Vitamins and Nutrients for Healthy Nails

Hands and nails represent the visiting card of every person and they can say a lot about one's lifestyle. Our nails reflect our eating habits and they suffer when we lack nutrients, therefore what we eat is very important in order to keep our nails healthy. Fragile nails don't grow and tend to split. Nails are affected by the way we take care of them and by the vitamin and mineral intake.

The health of your nails is strongly affected by vitamin, minerals and proteins deficiency. Nails play an important role, as they protect the nerves in our fingertips. Here are the most important nutrients for healthy nails.

Vitamins for nails

Vitamin A. Vitamin A deficiency can cause dryness and fragile nails. Moreover, the lack of vitamin A is responsible for the slow nail growth. Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamin A. There are many aliments that furnish this vitamin, such as garlic, parsley, watercress, papaya, mango, spinach, sweet potatoes, liver and egg yolks.

Vitamin B. Vitamin B complex is essential for your nails. Due to vitamin B deficiency our nails become more fragile and develop horizontal and vertical ridges. Among all the aliments rich in vitamin B you can find whole grains, seaweed, parsley, maize, yeast and almost all leafy greens.

Folic acid. Vitamin B complex play an important role in keeping the nails healthy and maintaining them flexible and strong. Folic acid can be found in spinach leaves, almost all type of nuts, citrus fruits, broccoli, whole grains and many more.

Biotin. The most important B vitamin is biotin, a nutrient that forms the basis of skin, nails, and hair cells.This vitamin helps nails to grow and not split so easy. If you have fragile nails this vitamin can help you a lot. You can find biotin in eggs, brown rice, yeast, fish, soy or oats.

Vitamin C. In cases of some deficiencies, that are more uncommon, the nails can present deformations. Lack of vitamin C gives a dry appearance to your nails and can cause hangnails. Vitamin C is found in oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, cantaloupes, mango, papaya, bean sprouts, green peppers, plantains or broccoli.

Vitamin D. Vitamin D is fundamental as it is responsible for the absorption of calcium in the body, which is vital for the nails health. Very good sources of vitamin D are brewer's yeast, mushrooms and wheat bran, eggs, fish, and fish's oil.

Minerals for nails

Besides all these vitamins, nails require minerals, proteins and fatty acids so they can grow long, healthy and strong. Here are one of the most important minerals for the health of your nails:

Calcium. Calcium is a very important mineral if you want to keep your nails healthy and strong. Nails also need adequate quantities of calcium in order to grow. Calcium can be found in diary products, sardines with cartilage, broccoli.

Zinc. The deficiency of this mineral may cause white stains on the nails. Zinc can be found in oysters, wheat germs, sesame, pumpkin seeds and cocoa.

Iron. The lack of iron can also cause white spots on the nails. Green leaves are the most important source of iron, such as spinach, beans (kidney beans), liver, oysters, beef, sardines, pumpkin seeds, potato peels (potatoes).

Silicium. Silicium is essential for the firmness and the strength of your nails. It can be found in onion, avocado, whole wheat, oat, strawberry, alfalfa, rice.

Other nutrients

Omega-3 fatty acids. Essential fatty acids play a major role in keeping nails brilliant and flexible. They can be found mostly in cold-water fish, including salmon, sardines, and mackerel, but also in linseed oil, evening primrose oil.

Protein. Proteins are very important because nails are made of proteins, more exactly a protein called keratin. Beans, seeds, oats, nuts, eggs and lean meats are important sources of protein.