So I’ve always had weak nails ever since I was a kid.
After a few days they would start to split or would just rip right off if I knocked my hand against something.
I could never understand why because I never bit them or anything, so like most people I just put it down to genetics even though no one else in my family seemed to suffer from it, and tried to worry about more important things.
But as riveting as exams and lectures are, when I hit about 19 I had well and truly had enough of my crappy nails showing me up and I spent the next few years getting acrylics done.
My nails were weak anyway so why the hell not, at least they looked better and made me feel better.
But of course, once you leave uni and your student loan runs out you kind of need to prioritise your expenses a bit, sooo back to crappy nails it was.
I did briefly have a good run with O.P.I in trying to make them stronger, but considering how expensive and how much bloody maintenance it is, that love affair quickly fizzled out.
Then, as some of you may know, last year I started going down the all-natural path, first by cutting out shampoo and shortly after that I replaced every other personal care product I owned with DIY or natural and organic alternatives.
I had also been making the majority of my food from scratch for a couple of years leading up to this point in trying to ease my chronic IBS, using mostly vegetables from a couple of the major supermarkets.
And I still had crappy nails. Genetics, right?
Then one random Saturday in June 2015 we decided on a whim to see if it’s really as overpriced to shop at your local farm shop as people say it is.
Personally, we found that our local farm shop is actually better value for money quantity and quality-wise, although I obviously can’t say that for all farm shops - and I certainly wouldn’t waste my breath trying to explain why real food is worth paying more for than your ready meals.
Anyway.
Are you guessing where this is going?
Without changing anything else in my life at this time - no new nail products, no particular focus on eating nail-friendly foods - yep, within a few weeks of eating the majority of my food from our local farm shop, my nails became rock hard.
And besides a health hiccup in April 2016 after taking some really bad health advice from a “Wellness MOT” charlatan…
…and some gel nails I had done for my wedding in September 2016 which set my nails back again for three months, my nails are once again rock hard.
To the point where I have the new dilemma that I have no idea what I’m doing with them - I’ve never had to file and shape my own nails before, what the hell am I meant to do?!
First world problems, amIright?
So I’m not pretending to be a food or health expert or anything, buuuut I’m pretty sure my body is getting far superior nutrition out of locally grown, fresh, almost-pesticide-free produce than I ever did out of the poor lifeless, tasteless veggies from the supermarkets - something something depleted minerals in over-farmed soil science stuff go Google it if you’re interested.
Surely I can’t be the only one who’s ever experienced such a noticeable change just from switching where they buy their food from?
Disclaimer
• This website is mostly a journal of my n=1 experiences of seeking good health, after a lifetime of chronic illness.
• I am not medically trained. What you eat, think and do are your own responsibility.