Forums HomeGrown Herbalist Student Forum Medicinal Herbs Fingernail health

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    • #51910
      Kathleen
      Student

        I started my Herbal journey about 6 months ago. Since then my fingernails have improved! I have vertical ridges in my nails which cause my nails to split. I’m told this is “age related”. Recently I’ve noticed the ridges are slowly going away as the nails grow. What am I doing right? What body system affects the nails?  I’m suspecting the liver?? It’s good to have a visual result from my herb taking(even though I wasn’t attempting to “cure” my nails)

      • #51911
        Greg Boggs
        Student

          That’s awesome Kathleen! I have no idea what is causing your nails to get healthier, but whatever you’re doing, keep it up!

          1 user thanked author for this post.
        • #51914
          Dr. Patrick Jones
          Homestead Instructor

            The Chinese use fingernail changes to diagnose.  They really do testify of nutrition and stress levels. Certainly liver and kidney capacity will affect their output as well.

            I’ve had a couple of experiences in my life that were physically demanding (brain surgery, ruptured appendix etc..). On those occasions, I develop a distinct groove in the nail bed that progresses to the end until nail nippin’ time. Collagen in the diet (Knott’s Gelatin is a good source) is a good building block for healthy hair and nails. Other nutrients can have a big impact too. Herbs, besides their medicinal benefits, are often amazing sources of nutrients.

            Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

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            • #51927
              Kathleen
              Student
              Topic Author

                I’ve been adding a lot of Liver support stuff to ward off seasonal allergies. I’ll look into adding collagen to my diet.

                • #51929
                  Dr. Patrick Jones
                  Homestead Instructor

                    Ellie is right about the fatty acids too. I like Barleans Omega. You can get it at Costco or Amazon.

                    Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

              • #51915
                Ellie
                Student

                  Hello Kathleen,

                  Having ridges on the nails indicates a need for essential fatty acids in the diet.  Obviously, your diet has impacted you nail health!  Eating herbs like borage and coconut will help to reduce this sign!

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                  • #51931
                    Kathleen
                    Student
                    Topic Author

                      Ellie, I need to do some study on fatty acids. And I have lots of borage in my garden but haven’t found a lot of information on using it. Would you use aerial parts or roots. And yes, I’ve been a junk food junkie all my life and have been improving that in the past year or so.

                      • #51959
                        Kathleen
                        Student
                        Topic Author

                          Ellie, I just realized you were talking about Borage  & coconut OIL not the plant. Right?

                        • #51960
                          Ellie
                          Student

                            Kathleen,

                            I like to use borage oil which can be bought in a supplement form.  You could also eat the leafy greens.  Collagen powder is also great for reducing those ridges on the nails.  It may take several months before you notice that the ridges are completely gone.   Taking cod liver oil is another great options.  There is only one cod liver oil that I would recommend taking since many are not made correctly and are high in heavy metals.  I recommend Azure’s Cod liver Oil which is butter fermented and highly recommended by the Weston A. Price Foundation.  Nail findings truly show how the body is responding to diet and lifestyle choices.  Fun fact- having lunula present on the nails indicates health reserves in the body (minus the pinky nail).  I have been studying physical observations and there is so much to learn when observing a person!

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                            • #51962
                              Kathleen
                              Student
                              Topic Author

                                Ellie, You are a plethora of information. I was just looking at my nails this morning and saw I didn’t have any lunula on my nails ( I didn’t know that’s what they were called) so it’s interesting that you mentioned them.

                                Doc Jones mentioned Knox gelatin and I happened to have some. The package said it would take 90 days to improve the nails. I also found an unopened bottle of borage oil in my cabinet. Don’t know how long it’s been there or if oil goes bad.

                                Having a visual sign of good/bad health is very helpful for me and I’m looking forward to being able to see what happens in the next 90 days. What resources are you using to learn about physical observation=Health? I would be interested in learning more.

