Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: michelle courtney on 14/10/2009 14:30:03
-
michelle courtney asked the Naked Scientists:
My nails on my hands refuse to grow! What food or medicine should I be taking or should I be taking a certain vitamin?
What do you think?
-
Are you a veganist?
Calcium, magnesium and vitamin D all stimulate nail growth. They can all be found in animal products like milk and meat.
-
^ above can also be found in sufficient quantities in a good vegan diet, along with 20 mins of sunshine per day or vitamin D supplements.
can you give us some more background info? do you have any other symptoms? what is your diet like, including drinks? do your nails grow on your toes? what is your hair condition like, has that changes? how long has this been happening?
-
Michelle, during 16 years of hands on research into how gravity assists the circulation in the body and the experiences from many people who have tilted their beds raising them by 15 cm’s at the head end to afford a gentle slope of five degrees to the horizontal from head to toe, now known as “inclined therapy” a surprising number of people have reported growth spurts in finger and toe nails, some people even reported shedding old toe nails and growing new stronger nails, this also happened to me.
Logically the denser material required to build the nails would benefit from the hands being down by our sides most of the day, so could I ask does your job or habitual posture involve having your hands elevated, perhaps using a keyboard or working at a bench for long hours?
Just for a moment think about the location of hooves, claws, nails, talons, coincidence that they are at the end of extremities or logical?
Hope this helps
Andrew. PS google “inclined therapy” or “Andrew k fletcher” for more information on this fascinating discovery.
-
Just for a moment think about the location of hooves, claws, nails, talons, coincidence that they are at the end of extremities or logical?
Seriously, you want to suggest that this has something to do with gravity? It's logical, yes, and it's no coincidence - it's because they would be useless anywhere else. Hooves on the knees would be pointless, as would claws on the stomach, talons on the bum...
Edit - just to add to that - Antlers, Rhino horn, tusks...
-
Rhino horn is hair Ben
This post is about improving nail growth, something that has been reported by many people using inclined therapy for unrelated conditions, observing nail improvements.
Ofc you can ignore or dismiss my post, it's your choice.
Just for a moment think about the location of hooves, claws, nails, talons, coincidence that they are at the end of extremities or logical?
Seriously, you want to suggest that this has something to do with gravity? It's logical, yes, and it's no coincidence - it's because they would be useless anywhere else. Hooves on the knees would be pointless, as would claws on the stomach, talons on the bum...
Edit - just to add to that - Antlers, Rhino horn, tusks...
-
so could I ask does your job or habitual posture involve having your hands elevated, perhaps using a keyboard or working at a bench for long hours?
I use a keyboard at work all the time, and even in my private time i'm fairly much using a keyboard.
My nails grow too fast for my own liking...
I do eat alot of meat and drink a lot of milk though, and my bed is quite horizontal...
-
Rhino horn is hair Ben
Well, it's keratin - the same stuff as hair and fingernails (and hooves, scales, feathers, beaks...). What's your point?
This post is about improving nail growth, something that has been reported by many people using inclined therapy for unrelated conditions, observing nail improvements.
Ofc you can ignore or dismiss my post, it's your choice.
I didn't debate that people report nail improvements. I picked you up an your suggestion that nails, talons hooves etc are on the extremities because of gravity.
-
[:0]
[ Invalid Attachment ]
An American woman listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the world's longest fingernails has had them broken off in a car crash.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7889890.stm
If she was driving with nails like that I'm not surprised.
-
Bet ya that although the material is similar in hair and nails, hooves and claws the stuff found in the lower extremities is of a denser concentration.
Another consideration is if the humidity factor, lower evaporation may have an affect on the density of nails, horns and hooves, might be worth investigating.
-
OK, I will take the bet.
The density of horn, according to this
http://oldwww.wii.gov.in/ars/2006/ars/rina.htm
varies by a factor of about two between two varieties of horn. I doubt that there's any way that you can say anything about horn density that isn't swamped by that sort of variation.
My toenails seem to be slightly more robust than my fingernails (in contradiction to your prediction) but I accept that that's not a good measurement.
The stucture of keratin, the protein from which horn, nails and hair are made comes in two types alpha and beta. If we are talking about mammals then we are mainly talking about alpha keratin. It has a reasonably consistent composition and (intrinsicaly) a fairly constant density.
The only source of variation for the observed density is a variation in packing- i.e how much air there is in the material.
I really don't think there's that great a difference between the density of a cow's horns and it's hooves. I know that pigs' trotters get boiled up and eaten whereas horns get used for other purposes such as knife handles where their hardness is important. To me, that strongly suggests that the feet are softer. (Again, that's at odds with your prediction)
BTW, re "Another consideration is if the humidity factor, lower evaporation may have an affect on the density of nails, horns and hooves, might be worth investigating."
Hooves and horns don't evaporate under any conditions of humidity so it's probably not worth investigating.
-
I really don't think there's that great a difference between the density of a cow's horns and it's hooves. I know that pigs' trotters get boiled up and eaten whereas horns get used for other purposes such as knife handles where their hardness is important.
Animal horn goes soft if boiled ...
Animal horn ... softens on heating, is somewhat reshapable,
and may be regarded as a natural, quasi-thermoplastic material.
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Thermoplastic
-
I know, but the point is that
1 it goes soft enought to shape, not to eat.
2 it is used for things where its strength is a requirement.
-
Logically the denser material required to build the nails would benefit from the hands being down by our sides most of the day
Nails grow slowly, so I doubt their growth would be ever be bottlenecked by a lack of protein, unless there was a rather serious circulation problem, in which case your nails would be the least of yor worries.
-
I think toenails grow more slowly than fingernails. So much for the idea that it's gravity.
-
Rhino horn is hair Ben
Seeing a posting as absolutely stupid as yours was my impetus to register on this site - just so that I could answer you. Yep, you should feel proud of yourself because your questionable intelligence has singled you out. You are unique!
1) Nearly everyone knows that the horn of a rhinoceros is made of hair-like material. To state that it is made of hair is a simplification for brains that don't - or can't - excel in biological comprehension.
2) The main structural component of HAIR, NAILS, HORNS, FEATHERS, and HOOVES is a class of protein known as KERATIN. Keratins are rich in sulfur-containing amino acids, especially L-cysteine. Individual keratin molecules are entwined helically around each other in long filaments, which are cross-linked by bonds between sulfur atoms on different chains. The twining and cross-linking produce strength and toughness.
So you say that gravity induces the growth of nails? Perhaps you would agree that taller people have been raised in a lower gravity environment, hmm? You need to start checking your facts, Mister.
-
The number one reason for nails or hair not growing
fast enough is iodine deficiency. Iodine deficiency
will also cause you to tire very fast, and be without
energy.
Most people that have iodine deficiency use salt
that is not iodized or do not eat salt. If your hair
or nails are not growing you might try something
with iodine in it, like kelp. Take a kelp tablet daily
for several days, your energy will return and your
nails start growing rapidly.