Are fingernails fattening?

by Fitz K. (Subscribe to Fitz K.'s posts)
Nov 28th 2007 9:55PM

Categories: Womens Health, Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health

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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Comments (54)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

Martha Edwards 11-30-2007 @ 3:42PM

Oh my goodness, how gross. I do bite my nails occasionally when I'm stressed but I certainly don't swallow them!

jojo 11-30-2007 @ 2:18PM

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. !!!!!

Mike Hunt 11-30-2007 @ 2:21PM

this is so stupid it isnt worth a reply !

chrisgee 11-30-2007 @ 2:28PM

hey mike hunt....what was that?

w 11-30-2007 @ 2:40PM

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.

hello 11-30-2007 @ 2:51PM

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?!?

Dan 11-30-2007 @ 2:54PM

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.

Nick420 11-30-2007 @ 3:23PM

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....

connie 1-22-2008 @ 4:29PM

I bit and ate my nails until I had my gall bladder removed . After that I never bit them again.

jim 11-30-2007 @ 3:37PM

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!!

Zzythyr 11-30-2007 @ 3:37PM

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?

Carol 11-30-2007 @ 3:44PM

And you wasted your time with this... why?

Paula 11-30-2007 @ 3:43PM

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.

Den 11-30-2007 @ 3:44PM

swallowing fingernails can cause your appendix to become infected!

Paula 11-30-2007 @ 3:47PM

#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?

Casey 11-30-2007 @ 3:49PM

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.

robert 11-30-2007 @ 3:56PM

Its the frickin food that makes you fat so stop eating porkie

bjean880 11-30-2007 @ 4:09PM

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.

Michelle 11-30-2007 @ 4:11PM

I chew and swallow my nails. Not fat and perfectly healthy...

lauren 11-30-2007 @ 4:16PM

In response to "hellos" comment about AIDS. I definitely shuddered when I read your comment, and vomited slightly in my mouth (just kidding about the second part). I'm a habitual nail biter (the habit is 24 years long and counting) and ride the I subway to work each day. I'll think more closely about grabbing onto one of those poles as I jump into the subway, then chew my nail. ICK.

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