Listen to Your Body: The Skin, Tongue, Hair, Eyes & Nails Speak!

It can be hard balancing work, hobbies, exercise, cooking, nature & family, all while trying to remain sane with a social life. With all these to-dos stacking up, we tend to dismiss our poor night vision, chipping nails, thinning hair, rough tongue, acne, etc. Although many of these don’t signify serious disease, they can be cues that our body is lacking sufficient nourishment. Listen to your body...

In this blog I am going to discuss common symptoms or signs coming from your stretchy skin suit, that pink thing in your mouth that helps you taste, chew, swallow and talk, the wig on your head, and the screws on the end of your fingers and toes, AND how to fix it through nutrition and easy-to-follow habits.

Let's dive right in, shall we?

Skin

Acne

ACNE SUCKSSS. Whenever I see a pimple on my face, my mood goes from 10 to 5 just like that. Acne is basically clogged pores which can be caused from excess oil, bacteria, hormones, and diet. 9/10 I believe that acne is caused by some sort of gut imbalance related to diet. Some inflammatory foods that I cut out which helped me resolve my acne are the following: wheat, crappy veggie oils like canola and soybean, wheat, and milk. (PLEASEEE do not even debate on taking accutane. If you do, expect dry skin, rash, itching, chapped/dry lips, dry nose, nosebleeds, dry eyes, vision problems, back pain, joint pain and depression/anxiety).

Dryness (eczema or psoriasis)

Dry skin is closely related to an omega-3 deficiency which you can get from krill oil (2-5g a day will help), vitamin d3 deficiency (2,000-5,000IU daily), low collagen intake, antioxidants like vitamin C (take with collagen to help absorption for one another, liposomal vitamin c) and vitamin E.

Bumps on Back of Upper Arm

Do you have tiny little bumps on the back of your upper arm, on your triceps (or sometimes found on thighs and cheeks)? I used to, and never thought much of it. Then I began eating more vitamin A-rich foods, not just from carrots and sweet potatoes because those only contain the plant-based kind of vitamin A, beta-carotene. Instead, I chowed down on retinol-rich animal-based healers, like liver once a month, pasture-raised eggs with the orange yolk, and grass-fed beef and ghee or butter. Small bumps on your skin could be a sign of keratosis pilaris. Not to worry, just eat those foods more often which contain that more bioavailable version of vitamin A, retinol.

Tongue

That big ole muscle in your mouth should have plenty of papillae (little bumps) along with a beautiful pink-red, clean, even color. Your tongue should not be rough and scaly, discolored dark red (or any other color other than pink), and should sit nice and comfy in your mouth.

Super Smooth (glossitis)

If your tongue is super smooth without tiny papillae, then it may be a vitamin B complex deficiency. Take a methylated form of B vitamins to help daily (folate, B12 and niacin are the big ones to look into).

Fissures and Grooves

That rough, scaliness isn't all that hot, I know. But it can be fixed in no time, and everyone will want to french kiss you once you stick that thang out (ha). This is most likely due to inadequate vitamin A. Refer to the protocol above.

You can also scrape your tongue morning and night to improve your sense of taste, reduce inflammation, improve breath and support your immune system from mucus buildup.

Hair

Hair Loss or Thinning Hair

Most of us have over 100,000 hair follicles on the top of your noggin!! Apparently Google says it's normal to lose 50-100 of these suckers daily (geez). Eating foods rich in biotin (vitamin B7) like egg yolks, niacin (vitamin b3) and vitamin d3 such as fatty fish like salmon and sardines, grass-fed beef, and pasture-raised organic chicken and turkey. Taking a quality fish oil supplement like Carlson or some krill oil will support hair regrowth as well. Don’t forget about zinc and iron found in those animal products mentioned and in cacao and shellfish like oysters. Walnuts, chia, flax, and extra virgin olive oil are some of my favorites loaded up with essential fatty acids linoleic and alpha linolenic acid that can help too!

Eyes

Poor Night Vision & Dry Eyes

I don't know why carrots are considered so epic for your eyes because they contain the inferior version of vitamin A, beta carotene. Instead, eating more retinol, a more bioavailable form will assist with better vision and help with dry eyes. Retinol is found high in: grass fed meats, liver and organ meats, grass-fed butter, ghee and cheeses, pasture raised eggs, and fatty red salmon. Staying hydrated can help with dry eyes (about .6-.9 ounces per lb of bodyweight daily) while supplementing with cod liver oil will take your eye acuity to the next level too because of the omega-3s, vitamin D, and vitamin A.

Nails

Brittle

Cracking, splitting or chipping nails are no bueno. This is a sign that you may have been wetting and drying your nails which could be from swimming or possibly doing dishes often. It may also be a diet low in heme iron or protein which builds the keratin in your nails. Both of these nutrients are high in animal meats like some quality grass-fed beef.

Soft/Weak

Nails that are almost pliable and can bend before they break could be related to environmental exposures (nail polish, chemicals like detergents and bleach). This could also be related to inadequate protein in diet, or vitamin and mineral deficiencies-- B vitamins, Calcium, Iron and omega-3s found in fish oil.

Ridges

I used to have reallllll bad longitudinal/parallel ridges on my nails and accepted that as ‘who I am’. But in all reality, it signified something much deeper. I did some research and once I began upping my zinc intake with zinc picolinate 20-50mg daily and some omega-3s from krill oil, they dissipated away and became silky smooth in a matter of weeks (for some people, the ridges can also be related to iron deficiency anemia).

Yellow

Yes, sounds disgusting right, but it's quite common in folks who paint their nails often (uhhh girls!?). It could be an underlying infection, so a natural way of fixing this is putting a couple drops of tea tree oil in some carrier oil like almond (which is also high in vitamin E) and rubbing it on them daily.

White Spots

These lil spots are nothing CRAZY serious but it tends to be associated with a zinc deficiency. 20-50mg daily of picolinate will help (could also be an injury, fungus or allergic reaction).

No Half Moons

Those lil white moons mostly found on your thumbnails are a great sign. Some people don’t have them but if you recall having them at some point in life then they disappeared, there's a likelihood its associated with malnutrition related to vitamin C and E or other antioxidants. THere was a point in my life where I lost them in high school because all I ate was ham sandwiches, oreos and minimal fruits and veggies (aka no antioxidants). So, after loading up on blueberries, cacao, cinnamon, and other antioxidant-rich foods, the moons came into fruition.

(Biotin, or vitamin B7 may also help tremendously with all of these conditions related to skin, hair and nails)

Grof, S. (2020, May 26). How to Spot a Vitamin Deficiency: Powered by Ameritas. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from https://www.ameritasinsight.com/wellness/how-to-spot-a-vitamin-deficiency

Tongue Symptoms of Vitamin Deficiencies. (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2020, from https://www.livestrong.com/article/285153-tongue-symptoms-of-vitamin-deficiencies/

Creative, E. (2018, November 14). Nail markers - what do they mean? Retrieved October 25, 2020, from https://sanatio.com.au/nail-markers-what-do-they-