Fingernail Fortune-Telling

YOUR FINGERNAILS HAVE a story to tell about your health--if you learn their language. For instance, nails that grow in with an upward curve (shaped like a spoon) may signal an iron deficiency A tiny white spot two-thirds of the way up the nail could be, among several possibilities, the mark of an injury to the finger that occurred a little more than four months ago. You can figure out the date because growth that emerges from the base of your fingernail today will reach the tip of your finger in approximately six months.

Norma Pasekoff Weinberg, a lecturer on herbs from Cambridge, Mass., and author of Natural Hand Care (Storey Books, 1998), recommends watching your nails for clues to your health. If you see something unusual, she says, "it's a wake-up call to go in for a checkup."

Nail Problem   Potential Culprits

 SMALL WHITE   Injury at the base of the nail,
       SPOTS   zinc deficiency.

 EXTRA LARGE   Malfunctioning thyroid
  OR MISSING   gland--either overactive
  HALF-MOONS   or underactive.
AT NAIL BASE

    VERTICAL   Genetics (lines more
    LINES OR   apparent as we age), nutrient
     GROOVES   deficiency, thyroid disease.

  HORIZONTAL   Too rigorous manicuring,
    LINES OR   poor nutrition, recent illness
     GROOVES   or surgery.

     CONCAVE   Iron deficiency, malfunctioning
 (SPOONLIKE)   thyroid gland.
       SHAPE

 VERY ROUND,   Congenital heart disease,
    CLUBLIKE   lung disease.
       SHAPE

 BRITTLENESS   Frequent exposure to water
               or detergent, dehydration,
               vitamin A or silica deficiency.

      YELLOW   Diabetes, lung disease,
       COLOR   psoriasis, fungal infection,
               overuse of nail polish.
 RED OR DEEP   Heart irregularities.
  PINK COLOR

    PALENESS   Anemia.

Chart sources: Natural Hand Care; American Academy of Dermatology.

COPYRIGHT 1999 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning