How to care for brittle nails? What are the causes of brittle nails? How can I prevent brittle nails?
The nails are torn, broken off, already cut but do not want to be beautiful. An ambulance is required. What you especially shouldn’t do:
The best immediate measure for brittle nails: goes to a professional. The nail salon is your first port. You tell in detail about the problem. But then you have to get to the heart of the cause, regardless of the cosmetic result.
Once you have slightly improved their appearance, you need to check the possible causes. After all, a manicurist can’t work miracles either. In general, it is worth going to the doctor if you cannot determine the cause or if there is no improvement in the medium term.
External influences can lead to tearing and breaking of the nails again and again. The first three of them are:
The first two reasons are usually work-related. Regular hand washing with soap is highly recommended and is not a major factor in brittle nails. If so, there are very likely other reasons.
Such reasons are, for example:
Less commonly, these are drugs that interfere with vitamin balance or thyroid disease, which damage the nails.
If the supply of vitamins is good, sometimes it looks quite gloomy with minerals. Reaching for the fruit bowl is enough to maintain a good balance of vitamins. But, for a diet rich in minerals, we are much more dependent on a balanced diet. Therefore, for example, a deficiency of the mineral zinc is the cause of brittle nails and is much more likely than a lack of vitamins. In addition, brittle nails are the first indication of zinc deficiency. Therefore, dealing with damaged nails is even more important. As zinc is also essential for the immune system, hormonal balance and detoxifying processes in the body, its deficiency is often expressed in increased susceptibility to diseases, growth disorders and problems with skin, hair and nails.
If you do not have or have not had brittle nails, then you are doing everything right. To be sure, you better check if you can remove any of the things that cause brittle nails. However, it is not enough for your nails to pay attention only to nutrition. Because the symptoms of deficiency appear quickly on the skin and nails. The basis of this is that metabolism is disrupted by zinc deficiency. This lowers growth hormones. The nails initially become thin and brittle before finally breaking down. The body fails to build enough new substance to form healthy nails.
Due to the constant splitting, the nails no longer grow. Sometimes there are small white spots or dots on the nails. If one or more of these symptoms occur, it is very likely that there is a deficiency of the trace element zinc. This must be removed as soon as possible, as otherwise more serious damage to the body may occur.
Zinc-containing foods and zinc substitutes can help
Only part of the zinc ingested with food can actually be absorbed by the body. Therefore, foods high in zinc should be present in the menu several times a day. Good sources of zinc are whole grains, oats, eggs, soy, legumes and nuts. Iron-rich foods, in particular, slow down the absorption of zinc and should therefore be consumed separately.
Those who fail to get enough zinc from food can resort to zinc therapy. It should always be noted that iron supplements can also significantly slow down or even reduce the absorption of zinc. Therefore, there should always be a few hours between taking zinc and an iron preparation.
