Strong nails aren’t just about good polish. They can be built bite by bite. From sweet potatoes to salmon, certain foods can seriously improve your nail game by boosting keratin and preventing breakage. Here are 12 foods to consider if you want to eat your way to healthy nails.
12. Oats
Oats aren’t just good for your heart; they’re also a secret weapon for your nails. Oats are a great source of silica, a mineral that plays a crucial role in the formation of collagen and, by extension, your nails. Silica is essential for providing strength and resilience, helping prevent your nails from becoming brittle and weak.
11. Greek Yogurt
Your nails are made almost entirely of a protein called keratin. So if your diet is low in protein, your body will ration it for more essential functions, leaving your nails brittle. This is where Greek yogurt comes in. A single cup can pack over 20 grams of protein, providing the essential building blocks your body needs to produce keratin.
10. Avocados
Avocados are loaded with monounsaturated fats, vitamin E, and B vitamins. which are all crucial for nail health. The vitamin E in avocados encourages healthy growth, while the fats and oleic acid act as a natural moisturizer from within, combating the dryness that can lead to brittle or peeling nails.
9. Soybeans (Edamame)
If you’re looking for a plant-based boost for your nails, look no further than soybeans or edamame. Soybeans are a surprisingly potent source of biotin, which helps with the production of keratin. Snacking on a cup of steamed edamame is an easy and delicious way to get a major dose of this essential nail-building vitamin.
8. Sunflower Seeds
Do you have annoying vertical ridges on your nails? That might be due to a magnesium deficiency. This deficiency can manifest as weak, flaky nails, and getting enough may help prevent vertical ridges from forming. A quarter-cup serving of roasted sunflower seeds provides a significant portion of your daily magnesium needs, along with other nail-friendly nutrients like zinc and vitamin E.
7. Bell Peppers
Vitamin C is essential for producing collagen, a protein that provides strength, shape, and integrity to many tissues, including your nails. By simply adding sliced bell peppers to your stir-fry or salad, you’re giving your body the vitamin C it needs, much more than you would get from orange.
6. Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are packed with beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A. This vitamin is essential for the synthesis of keratin, the very protein your nails are made of. What’s fascinating is that Vitamin A fat-soluble, meaning it’s not easily damaged by heat during cooking, so you get the full benefit whether your sweet potatoes are roasted, baked, or mashed.
5. Spinach & Leafy Greens
If you have pale or spoon-shaped nails, you might be suffering from an iron deficiency. Spinach and other dark leafy greens are loaded with iron, which is crucial for carrying oxygen to all your body’s cells, including the ones that create new nails. Even better, spinach is loaded with Vitamin C, which increases the absorption of iron from plant-based sources.
4. Salmon
Salmon offers a powerful combination of protein, biotin, and omega-3s. The protein provides the keratin building blocks, while the biotin helps with keratin production. But it’s the omega-3s that offer a unique benefit: they help moisturize the cells in your nail bed, which can reduce inflammation and prevent dryness from the inside out.
3. Eggs
Eggs are also one of the best food sources of biotin. But here’s the catch: you must cook the eggs. Raw egg whites contain a glycoprotein called avidin, which binds to biotin and prevents your body from absorbing it. The good news is that heat neutralizes avidin. So, whether you like your eggs poached, scrambled or hard-boiled, cooking them ensures you get the full benefit of their biotin content.
2. Beef Liver
Beef liver might not be the most glamorous food, but it’s the most powerful biotin source on the planet. If you’re serious about strengthening your nails, consider eating at least 3-ounce serving of cooked beef liver, which contains nearly 31 micrograms of biotin (103% of your daily value). While many foods contain some biotin, liver provides a concentrated dose that’s hard to match.
1. Brazil Nuts
Just a single Brazil nut contains nearly twice your entire daily requirement of selenium, a mineral that’s critical for nail health. Selenium plays a role in fueling protein enzymes and protecting against cell damage. For your nails, this means preventing discoloration and the formation of ridges, improving their overall shine. Overdoing it on selenium can be toxic, though, so you truly only need one per day.