Are fingernails fattening?
Only if you eat about ten thousand of them! Yucky, yuck, yuck! I can't tell you how many people have asked me this strange question throughout my 18 years in the fitness industry. Too many to count. So! To anyone else who may be concerned about the belly bulging effects of fingernail chewing, here is my answer.
I'm not exactly sure how many calories are in each nail per se, but since they are made of keratin, a sturdy fibrous protein....it couldn't be much.They'd probably just run right through you. In fact, I think you'd have to chew through the hands and feet of everyone you know to even equal a moderately satisfying snack. Hmmmmmm. Yummy!
I suppose the correct response to this question would simply be to offer up all the nasty side effects that come via gnawing on the tips of your fingers (or toes). Besides earning grody looking nails, you may be consuming various germs you've picked up by touching things throughout your day. You may bleed. You may peel. You may cause an infection as well. So now that we have cleared all of that up. Go get a manicure and leave your nails to the professionals!
**Just a response to the very few folks in the comment section who are really offended that I wrote this article. People actually ask me this question! It's crazy and weird, but I've been asked it a lot. Just answering the questions. Oddly enough, this isn't the strangest question I've been asked.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
11-30-2007 @ 2:18PM
jojo said...
I have been a nail biter my whole life and i'm healthy . A little bacteria is good for you it boosts the old immune system. self grooming looks better than those weird long nails that some women have how can they wipe their butt now they look dirty and with bacteria all festering underthem. !!!!!
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11-30-2007 @ 2:21PM
Mike Hunt said...
this is so stupid it isnt worth a reply !
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11-30-2007 @ 2:28PM
chrisgee said...
hey mike hunt....what was that?
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11-30-2007 @ 2:40PM
w said...
Chewing your nails isn't what makes you fat. It's the five doughnuts, case of soda, and half gallon of ice cream that'll do it for you.
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11-30-2007 @ 2:51PM
hello said...
hello. let me introduce you to my friend nail clippers. He's really nice, and he doesn't bite.......well, maybe a little. lol
no germs, no long ugly nails that can get butt germs on them. slap on a coat a paint, and youre ready for a night on the town.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
nail biting is my biggest pet-peeve. I HATE it. so i tell everbody i see biting their nails that theyre going to get AIDS. i kno what youre thinking. WHAAAA?????
yes. lets just say you run your fingernails down a railing or across a table. imagine if somebody with AIDS got cut and left a little trace of blood on the surface, but you didnt notice. The AIDS blood gets under your fingernails, then later on in the day you go and bite em a little. you cut your gum earlier that morning flossing. in goes the disease, and there goes your life.
unrealistic? possibly. overdramitic? maybe. but if not AIDS, then something else. so just remember that the next time you go to bite your nails.
scared you. didn't i?!?
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11-30-2007 @ 2:54PM
Dan said...
And all this time I thought I only had to be worried about transfats, cholestoral, sugar, caffeine, saturated and polyunsaturated fats, salt, and red dye. Now I have to worry about fingernails. I just want to die.
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11-30-2007 @ 3:23PM
Nick420 said...
Who actually EATS their nails? I know plenty of people that bite them off, but not a single one actually swallows them. Thats just stupid. This whole article is stupid. Anyone that bites off and swallows their fingernails has some serious problems and should worry about more than the calories in them....
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1-22-2008 @ 4:29PM
connie said...
I bit and ate my nails until I had my gall bladder removed . After that I never bit them again.
11-30-2007 @ 3:37PM
jim said...
I gotta say these people on T.V. that are advertizing that bullshit of those little ripoff machines and medecines as well as the acne cures for costly amounts.
I seen one yesterday say all you got to do is think and you'll loose weight.STUPID FING RIPOFFS- But you know what He'll make money as vunerable as we Americans are. You don't have to rob up,just ask us!! I did call and say"are you people insane" ha!!
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11-30-2007 @ 3:37PM
Zzythyr said...
Biting fingernails makes you fat? I think NOT ! I bite my nails. I don't EAT them for God's sake! Who the h*** would chew them up and swallow them?
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11-30-2007 @ 3:42PM
Martha Edwards said...
Oh my goodness, how gross. I do bite my nails occasionally when I'm stressed but I certainly don't swallow them!
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11-30-2007 @ 3:43PM
Paula said...
First of all, who the f eats them!? I was a nail-biter as a kid and I always bit them and then put them in the trash. And wouldn't it be just a bit uncomfortable to swallow them?
Secondly, to 1 and 5, nail biting isn't any more dangerous than licking something off of your fingers at lunch time, assuming you clean under your nails on a regular basis.
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11-30-2007 @ 3:44PM
Carol said...
And you wasted your time with this... why?
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11-30-2007 @ 3:44PM
Den said...
swallowing fingernails can cause your appendix to become infected!
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11-30-2007 @ 3:47PM
Paula said...
#5: Nail biting isn't any worse than licking something off of your fingers at lunch time, assuming you clean under your nails regularly. You're paranoid, and thinking like that is probably the cause of mankinds weakened immunities.
I was a nail biter as a kid, and I never swallowed them. I put them in the trash. Who the hell swallows nails?
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11-30-2007 @ 3:49PM
Casey said...
Hello,
You are a complete moron. Before you go around telling people they are going to contract AIDS by biting their fingernails get your info straight. AIDS is a very weak virus outside of its host. It's certainly not strong enough to survive 2 minutes on a rail and 5 minutes under your fingernails.
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11-30-2007 @ 3:56PM
robert said...
Its the frickin food that makes you fat so stop eating porkie
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11-30-2007 @ 4:09PM
bjean880 said...
you retard. the aids thing is not even funny. that is absolutely impossible. aids dies almost instantly when exposed to air. loser. its just fingernails. get over it.
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11-30-2007 @ 4:11PM
Michelle said...
I chew and swallow my nails. Not fat and perfectly healthy...
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11-30-2007 @ 4:14PM
Valerie said...
It may not make you fat BUT it is a nasty habit, period!
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