how to grow your nails

My nails have been a small but very significant reflection of my inner physical health. Up until the last couple of years, since before my health reboot, I've never had long or strong nails. Growing my nails has always been a challenge as they would split and break - every single time. I even got fake nails for my sister's wedding but I felt like my fingers were suffocating (weird, right?!) and they absolutely wrecked my fingernails! (Not to mention the toxic fumes I inhaled at the nail salon where I got them done!)

However, today you can see from the pics below that my nails are 100% mine and long and strong! 

I've been accidentally growing them for a month (I couldn't be bothered cutting them short like I usually do) and low and behold there has been no breaking, no splitting and no suffocating. The only maintenance has been regular filing. That's it. No buffers, polishes, hand lotions, no wearing gloves to protect them. Just growth.

Yes, how in the world have my nails become long and strong after twenty-odd years of wear and tear? As always it comes down to what I put into my body and what I don't put into my body. For over a year now I have not worn nail polish. Nail polish is toxic; all the chemicals in nail polish are absorbed through your nails, your skin and into your body. You can get natural nail polishes but I haven't tested any out yet. It was simply easier to forgo nail polish for awhile. 

And since our bodies are being built by the food we eat, cell by cell, foods that are rich in the mineral silica are going to build and strengthen our nails (and our bones, skin and hair too). 

Foods that are high in silica include:

• alfalfa
• almonds
• apples
• barley
• beets
• bell peppers
• brown rice
• burdock root
• carrots
• celery
• chickweed
• cucumbers
• dandelion
• flaxseeds
• grapes
• hemp leaves
• horsetail tea, juice or extract 
• jerusalem artichoke
• millet
• nettle leaves
• oats
• oranges
• potatoes
• radish
• raisins 
• soybeans
• spinach
• tomatoes

How easy is this - to grow your nails long and strong eat these silica-rich foods and chuck out the toxic nail polish. And you may want to invest in a glass/crystal nail file for your beautiful new nails too. Happy filing!

Quote for the Road…