Can Vitamin Deficiency Cause Nail Biting?

Vitamin deficiency can cause fingernails to become weak and brittle and can also cause pitted nails. While a deficiency in vitamins and minerals may cause physiological damage to nails it won’t cause you to bite your nails.

Biting and picking nails tends to be caused by a number of other reasons often referred to as triggers that cause people to use nail biting and picking as a coping mechanism.

Vitamin deficiency and fingernail health

While vitamin deficiency can negatively impact your fingernail health it won’t cause or lead you to bite your nails. Check out my fingernail triggers page to learn more about possible reasons why you bite or pick your nails.

You can also view my Personal Nail Biting Case Study which is a very detailed description of my nail biting experience from childhood to age 50 when I finally quit.

But vitamin and mineral deficiencies can cause you to suffer from various nail issues. Here are some popular vitamins and nutrients to incorporate into your diet to ensure adequate nail and overall health.

Biotin

Also known as vitamin H and vitamin B-7, Biotin is a B vitamin that assists nail and hair growth.

Many foods naturally contain Biotin that you can add to your diet including beef and chicken liver, eggs, nuts, seeds, salmon, sweet potatoes and more.

B9

Vitamin B9 is also referred to as folic acid and is one that is often prescribed to pregnant women to assist in lowering the chance of birth defects. B9 promotes cell growth which assists in nail growth.

For some adults, B9 deficiency is manifested with a feeling of tiredness, weakness, shortness of breath and other symptoms similar to anemia.

Food that are high in B9 include lentils, green soybeans, asparagus, spinach, broccoli and more.

B12

Vitamin B12 helps to keep nails strong and healthy. A deficiency in B12 may be noticed in both finger and toenails. Specifically at the extreme, finger and toenails can turn a bluish black color with streaks on them. While these symptoms are reversible, B12 deficiency often occurs in people who avoid consuming animal-based foods like meat, fish, eggs and milk products.

B12 also has an impact in iron absorption which we’ll discuss next.

Iron

Iron deficiency is often seen in your nails in terms of their shape and appearance. The good news is the iron is available in a variety of animal food sources, nuts and even packaged products.

A good source of iron comes from liver, beef and other red meats, beans, lentils, nuts as well as foods fortified with iron such as breakfast cereals among others.

Magnesium

Magnesium is a mineral that takes part in many aspects of bodily functions such as protein synthesis and cell growth and thus has a role in healthy nail growth. Vertical ridges on your nails is one common symptom of magnesium deficiency, a common occurrence in adults with diabetes.

While many adults supplement magnesium with tablets which are easy to find, you can also get high levels of magnesium from foods like green leafy vegetables such as spinach, nuts, seeds and breakfast cereals fortified with magnesium.

Protein

Nails are made of protein so a diet that includes enough protein from a wide variety of sources is important. The good thing about protein is its wide availability in lean meats, fish, nuts, soybeans, milk and cheese products, protein shakes and more.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 Fatty Acids assist with both hair and nail growth and help to strengthen each.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids are widely available in cold water fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring and sardines and in certain nuts and seeds. Omega-3 Fatty Acid tablets and fish oil are also widely available as supplements.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C helps to improve your level of iron absorption and is also important to the production of collagen which is a protein critical to our nails, hair and teeth.

While many people take vitamin C tablets or supplements, you can naturally increase your intake of citrus fruits like oranges as well as kiwi, strawberries, potatoes and brussels sprouts among others to meet your required vitamin C levels.

Collagen

As mentioned above, Collagen is another building block for hair and nails. Research shows that a collagen peptides treatment program resulted in a 12% nail growth rate and a decrease of 42% in the frequency of broken nails in test patients. The majority of patients agreed that the collagen treatment had improved their brittle nails post treatment.

Collagen is often taken as a supplement but it also occurs naturally in our bodies and in foods like fish, chicken, eggs, citrus fruit and garlic among others.

Zinc

While white spots on your nails may be from several sources, a zinc deficiency is one such probable cause. It can also result in a degeneration of the nail plate. Research is being conducted to determine if zinc supplementation and/or lozenges may assist with fighting COVID-19 but initial findings are positive.

Increase your zinc intake by consuming red meat and poultry. Oysters are also very high in zinc as well as crab, lobster and fortified breakfast cereals.

How to protect your fingernails

• Don’t bite or pick your nails. Check out End Nail Biting for strategies to quit.
• Watch your use of nail-drying products like hand sanitizer and over frequent washing with soaps.
• Don’t use your nails to open cans and pick at things as it can lead to nail breakage.
• Eat a well-balanced diet and try to get your share of vitamins and minerals by eating natural foods rather than supplementing.
• Keep your nails dry and avoid wetting and drying them repeatedly especially during cold weather.
• Drink plenty of fluids and avoid getting dehydrated.
• Use a moisturizer if your skin and nails get dry with a nail-specific cream.
• If you work with chemicals (cleaning chemicals, chlorine, factory chemicals, etc) wear gloves if possible.
• Avoid use of toxic and harsh nail products like polish, acetone and others.
• Pay attention to other things that you use that come into contact with your nails such as chemicals, cleaning products, hair care products and things of that nature.
• Pay attention to your nails themselves and if you notice pitting, frequent breakages, lines on your nails or other odd symptoms, speak with your doctor.

Want to learn more about nail biting and how to prevent it?

I’ve dedicated this entire website to discussing my experience with nail biting from the age of about 10 years old until I was 50 when I managed to quit cold turkey without use of products like bitter nail polish.