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"Diana, just a quick heads up to let you know we are still using your cookbook and the guys will often be heard saying what would Diana say about this or that....really good feed back... I made your potato salad and the oriental coleslaw on Sat. for a family luncheon and had rave reviews so thanks again."
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How Healthy Are Your Nails?
As seen on BCTV May 08/01
Amazingly enough, you can tell a lot about your nutrition by looking at the condition of your fingernails. Brittle, breakable fingernails with ridges or white spots can be early warning signs from the body that a nutritional problem exists. Some possible solutions to various problems with fingernails are listed below. Remember, however, that genetic factors also come into play when you look at issues like your ability to grow fingernails.
Brittle nails that break easily or grow slowly
Possible problem: A lack of protein, iron and/or the amino acid cysteine in the diet. Solution: Foods like lean beef, poultry, tofu and soybeans for protein; lean meats and alternatives, tomato juice, green leafy vegetables and whole grains for iron; and chicken, grain products, eggs, nuts and seeds for cysteine.
Nails with ridges
Possible Problem: A lack of the B vitamin biotin, which weakens the protein layers below the skin line where the ridges begin. Solution: Biotin rich foods like egg yolks, green beans and dark green vegetables. Don’t just eat the whites! Note: ridges in nails are often a genetic trait.
Weak, ragged cuticles
Possible Problem: An overall lack of good nutrition in the diet. Solution: Include a wide variety of high quality foods such as eggs, fish, whole grains for complex carbohydrates and fresh fruits and vegetables for the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E.
White Spots on fingernails
Possible Problem: Most likely injury to the nail or nail bed. This may have occurred from hard physical labour or constant biting and irritation to the nail. Zinc, a mineral that helps repair the skin may be lacking. Solution: Stop injuring the nail and include zinc, protein and carbohydrate in the diet. Lean meats, poultry, eggs, seafood, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, whole grains and milk are good foods to emphasize.
What about boosting the gelatin content of your diet by eating gelatin desserts and taking gelatin capsules?
Sorry, but gelatin does not help your nails grow. It is actually a low quality food and doesn’t keep your nails strong the way it keeps antlers and hooves strong.
Watch for the Eating for Energy segment every Tuesday on BCTV’s Noon News Hour!
Excerpts from The 101 Most Asked Nutrition Questions by Patricia Chuey and reprinted with permission