How Fast Are You Aging? Your Fingernails May Reveal the Answer

by Nils Osmar. September 16, 2023
This post is not intended as, and should not be taken as, medical advice.
See full Medical Disclaimer

Looking for a (no-cost) way of figuring out how fast you’re aging? Pay attention to how fast your nails are growing, and whether the speed starts slowing as the years go by.

According to Harvard’s Dr. David Sinclair:

“The rate of your nail growth is a pretty good indication of how you’re aging. Looking at thousands of people we now know for sure that the rate of nail growth decreases as we age. The rate of nail growth decreases about half a percent per year…… if you measure that it’s a pretty good indication of how old you are biologically” – David Sinclair

Listen to David Sinclair here

What’s he saying?

The rate of nail growth is inversely correlated with how fast we’re aging.
When we’re young, our nails grow very fast.
When we’re old, they grow much more slowly.
If you’re fingernails are growing fast, it may be an indication that you’re biologically younger.

Where’s the proof?

Some studies do support this claim.
Here’s one: Growth rate of human fingernails and toenails in healthy American young adults

My experience:

My nails are growing very fast these days… so fast that it’s a little irksome.
I have to trim them every couple of days.
Does this mean I’m biologically younger than my 70 years? Maybe. However, other things, including our diet, can also affect our rate of nail growth.
Aging.ai v3 pegs me as 41 years old; PhenoAge Calculator estimates my biological age at 56. They don’t agree in the details, but they both indicate that I may be succeeding in slowing and/or reversing aging. The “fingernail test” has less hard science behind it, but taken along with those tests, might be regarded as further correlation that I’m a bit younger than my chronological age.

Not medical advice

This article is not intended as, and should not be taken as, medical advice. I’m not advising that people eat any particular diet or take any particular supplement(s), just reporting on what I’m doing. Supplements, like medications and other interventions, can have side effects; I would encourage people to research both possible benefits and side effects before starting on any supplementation regimen, and consult with a medical professional about any issues which might have a medical component. See full Medical Disclaimer

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