7 Things Your Nails Can Tell You About Your Health

Clues to potential problems are right at your fingertips

You spend so much time trimming, shaping, buffing, and painting your nails (or having someone else do all of that for you), but you probably don’t spend much time looking at them bare. And that means you may be missing spots, stripes, and odd colors that could indicate that something’s up—in a bad way—with your body.

While nothing replaces a visit to your physician for a proper diagnosis, checking your fingernails for the following abnormalities can help you spot early warning signs, so wipe off that polish and take a glance.

 

1. Pale Nails

The problem isn’t so black and white when it comes to white nails. If your fingernail beds are looking a little ghostly, you may have anemia, a blood disorder characterized by a low red blood cell count. “Anemia resulting from low levels of iron can lead to inadequate oxygen in the blood, which causes the skin and tissues to become pale, particularly the tissues under the nails,” says Shilpi Agarwal, M.D., a board-certified family medicine and integrative and holistic medicine physician in Los Angeles. Be sure you’re consuming good sources of iron, including green leafy vegetables, beans, and red meat, to boost your levels.

More seriously, pale nails could also be a sign of early diabetes or liver disease, both of which can lead to impaired blood flow. “When diagnosed early, diabetes can often be controlled with dietary changes,” Dr. Agarwal says. Avoid processed foods with refined sugars and carbs, and eat more fiber, vegetables, and whole grains. “These will help stabilize blood sugar levels and limit circulatory damage caused by uncontrolled sugar levels,” she says. For liver disease, a trip to the doc for testing is a must-do for accurate diagnosis.

3 Reasons Why You're Not Losing Fat

A man can learn a lot from observing women in a book club for five minutes. I would know because my wife is part of a one, and every time I spend a little time with those ladies I come away much wiser and more convinced that men and women could not be much more different-unless you're talking about exercise. 

You see, the exercise techniques that work best are universal to men and women. And yet most women wouldn't dare approach the gym like a guy. How do I know? Because the 10 women at my wife's book club told me so last night, and it's the same thing I've heard for the last 10 years in the fitness industry. The reality is that training "like a man" will actually make you leaner, sexier, and have your friends dying to know your secret. 



So forget gender differences for a moment. Here are three tips that are part of the foundation of my New York Times best-selling book, Man 2.0: Engineering the Alpha. They work well for men, but like most things in life, by following these simple rules, the end result will look even better on a woman. 

Rule 1: Stick to the Basics 
Everyone loves to create exercises that make working out more fun. And that's fine; your workout should be enjoyable. But thinking that Bosu ball balancing acts or one-legged plié jumps while holding a kettlebell will get you fitter faster just isn't accurate. If you want results, you have to stick with what we know works. And that's classic, multi-muscle exercises like squats and deadlifts. These exercises work because they force you to use multiple muscle groups at once. And the more muscles you activate, the more fat you'll slash. 

These may seem like exercises for guys, but not all squats are done with a barbell loaded with lots of weight. (Although women shouldn't fear heavier weights; they don't make you bulky.) Variations of these exercises are timeless and extremely effective. Grab a pair of dumbbells and try Bulgarian split squats (Click here to see a how-to video). Your legs and butt will thank you. 

Rule 2: Less Cardio 
More women perform cardio as a means to lose weight than men. This is not a stereotype-it's reality. That's not to say men aren't equally guilty. (We spent part of an entire chapter in Engineering the Alpha busting the cardio-fat loss myth.) It's true cardio helps you burn calories… but so does eating. So that's not the issue; you want to find the most efficient ways to burn calories and more importantly fat. And you want to build a body that makes it easier for you to enjoy the foods you love, right? 

That's why cardio isn't the answer. Or, at least, it's not the primary solution. Cardio will burn calories, and weight training is more likely to burn fat. If you're going to do cardio, make it secondary to weight training. That means either doing cardio on separate days (if you have the time) or after a weight training workout. The best thing about lifting weights is that your body adapts to the new muscle mass you'll build, which means your metabolism will be higher, you'll burn more calories, and you'll change your hormones (like insulin) to be able to handle the foods you love. 

Rule 3: More Intensity 
I've spent enough time in the gym to know that making fitness social is a great idea. Few things are better than going to gym with friends or being part of group fitness, whether it's bootcamp, Crossfit, or Zumba. What's not okay is focusing on the social aspect more than the workout itself. Most guys go in with a "go big or go home" mentality. While this can lead to injuries, it's closer to the right mindset in terms of getting results. 



When you go to the gym, you want to get in and get out. Longer workouts are not better workouts. Intense workouts are what works. Your heart rate should be elevated and you should be sweating and feeling your muscles work. Completely transforming your body does not take a lot of time-but it does take a lot of effort. If you want an idea of what all out effort feels like, try this simple two-exercise sequence. It's called a countdown. It might only take 10 minutes, but it might feel like the hardest workout you've ever performed. Use this as a baseline for how hard you should be pushing to get the body you want. 

