What Your Nails Look Like Could Be Affecting Your Brain

Your finger nails and what they look like tell you a lot more about your health status than you may have thought. Nails are like a gateway into the internal biochemical world of the body.

The crazy part is, some of the messages they’re sending you have implications for your neurological/mental health and immune system health.

Have you ever had white spots on your finger nails? This is a clear sign of a zinc deficiency. Zinc is involved in the synthesis of serotonin in the brain. A deficiency can cause changes in mood. You can further determine a zinc deficiency by doing a zinc taste test (using liquid zinc) or by having your zinc levels tested, either through plasma or extracellular.

How about weakness, cracks, or splitting in your nails? These might be telling you that your essential fatty acid reserves are low, and EFAs make up a large percentage of brain tissue and also help in lowering neurological inflammation. They can be found in fatty fish, walnuts, hemp seeds, flax seeds, chia seed and ghee - among a few others.

Ever had spooning on your nails? You may be deficient in iron and iron is essential for carrying oxygen in red blood cells. Low iron means low oxygen binding sites means less oxygen making it to your brain. If you aren’t much of a meat eater, supplementation with iron might be beneficial, as plant based forms of iron are often less bioavailable than mean based forms of iron. You can also cook on cast iron as some of the iron will absorb into the food.