Tell-tale sign that reveals how well you’re ageing, according to a doctor
While we can cover grey hairs and there are countless beauty treatments to help rewind the clock, there’s one ageing sign we can’t hide.
Face & Body
Don't miss out on the headlines from Face & Body. Followed categories will be added to My News.
For those who are actively trying to look younger, a doctor has revealed there’s one tell-tale sign on our bodies that can give it away.
While we can cover grey hairs and there are countless beauty treatments to help rewind the clock, Dr David Sinclair, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School warns there’s one sign we can’t avoid.
The answer is right at your fingertips, and as well as showing how well you’re faring physically, it also gives a clear sign of your biological age.
“The rate of your nail growth is a really good indicator of how you’re ageing or not ageing,” he explained on his podcast Lifespan.
“Every time I have to cut my nails, I’m thinking, ‘How long ago did I cut my nails?’”
Dr Sinclair cited a 1979 study in which researchers attached tiny measuring tapes to 271 individuals and monitored their nail growth over several years.
They found that the rate of fingernail growth decreases by approximately 0.5 per cent per year starting at the age of 30.
This suggests that the rate of nail growth could serve as a simple, non-invasive indicator of biological ageing — defined as how “old” the body is based on the efficacy of your cells and tissues, as opposed to your chronological age, which denotes how many years you’ve been alive.
So, if you find yourself needing to cut your nails more often than your peers, that could be a sign that you’re faring well in the biological age department.
It is natural for nails to grow slower and become more brittle or yellowish in colour as you get older. However, in some cases, changes in your nails could be a sign of an underlying health issue.
For example, white or pale nails could signal anaemia, liver disease, heart failure or malnutrition. Yellow nails could indicate fungal infections, diabetes or thyroid disease.
While vertical ridges are a common sign of ageing, ridged nails could also be caused by nutritional deficiencies or auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.
And clubbing — a condition in which the nails become curved and thick — might point to lung disease, inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease or liver issues.
Nail growth rate may indicate ageing, but if your nails are weak and break more often, there could be other causes at play.
Dr Mary Stevenson, a dermatological surgeon at a leading practice in New York, said a lot of factors can lead to brittle, easy-to-chip nails.
One is not getting enough protein in your diet, which will lead to less keratin, the protein that makes up our nails. Nutritional deficiencies in vitamin B and iron can hurt, too.
Handwashing, using abrasive cleaning materials like dish soap and detergents and having trauma to the nail bed can also weaken nails.
She also warned against cutting cuticles during a manicure.
“We need our cuticles. Pushing these back and removing them separate the seal they make with our nail to keep things like bacteria and fungi out,” she said.
Dermatologist, Dr Adel, who has amassed 1.7 million followers on TikTok with her skin advice shares Dr Stevenson’s cuticle warning.
“I would never cut or push back my cuticles, they act like a barrier that protect your nail matrix, without them bacteria can enter and cause infections,” she said in a viral video.
— With the New York Post
Originally published as Tell-tale sign that reveals how well you’re ageing, according to a doctor