Countdown Workout 
Perform 10 reps of a kettlebell (or dumbbell) swing 
Without rest, do 10 reps of burpees 
Still without resting, do 9 reps of the swings 
Now do 9 reps of burpees 

Continue this pattern until you do just 1 rep of each exercise, trying to rest as little as possible (or not at all) between moves. 

Helpful Foods That Look Like Body Parts

Helpful Foods That Look Like Body Parts

Every child has heard the healthy-eating mantra "You are what you eat." But there may be a closer resemblance between good-for-you grub and your body than you thought. We found 10 foods that mirror the body parts they provide nutrients for—for example, brain-boosting walnuts actually look like a brain. Coincidence? Maybe. Though these healthy foods are beneficial to the whole body, the list below is a fun reminder of what to eat to target specific areas. 01. Carrot: Eye Slice a carrot in half crosswise and it's easy to see that the veggie resembles an eye—look closely and you'll even notice a pattern of radiating lines that mimic the pupil and iris. And the old wives’ tale is true: Munching on carrots will actually promote healthy eyes. "Carrots are filled with vitamins and antioxidants, like beta-carotene, that decrease the chance of macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in older people," says Sasson Moulavi, MD, medical director of Smart for Life Weight Management Centers in Boca Raton, Florida. Photos by iStockphoto 02. Walnut: Brain The folds and wrinkles of a walnut bring to mind another human organ: the brain. The shape of the nut even approximates the body part, looking like it has left and right hemispheres. And it's no surprise walnuts are nicknamed "brain food"—according to Lisa Avellino, dietitian for Focus28 Diet, "they have a very high content of omega-3 fatty acids, which help support brain function." Photos by iStockphoto 03. Celery: Bone Long, lean stalks of celery look just like bones—and they're good for them, too. "Celery is a great source of silicon, which is part of the molecular structure that gives bones their strength," says Dr. Moulavi. Another funny bone coincidence: "Bones are 23 percent sodium, and so is celery," reports Avellino. Photos by iStockphoto 04. Avocados: Uterus The lightbulb shape of an avocado looks like a uterus, and it supports reproductive health as well. "Avocados are a good source of folic acid," says Elizabeth Somer, registered dietician and author of Eat Your Way to Happiness. "Folate has been found to reduce the risk for cervical dysplasia, which is a precancerous condition." Photos by iStockphoto and Shutterstock 05. Clams: Testicles Studies have offered evidence that clams, which bear a resemblance to testicles, are actually good for the male sex organs. "Research from the Netherlands has suggested that supplementing your diet with folic acid and zinc—both of which clams are high in––can have a significant effect on improving semen quality in men," says Dr. Moulavi. Photos by Shutterstock and 3D Clinic. 06. Grapefruit: Breas The similarity between round citrus fruits––like lemons and grapefruit––and breasts may be more than coincidental. "Grapefruit contains substances called limonoids, which have been shown to inhibit the development of cancer in lab animals and in human breast cells," says Dr. Moulavi. Photos by iStockphoto and 3D4Medical.com. 07. Tomato: Heart Slice open a tomato and you'll notice the red veggie has multiple chambers that resemble the structure of a heart. "Studies have found that because of the lycopene in tomatoes, there is a reduced risk for heart disease in men and women who eat them," says Somer. And, she adds, if you mix them with a little fat, like olive oil or avocado, it will boost your body's lycopene absorption nearly tenfold. Photos by iStockphoto and 3D Clinic. 08. Red Wine: Blood Red wine, which is rich in antioxidants and polyphenols, including powerful resveratrol, looks like blood. "When you drink it, you're really loading up on the healthy stuff that protects against destructive things in the blood, like LDL cholesterol, which can cause heart disease," says Somer. "There's also a blood-thinning compound in red wine, so it reduces blood clots, which are associated with stroke and heart disease." Photos by iStockphoto. 09. Ginger: Stomach Anyone who's ever reached for a glass of ginger ale when they’ve had a stomachache knows about the antinausea effects of ginger. So it's fitting that the herb somewhat resembles the digestive organ. According to Dr. Moulavi, "gingerol, which is the ingredient responsible for ginger's pungent scent and taste, is listed in the USDA database of phytochemicals as having the ability to prevent nausea and vomiting." Photos by iStockphoto. 10. Sweet Potatoes: Pancreas The oblong sweet potato bears a strong resemblance to the pancreas, and also promotes healthy function in the organ. "Sweet potatoes are high in beta-carotene, which is a potent antioxidant that protects all tissues of the body, including the pancreas, from damage associated with cancer .