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Healthy Diet for Nails

If your nails are brittle and weak and have a tendency to split easily, you may not be getting enough of the nutrients needed to maintain healthy nails. This is a problem that's fairly easy to address, as long as you're willing to make some fundamental changes in your eating habits and can stick with them to undo whatever damage your nails already may have suffered.

  1. Nutrients to Strengthen Nails

    • If you want to combat dry, brittle nails, nutritionist Ilah Jarvis recommends that you stock up on foods that are rich in vitamins B and C, omega-3 fatty acids and minerals. Foods that fit the bill, according to Jarvis, include organically raised free-range meats; cold-water fish, such as mackerel, salmon and sardines; and whole, unprocessed foods, including beans, whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables. In an article on the HealingLifestyles website, Jarvis also recommends that you take a high-quality multivitamin daily.

    What About Gelatin?

    • You may have been told by your mother--who in all likelihood got the same tip from her mother--that a good way to strengthen nails is through the consumption of gelatin or foods high in gelatin content. In reality, this time-honored folk remedy for weak and brittle nails is without merit, according to MayoClinic.com, which observes that "taking gelatin supplements or soaking your nails in gelatin...won't help."

    Biotin Can Help

    • In an article on the Health Advice page of Families.com, Aimee Amodio reports that a Columbia University study in the 1990s showed biotin can significantly strengthen brittle nails. Biotin is a B vitamin found in such foods as liver and eggs, but Amodio points out that it is doubtful dietary sources of biotin are sufficient to give your brittle nails the help they need. The Columbia study, published in the April 1993 issue of Cutis, reported significant improvement in nail strength in test subjects who were given a daily supplement of 2.5 mg of biotin. Getting this amount of biotin by dietary means alone would be virtually impossible, as the average serving of eggs contains only 25 mcg, while a serving of liver delivers only slightly more at 27 mcg, according to Amodio. MayoClinic.com also suggests a daily supplement of 2.5 mg.

    Link to Liver Health

    • In her book "You Are What You Eat," British holistic nutritionist Gillian McKeith contends that there is a strong link between a healthy liver and healthy nails. To promote liver health, McKeith recommends a low-fat diet, little or no alcohol and plenty of fresh juices--including beetroot, carrot, apple and cucumber--to help purify the liver. Foods that contribute to liver health, according to McKeith, include most whole grains, vegetables, legumes and foods rich in sulfur, including broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, brussels sprouts, nuts, turnip roots, cauliflower and seeds, such as flax, sunflower and pumpkin.

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