What element of the body is nail health

Nail health does not correspond to a single specific element. The symptoms that we often encounter in daily life, such as thin nails, white spots, and easy breakage, are mostly related to minerals such as calcium, iron, and zinc, vitamins A, B, and D, as well as the protein intake required for keratin that constitutes the core of nails. However, it does not mean that "abnormal nails must be deficient in nutrients." The effects of external stimulation and local lesions are often more common than nutritional deficiencies.

A while ago, Aunt Zhang came to me downstairs with her fingernails and said that there were several white spots on her fingernails. She checked online and said she was suffering from calcium deficiency. She took imported calcium tablets for three months and it didn’t go away at all. She was very anxious. I took her hand and looked at it, asking if she had stubbed her fingernail when packing old cabinets a while ago. Then she suddenly slapped her head and remembered that she hit her thumb while moving a metal box. The pain lasted for two days and she didn't take it seriously. In fact, this kind of external force hits the white spots that grow out of the nail matrix, and they will disappear completely when the new nails slowly grow upwards. It has nothing to do with lack of nutrition, and it has nothing to do with such expensive calcium tablets.

Speaking of which, I have to mention the "Nail Health Comparison Chart" that has been widely circulated on the Internet. There has been a lot of controversy in the industry about this: many health bloggers say that long vertical lines on the nails are a sign of vitamin A deficiency and neurasthenia. Another group of professional opinions believe that as long as they are uniform, light-colored and fine vertical lines, they are the normal texture of the nails. As you age, the slowdown of cuticle metabolism will become more obvious, and there is no need for additional supplements. Only when the vertical lines suddenly become thicker, darker in color, and accompanied by uneven nails or even cracks, do you need to be alert to whether it is a nail matrix nevus or even other lesions, which have little to do with element deficiency.

Of the people I usually come into contact with who think their nails are unhealthy, eight out of ten people ask if they are suffering from calcium deficiency. In fact, people whose nails are really affected by calcium deficiency are mostly accompanied by systemic symptoms such as leg cramps, night sweats, and loose teeth. Only the nails are soft and easy to split. Most of them are due to the thinning of the nail surface from years of manicures, or from washing dishes and cleaning with dish soap and disinfectant without wearing gloves, and the nail barrier is eroded. There are also many young girls who are on a diet to lose weight, and their nails are so soft that they can be folded directly. It is not because of a lack of trace elements, but because the daily protein intake cannot even meet the basic amount. The nails themselves are made of keratin, and the raw materials are not enough, so of course they will not grow strong.

To put it bluntly, nails are like "small rearview mirrors" on the hands. They can reflect some minor problems of the body, but they are really not that accurate. You can't just look at the rearview mirror and it's a little dusty and conclude that the engine is malfunctioning, right? If you are really worried that your lack of elements will affect your nails, don’t buy a bunch of supplements indiscriminately. Go to the hospital to take a blood test to check the trace elements and vitamin levels. It will be clear at a glance what you are lacking and what you are not lacking. Excessive supplementation will put a burden on the body. For example, excessive vitamin A supplementation may cause poisoning, but do not supplement randomly.