fingernails
Unlike claws and animal hooves - which have an offensive / defensive, protective function and increased grip - the laminar nails of primates serve mainly to:
- Raise the tact of the extremities;
- Amplify manipulative precision;
- Protect the terminal phalanges.
Fragile Nails
Despite the hardness and flexibility that characterize them, even the nails are subject to various types of complications.
The most common is fragility (often associated with thinning), due to nutritional deficiencies, chemical-physical stress, trauma, infections, dermatological problems and systemic diseases.
Whatever the cause of nail fragility, it is always a good idea to check that the diet is able to compensate for all nutritional requirements.
Nutritional Requirement
As anticipated, the nails consist of dead corneocytes filled with keratin.
The latter is a peptide fiber composed largely of sulfur amino acids. However, the synthesis and integrity of protein chains are also guaranteed by the presence of vitamins and some trace elements.
In particular, the strength and strength of the nails are ensured by:
- Essential amino acids : phenylalanine, valine, threonine, tryptophan, isoleucine, methionine, histidine (for children), arginine, leucine and lysine.
- Sulfur amino acids : methionine, cysteine, cystine, homocysteine and taurine.
NB : Cysteine and methionine play a particularly important role (the latter is also of an essential type).
- Vitamins: retinol and equivalents (vit. A), tocopherols or tocotrienols (vit. E), ascorbic acid (vit. C) and pyridoxine or pyridoxal or pyridoxamine (vit. B6).
- Minerals: iron, zinc, selenium, copper, phosphorus, calcium and silicon.
Diet
The " nail diet " must guarantee the supply of all the nutrients we have mentioned above. More in detail:
- Essential amino acids : they are the building blocks of proteins.
In reference to a nutrient, the adjective "Essential" means that it cannot be produced independently by the body in adequate quantities; therefore, it should be taken with food.
Essential amino acids are present in optimal quantities in high biological value proteins. The foods that contain them are mainly of animal origin: eggs, milk and derivatives, meat and fishery products.
To obtain adequate amounts of essential amino acids from plant foods, soy, algae and combinations of various seeds (legumes, cereals and pseudocereals) can be chosen. The desirable amount of protein in the diet is still a matter of debate, but could be between 1.0g and 1.2g per kilogram of desirable body weight.
- Sulfur amino acids : besides being generic building blocks of proteins, they play a fundamental role in the synthesis of keratin. The foods of animal origin that contain more are: egg white, fishery products and poultry. Plant sources include: spirulina algae, broccoli, cereals, sesame and pumpkin seeds.
- Vitamin A : liposoluble contained in foods of animal and vegetable origin. Retinol is abundant especially in milk and derivatives, in offal and in eggs. Carotenoids in egg yolk, shellfish, fruit and orange / red vegetables (carrots, peppers, tomatoes, melon, apricots, peaches, etc.). Carotenoids are antioxidants and wear out in the presence of oxygen.
- Vitamin C: water-soluble contained above all in foods of vegetable origin. It is abundant especially in the sour fruit (citrus fruits, strawberries, cherries, etc.), in tomatoes, parsley, lettuce, radicchio, cabbage, broccoli, etc. It is thermolabile and does not resist cooking. It is antioxidant and wears out in the presence of oxygen.
- Vitamin E: liposoluble contained above all in foods of vegetable origin. It is abundant in the germ of cereals, in seeds with a predominance of oil, such as almonds, in avocado, in extraction oils, in certain vegetables and aromatic herbs. It is antioxidant and wears out in the presence of oxygen.
NB : Most of the vitamins are contained in the animal liver.
- Iron: it is present in various forms in foods of animal and vegetable origin. The most bioavailable is EME, it is mainly contained in meat, in offal, in fishery products and in egg yolk.
- Zinc and selenium: the first is mainly contained in: liver, meat, milk, derivatives and some bivalve molluscs (especially oysters). The second is contained above all in: meat, fishery products, egg yolk, milk and dairy products, fortified foods (potatoes, etc.).
- Copper: it is abundant in the liver, oysters, cocoa, hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, peanuts, wheat germ, bran and potatoes.
- Calcium and phosphorus: milk and its derivatives are rich. Other sources are dried fruit for calcium and phosphorus fishery products.
- Silicon: it is found mainly in cereals, fruit and vegetables.
Supplements
The nail supplements to be taken by mouth, as well as the diet, do not have a highly specific action.
They can be of great help in the case of specific or generalized nutritional deficiencies, and generally exercise their function on all keratinized tissues (skin, hair, nails and hair); their relevance is visible with a reduction in fragility and an increase in the health of the nails, hair, skin and mucous membranes.
Oral nail supplements contain all the nutritional principles we talked about in the previous paragraph, single or combined.
To counteract the fragility of the nails, local or topical supplements are also available to be applied directly to the nail plate. They mainly contain water, cystine, lipids and some additives.
For more information, read the article: Nail Supplements
