails from drying out, moisturize them with a natural almond oil and keep hands gloved while washing dishes.

Do you notice vertical ridges on your nails? It might be due to age; ridges are wrinkles for nails. One way to diminish these ridges is to invest in a $3 nail buffer and use it once a week. With just a few swipes of a buffer, it will smooth out.

Could your nails star in 101 Dalmatians? If your nails are covered in white spots, this is most likely due to nail trauma. It could also be caused by a zinc deficiency. If the spots are caused by trauma, be patient and wait for the nails to grow out--the spots will disappear then. If you're concerned about zinc, add 50mg of it to your diet daily with a multivitamin or with red meat, sesame seeds pumpkin seeds or peas.

When should you actually worry about the condition of your nails? Approach your dermatologist or primary care physician if you notice any of the following symptoms along with shortness of breath or fatigue or other signs of disease.

Your nails curve upward - could be a thyroid condition
Your nails are incredibly brittle - could be hyper- or hypothyroidism
Your nails are yellow - could be due to chronic bronchitis
Your nail beds are blue - could be a symptom of circulation problems
Your nail beds are red (not pink) - could be a sign of heart disease
Your nail beds are white - could be liver disease

Healthy nails come in different sizes and shapes, but share similar characteristics: smooth, not easily broken, and see-through. Thankfully, with a few diet and nutrition changes, and some loving attention, we can let our fingernails show our true health.

When she's not writing for Savings.com, Sarah teaches health and science to high schoolers. You can also find Sarah at WEGO Health, where she is an advocate of improved health conditions for women and children of both the United States and globally and on her personal blog, Sarahndipitea.