What is one of the things that women are especially keen to get right, in terms of presentation, before venturing out into the wider world, in search of company?  You might have said fingernails and you’d be dead right.  They can varnished a wickedly seductive shade of red, or any other color, but maybe you should be taking a real good look before you cover them up.

Nails are made up of protein, keratin and sulphur, grow about a centimeter every month and are basically protection for the highly sensitive bundles of nerve endings that are your finger ends, but hey are also so much more.  The state of the nails gives a host of clues to how healthy you really are, so it might be that you need more than just treating yourself to a manicure.

When the doctor takes your wrist to check your pulse, he may well take a look at the fingernails while he’s there, because they offer him good insights into what the problem could be. Anaemia is betrayed by spoon shaped nails, which can also be whitish and brittle, while psoriasis shows up as pitting and yellow marks on the surface of the nails.

Overly rounded nails with a bluish tinge can indicate problems with the lungs, while those who suffer heart disease often have reddish nails with white half moons.  Yellowy nails could point to problems with the liver function, while brown streaks or spots can sometimes be caused by carcinomas.

Mostly, the nails give indications of minor problems like vitamin or mineral deficiency.  Hangnails are caused by lack of protein or folic acid, while too little zinc can account for white spots.  Lack of hydrochloric acid – caused mainly by stress – leads to brittle, splitting nails, and a person with weak nails may well be short of E.F A.’s – essential fatty acids.

Anthony Haynes is a nutritional consultant in London’s famous Harley Street.  He says “I never diagnose on nails alone, but they are a good indicator of overall health.  After all, we all know that lack of vitamins renders hair dull and lifeless, so it’s only natural that it should affect the nails the same way, because they’re composed of the same things.”