Do your nails need a nutritional boost?

by ROSALIND RYAN, femail.co.uk

Your hair and nails are both made of protein, so many of the foods that are vital for healthy hair, are also essential for your nails.

Like your hair, your nails need a fresh supply of vitamins to stay healthy. They can also be the first place to spot deficiencies in other areas of the body.

'Split, brittle or flattened nails can indicate an iron deficiency, and white spots on the nails could be due to a lack of zinc in the diet,' says Maryon Stewart from the Women's Nutritional Advisory Service.

Your nails are largely made from a protein called keratin so you need to include plenty of protein in your diet to avoid weak nails. Experts recommend eating two portions of protein every day. Vegetarians can find protein in pulses, nuts, soya and eggs.

To avoid white marks in your nails, make sure you are eating enough zinc. Foods containing high amounts of zinc are red meat, oysters, some green vegetables and liver. Too much alcohol or caffeine can prevent your body absorbing zinc properly, so cut back on these if you are over-indulging.

Fatty acids are also essential for good nail health. Lack of these fats in your diet can lead to dry and flaking nails, so either include a handful of nuts or seeds in your diet every day or take a daily fish oil supplement.

Evening primrose oil and starflower oil also both contain important polyunsaturated fatty acids. These help form the protective outer structure of cell membranes, keeping nails and hair flexible.

Another supplement that may help strengthen your nails is silica. Silica - found in the horsetail herb - is a 'cross-linking'

agent that strengthens the connecting tissue in your skin, nails and hair. Most Western diets, which are high in animal produce and low in whole grains, do not provide enough silica.

Angela Dowden, our femail.co.uk nutritionist, says if you eat plenty of whole grains, green vegetables, nuts and seeds you should be fine, but to be on the safe side, you can also take a supplement called Silicol Gel to boost your levels of silica. Silicol Gel is available from health food stores.

Maryon Stewart is the author of 'The Model Plan' £7.99 available from the Women's Nutritional Advisory Service on www.wnas.org.uk

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