Read on to discover what your nails might be
trying to tell you. ..
If your nails are peeling
Peeling nails could indicate that your body is
unable to absorb minerals properly. It could
be that you’ re not chewing your food properly
or that you have a low amount of stomach
acid , meaning your food isn ’ t digested
properly.
If you' ve got dry cuticles
It may seem obvious but yes , dry cuticles
indicate a level of dehydration . People who
wash their hands a lot or are always doing
the washing up are more likely to suffer from
this. Clair suggests using a nourishing cuticle
oil to help hydrate the cuticles and the nail
bed itself.
If your nails have grooves
Known as ‘ pitting ’ of the nail bed, small dots
or cracks in your nails could be a sign of
psoriasis, an inflammatory disease that leads
to scaly or red patches all over the body , or
trauma to the nail bed.
If your nails have white spots or lines
These can indicate that your daily intake of
sugar is too high – are you having too much
fruit or chocolate ? If you see white marks , try
to up your fibre , vegetable and whole grain
intake.
If your nails are yellow
Yellow nails are rather unsightly and their
cause could be linked to discolouration from
smoking, wearing nail polish too often without
a base coat or even a nail fungus . Try to give
your nails a few days without nail polish
every few weeks and always use a clear base
coat to avoid staining the nail. If the problem
doesn ’ t improve , see your doctor .
If your nails are brittle
We all break a nail from time to time but if
yours are more sensitive than most and crack
or break easily, it could be down to your
thyroid or liver . Too little thyroid hormone
often leads to hair loss and brittle nails that
grow extremely slowly and are more likely to
lift away from the nail bed. Or it could
indicate liver congestion from lack of
vegetables . Seek your Doctor ’ s advice if
you’ re concerned.
If your nails are hard to grow
As Clair explains , hard to grow nails are like
combination skin and it can be hard to
pinpoint the problem. Trauma to the nail can
be a contributor , and heavy typers sometimes
find their nails won ’ t grow past a certain
length . Clair recommends keeping your nails
short and regularly cutting them to encourage
growth.

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