Be Happy Dieting!

Unless they come down with fingernail fungus, most people don’t worry very much about their nails.

The only fingernail problems that your average person is aware of are fungus, split nails, and hangnails. Although those are the three most serious ones, they aren’t the only problems that you can have with your nails. Sometimes, more subtle health problems can be detected by the condition of fingernails.

A few years ago, I was feeling pretty low. I had low energy, my mind always felt foggy, and I just couldn’t seem to get anything done. I went to the doctor and he couldn’t diagnose anything, but he referred me to the psychiatrist.

I didn’t really want to go through a lengthy course of treatment, so I decided to check out the naturopathic doctor. When I went into his office, he blew me away. He took one look at my hand and diagnosed me as malnourished and missing several vitamins in my diet.

I was completely shocked, but he quickly explained what he had done. Apparently, many fingernail problems which most people think are nothing actually say a lot about what sort of health you are in. Horizontal ridges, vertical lines, spotting, fingernail color, and many other characteristics can give a trained naturopathic doctor some very specific information about how your body is doing.

Calcium deficiency, of course, is one common cause of many fingernail and health conditions, but iron deficiency, vitamin A deficiency, and many other health factors can be the cause depending on how your fingernails look.

This particular doctor did not believe in vitamin supplements, but he told me that a more balanced diet could do a lot for my mood and affect my fingernail and health condition. He gave me some healthy diet tips, and told me to come back and see him in six months. Although I was a little bit skeptical that he could diagnose this based on fingernail disorders, I figured I would roll with it.

My health did get better, my mood improved, and my mental fog lifted. When I came back in six months, he had me look at my finger nails. They had changed a lot!

I hadn’t really noticed it the whole time, but they had become smoother and thicker, and had lost the pale, blotchy look they had had. I have no idea why this works, but it appears that the condition of fingernails really can be used as a diagnostic tool.