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Our hands hold so many clues! If you missed part I (deciphering the lunula), you can find it here: https://goodmedicine.info/blog/health-clues-you-can-use-1://

​ ….. Now let’s move on to the whole fingernail. Today I’ll be covering a few more clues you can use to help “nail” down healthy habits and reverse possible deficiencies that ultimately will contribute to dis-ease.

What do healthy nails look like?
*When you are examining your nails, they need to be free from all fingernail polish. Because the nail bed is loaded with capillaries (tiny blood vessels) and fingernails grow relatively quickly, the ends of our fingers often can tip off on an early warning health concern. Nails are a snapshot of a person’s health over the previous 6 months…. So too, slow and steady wins the race when you are looking to repair or support what’s amiss.  

👍A healthy nail will have a transparent pink color and should be slightly shiny, smooth, and with a slightly (side to side) arched shape. Hardness of your nails comes from the presence of adequate sulfur needed for healthy keratin production (This is why we can thank YL’s Sulfurzyme… if you have been taking this supplement….. and have noticed stronger nails and hair).

*White Spots on nails: poor zinc load or excess refined sugar load
This is technically known as leukonychia and indicative of two things: a zinc “inadequacy” and/or an excess consumption of refined sugars. 
Zinc inadequacy is often common in people over the age of 60, but anyone can be susceptible! 

Other signs of a possible deficiency include thinning hair, acne, slow healing wounds,  worsening vision, worsening hearing or ringing in the ears, and an impaired immune system. Interestingly,  food doesn’t taste or smell much when you are zinc compromised (Does that sound familiar given the 2020 virus?… one of the key natural preventatives to the ‘rona is making sure you are getting adequate zinc in your diet!)

How do you know if your problem is excess sugar or a zinc deficiency? Do an honest assessment of your eating habits. Common foods high in zinc include: pumpkin seeds, grass fed beef, chickpeas, lentils, cocoa powder, cashews, yogurt or kefir, mushrooms, spinach, avocados, and chicken. If these are regular staples to your diet and refined sugar is kept to a minimum then I’ll bet your nails are free from white spots!  

What are some YL supplements that contain zinc? Hint: one of them is red! 
*Longitudinal Ridges: essential fatty acid deficiency
EFA’s are necessary for healthy skin, hair, heart, thyroid, prostate, brain, joints and nails! In addition essential fatty acid deficiency has been found to play a key role in inflammation, depression, and cognitive decline (including Alzheimer’s Disease).

Other signs of a possible EFA deficiency are dry scaly skin, a dry mouth, cracked fingertips or cracked heels (also a sign of a possible thyroid deficiency). 

Common foods high in EFA’s include flaxseed, chia seeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, “fatty fish” and fish oil, and brussel sprouts.

Which Young Living supplements might longitudinal ridges be telling you your body is craving if you don’t tend to each the above foods regularly? I can think of two: OmegaGize3 and MindWise.

*Clubbing: low oxygen in the blood
Clubbed fingernails curve downward at the tip of the finger. It is associated with conditions including lung, liver, or heart disease and both celiac and inflammatory bowel disease all of which, in their own way, affect oxygenation of blood. Clubbed fingers can be “tested” at home by using a simple visual test called “Schamroth’s Sign” (details easily found with a quick internet search).   Clubbing is also a possible clue for anemia. These all have the potential to be fairly serious in nature, and I would suggest reaching out to your favorite health professional if your fingernails (AND) other clues are tipping you off to something amiss that has not yet been “officially” diagnosed.  I have seen many many clubbed fingernails in my pharmacist days and it’s a clue worth taking note of.

A healthy YL drinkable supplement that supports oxygenation of the blood immediately comes to mind.  I’ve yet to meet anyone who wouldn’t benefit from daily NingXia Red! 
The rest of the fingernail clues will have to wait until Part III! 
xoxo~ liz
(message me if you have no idea what Sulfurzyme, NingXia Red, OmegaGize3 or MindWise is, and would like to learn more!)  

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