Your Nails May Reveal Your Lifespan: Insights from a Harvard Expert
Dr. David Sinclair from Harvard Medical School explains how nail growth can indicate longevity and the rate at which your body's vital organs age.
How Nail Growth Can Indicate Your Longevity: Insights from Harvard Medical School Expert Dr. David Sinclair on the Connection Between Nail Health and Aging
Is the secret to longevity literally in your nails? According to Dr. David Sinclair, a very famous authority on aging and Professor at Harvard Medical School, the increase in the rate of growth of your nails may represent how long you will live. Doctor Sinclair proposes that the growth rate of nails indicates the rate at which healthy cells in your body regenerate, therefore indicating what your biological age is.
Nail Growth Slows Down with Aging
Dr. Sinclair, in an interview with the Daily Mail, said that increased nail growth usually indicates a reduced biological age. Chronological age is merely how old you are: in years since birth. Biological age tells you how aged your cells and organs are in terms of health. Organs that age less mean longer and healthier lives.
There is scientific evidence that supports this notion. The 1979 study recorded nail growth in more than 100 people for several years. The results indicated that after age 30, nails grow more slowly by almost 0.5% a week. This might be suggesting a natural slowing down of one’s ability to regenerate cells within the body and so maintain a healthy and youthful function.
Rapid Nail Growth: A Sign of Longevity?
Dr. Sinclair tracks his nail growth for self-assessment of his body’s ageing process. “I will often look to see whether my nails have been growing at all or very slowly.” Each time I cut my nails, I remember when I cut my nails the last time.”
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Blood flow is the reason. Blood flow decreases with age, reducing the supply of nutrients and nourishment needed for growth to the extremities, fingers, included, thereby slowing down nail growth. If nails grow rather quickly and need trimming quite often, it may indicate that blood circulation is still good, and major organs are under slow aging.
Diet also plays an important role in nail health. Deficiencies in zinc, vitamin A, calcium, and iron retard nail growth. Hormonal changes also may induce temporary spikes in nail growth; puberty and pregnancy are such examples.
Nails as Health Indicators
In addition to ageing mechanisms, nails can also serve as indicators for general health. For example, ridges are normally established in the elderly as a consequence of a gradual decline in cell production. If ridges are to appear in younger individuals, they may be indicative of underlying conditions such as thyroid disease, diabetes, or viral infections such as mumps.
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Keeping an eye on your nails can offer a useful clue as to both your lifespan and your overall well-being. Nail growth by itself is not an absolutely solid predictor of lifespan, but it is one of many minor indicators of how good a job your body is doing to hang onto its youthful status at the cellular level.
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