William wrote:

> On Sun, 13 Feb 2005 11:30:09 -0500, Stardust <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> After talking to a woman in the HFS she says from what she knows ridged
>> nails could be a sign of iron deficiency.  I will have to go and get it
>> checked out, since I'm usually amnemic.
>>
>
> Four years ago my blood test showed dangerously high level of iron
> (ferritin).
> That had no effect on the grooves in fingernails.
>
> Please note that M.D.s are trained to see ridges, must be why they
> look at
> my grooved nails and talk about ridges.
>
> William
>
No one's mentioned zinc.  For many years I've assumed that ridges are
directly attributable to zinc deficiency.  I don't remember where I
learned this, but I believe that this is accepted wisdom in both
naturopathy and chinese medicine.  Since we now know that there is a
relationship between zinc, selenium, and vitamins E and C, I would think
that the story is a bit murkier.  A hair analysis would be a good
starting point as that would rule out anemia (even at a sub-clinical
level) and any issues relating to manganese, potassium or calcium.  And
yes, after that, if these are all within normal parameters, I'd look at
iron, too.  Good luck.