                                Thanks!!

                                • #51968
                                  Ellie
                                  Student

                                    Hi Kathleen,

                                    I’m attending Trinity School of Natural Health where I am obtaining a certification to become a naturopath.  I just took a course on physical observations a few months back.  If you are interested in learning more on physical observations I would recommended the book, Face Reading In Chinese Medicine by Lillian Bridges.  It provides colorful pictures of faces, tongues and nails so you can better understand how to read a person’s health by their appearance!  I hope this helps!  🙂

                                    • #51976
                                      Kathleen
                                      Student
                                      Topic Author

                                        Thanks, Ellie. It seems the more you learn you realize that the more there IS to learn! I’ll check out the book you recommended.

                            • #51967
                              Angie Mason
                              Student

                                I am also very new to herbs.  I started my journey when I contemplated retiring from teaching, but realized I would have no health insurance until I turned 65 and that is a loooong time off.  I have always been healthy until I turned 50.  Suddenly, they say I have hypertension, diabetes (current A1C is 5.0) and COPD!  15 prescriptions later and I feel worse than I did without the meds.  So….. I prayed hard that I would be led to a “teacher” who I could trust to teach me herbal medicine.  (My Endocrinologist says she knows NOTHING about herbal medication.)  Doc Jones turned out to be the “chosen one”. 🙂  I am so hooked on this course that I am on here every evening.  My husband is currently laying off my new greenhouse and I have ordered seeds/plants from just about everything Doc Jones has mentioned!  I’m ALL in!

                                So, all that just to ask:

                                • is there a “one-a-day”, herbal ritual I should be privy to?
                                • Also, If I can’t mix herbs with Rx, and can’t just abruptly stop the Rx, how will I know if the herbs will work without my Metformin?
                                • I am also on 3 pills a day for hypertension.  They make me so TIRED!  I don’t want to take a handful of chemicals every morning!  If I follow the high blood pressure formula from Doc, when will I know it will be safe to ween off my pills?
                                • Any other advise would be greatly appreciated!

                                This group is so supportive.  I am glad I landed on this course!!!!

                                BTW, I’m Angie on the coast of NC

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                                • #51971
                                  Ellie
                                  Student

                                    Hi Angie,

                                    You have some great questions regarding your health!  I would start with health foundations such as drinking 50% of your bodyweight in liquid ounces daily (you may need to drink a little less or more water.  It just depends on the individual but this is a general recommendation), eat real food (no processed foods, additives and remove highly processed sugar and wheat from the diet) and do some form of exercise daily (rebounding, infrared sauna, or walking depending on what you can physically do).  Just meeting these few requirements will have an impact on your health and cardiovascular system.  I don’t know what kind of diet you eat but by eating a diet of non-GMO, organic vegetables, fruits, dairy and meat you will start to notice a change in your health.  I like to recommend people find a naturopath or health practitioner to work alongside them and help them make safe choices if they decide to go off medications.  By changing the diet many people find that they need their medications adjusted especially when they start loosing weight.

                                    Hope this helps!

                                    1 user thanked author for this post.
                                  • #52116
                                    Dr. Patrick Jones
                                    Homestead Instructor

                                      Hi Angie,

                                      Have a look at the Hypertension lesson. There are a lot of things there that can be done that aren’t herbal. I’d start there and work with your doctor with regard to medication changes.

                                      High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)

                                      Start a new thread for the other questions so folks can find them more easily. :0)

                                      Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

                                    • #56502
                                      Sherri Marshall
                                      Student

                                        Doc has helped me so much and my family with the different things we had. Thank Doc! Sherri

                                        Sherri.Marshall

                                    • #55462
                                      Sherri Marshall
                                      Student

                                        When your nails beds are white what does that usually mean? Thanks

                                        Sherri.Marshall

                                        • #55463
                                          Sherri Marshall
                                          Student

                                            thank you for the information 

                                            Sherri.Marshall

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