Nails
Keratin nail plate growth
Also searched as Keratin nail plate growth.
The slowest visible tissue in the body. A nail records nutritional and circulatory status from months earlier, which makes it a good historical marker and a poor short-term one.
In depth
Keratin plates that record the last six months of systemic health. Direction uncertain: koilonychia is a sign of iron deficiency, not a cause of it, so the arrow may be drawn backwards.
What drives it
Tissue remodeling increases it.
10.5935/scd1984-8773.20221400110 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. Verbatim: “Bioactive collagen peptides treatment promoted an increase of 12% nail growth rate and a decrease of 42% in the frequency of broken nails”. doi 10.5935/scd1984-8773.20221400110
Blood flow (nitric oxide) increases it.
Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. Sources: doi 10.3390/nu18132141; PMC12673670. doi 10.3390/nu18132141 · PMC12673670
Iron status increases it.
NBK559311 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so.
Iron & oxygen carriage increases it.
10.1186/s13256-021-03024-9 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. doi 10.1186/s13256-021-03024-9
Micronutrient status increases it.
10.1016/j.hgmx.2015.06.008 — 31144371 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. doi 10.1016/j.hgmx.2015.06.008
Thyroid increases it.
10.12788/cutis.0593 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. doi 10.12788/cutis.0593
Skin increases it.
NBK559260 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so.
Hair increases it.
Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. Sources: doi 10.3390/nu18132141; PMC12673670. doi 10.3390/nu18132141 · PMC12673670
Candida burden reduces it.
10.1186/s13104-025-07197-0 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. Verbatim: “Onychomycosis is a fungal infection of the nail apparatus caused by dermatophytes, Candida and non-dermatophytic molds”. doi 10.1186/s13104-025-07197-0 · PMID 27904057
Oxidative stress reduces it.
20550963 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. Sources: doi 10.3390/nu18132141; PMC12673670. doi 10.3390/nu18132141 · PMC12673670
Cellular aging reduces it.
10.32007/jfacmedbagdad.543727 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. Verbatim: “The rate of linear nail growth decreases 50% over the life spans of both dogs and humans”. doi 10.32007/jfacmedbagdad.543727
Digestion increases it.
10.3906/sag-1502-139 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. doi 10.3906/sag-1502-139
What it drives
It increases Skin.
10.3390/life15081285 — Supported by the reviews of this outcome as a whole. No separable effect size has been reported for this arm. doi 10.3390/life15081285
It increases Mood.
Supported by the reviews of this outcome as a whole. No separable effect size has been reported for this arm. This link rests on the reviews of this outcome as a whole, and no effect size specific to it has been reported.
It increases Iron & oxygen carriage.
Supported by the reviews of this outcome as a whole. No separable effect size has been reported for this arm.
It increases Micronutrient status.
Supported by the reviews of this outcome as a whole. No separable effect size has been reported for this arm.
Blends that modulate it
Each blend page names this pathway and carries the study behind its claim.
See it on the map
Open the causal map to follow this pathway upstream and downstream, arrow by arrow, each with its study.