Shereene Idriss identifies three nail changes that signal internal health problems. Pale nails that stay white after you press them suggest iron deficiency. Nails separating from the bed with sweating and bulging eyes point to hyperthyroidism. Horizontal grooves called Beau's lines appear after major stress and can date when it happened.
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Did you know that your nails are quite literally the gateway to your health? Yes, I'm talking about your nails. Now, yeah, our eyes are the gateway to our soul, but our nails tell us so much about our health, and I'm going to tell you 3 signs you should absolutely not ignore if you care about your health. So number 1, when you look at the color of your nail— now obviously I have a manicure, but I do this in between manicures— when you look at the color and you press down, if it is nice and pink and that pinkness comes back pretty fast, you're good. But if it takes time for that pinkness to come back, Pause because you may be iron deficient. When your blood is deficient in iron, it is less red, it is less robust, and therefore it looks pale. So if your nail beds are pale, it is something to think about. If you're looking for other signs, you can also look at your lower eyelids. If they look pale, you know, red flag. And if you're losing hair, red flag. Number 2, if your nail plate is separating from your bed All right, something known as onycholysis, and maybe you're noticing that you are a little hyperer or more sweaty or that your eyes are bulging or you're getting diffuse hair thinning and you have fine hair, check your thyroid because these are all signs of hyperthyroidism. And the third one, which I find fascinating because it's a literal timestamp of your life, have you ever noticed that some people have horizontal grooves along their nails? It's kind of hard to show you, but like horizontal grooves along your nails, those are known as Beau's lines. They're usually a sign that somebody had a major life-stressing event a few months ago. Like, I'm talking hospitalization, massive mental stress, a deep physical stress. Your nails literally go into shock, stop growing, and then they start to grow again. And the line is a timeline. The further it grows from your cuticle of when that event happened. I mean, it's crazy, but your nails tell you a lot about your health, and there are so many other signs combined with other different factors that can happen that are good ways for you to figure out what is going on internally.
