Once upon a time, in a tale long foregone, a mother quarrelled with her son on his refusal to drink milk. This was a daily feature of their lives. Sometimes the boy won and at others the mother had the last laugh. And this charade would have continued for all time was it not that one day, the little boy, with a look of consternation on his face, approached his mother and showed her a white line on his fingernail. Struck by a brainwave, an idea sparked in her head. She told her son that he was suffering from calcium deficiency because he was not drinking milk. His eyes widened, as his tiny gullible being assimilated this information, believing his mother to be all-knowing. And so another myth was born, courtesy a mother's well-intended white lie, or maybe because we have a propensity of drawing relations based on colour, i.e., chalk (calcium carbonate) is white and so are the spots, just as an alternative explanation given for this sign is eating too much mayonnaise. The boy has now grown as tall as he could, so let the truth unfold.
Almost all of us at one time or another have gotten a white spot on our nails. The medical term for this is leukonychia derived from the Greek words leuko and onyx meaning white and nail, respectively.
Leukonychia has different types with each having different causes, but the one being considered is leukonychia punctata or 'True' leukonychia. It usually occurs due to mild injury to the base or matrix of the nail — the site of formation of the nail. Therefore, it will be observed more frequently in people who pick or bite their nails. More severe injuries leave a blue to black colouration. White marks appearing on most or all the nails for months or years on end, though, among other things, can be a sign of zinc deficiency or occasionally indicate an allergy to nail products and a dermatologist should be consulted. These spots fade or completely disappear in eight weeks, which is the time nails take to re-grow entirely.
Further, manifestations of deficiencies in the diet do not generally make isolated appearances. A deficit of zinc will also cause hair loss, weakened immunity etc. and that of calcium will present with a constellation of signs and symptoms affecting the body including irregular contraction of the heart, spasms, altered muscle reflexes to mention a few.
Nails, according to dermatologist Tamara Lior at Cleveland Clinic, are a window into the soul and to the trained eye can observe accurate warnings about anything from a local infection to a generalised condition. For infection-free and more resilient nails keep them dry and clean, moisturise, don't remove cuticles and clean too deeply under them, don't use nail polish remover with acetone or formaldehyde, check regularly under artificial nails for discoloration, try not to share things for repeated manicures, and most importantly eat a balanced diet which does not include snacking on your nails. And lastly, though excessive mayonnaise may not be the healthiest choice, do not worry about it solidifying on your nails.
