Try adding a glass of milk and a hard-boiled egg to your daily diet. Both are high in zinc, which is great for your nails, especially if your nails are spotted with white, a sign of low zinc intake. Calcium, iron and silica are other compounds that you need to check that you are getting enough of in your diet. These too make up the fabric of your delicate nails. Make sure that you are sticking to your daily allowance though, sometimes you can cause more harm than good by overdosing on these vitamins and minerals.

To keep your nails hydrated, rub a small amount of petroleum jelly into your cuticle and the skin surrounding your nails every evening before you go to bed or whenever your nails feel dry. Keep a jar in your purse, desk drawer, car -- anywhere you might need it. Not a fan of petroleum jelly? Substitute castor oil. It's thick and contains vitamin E, which is great for your cuticles. Or head to your kitchen cupboard and grab the olive oil -- it also works to moisturize your nails.

Air out your work boots and athletic shoes. Better yet, keep two pairs and switch between them so you're never putting your feet into damp, sweaty shoes, which could lead to fungal infections.

Cultivate healthy cuticles. They protect the nail bed from infection and injury, making nails stronger and healthier. Avoid cutting your cuticles, and apply a hydrating cream or oil daily.

To help prevent cracks in your nails, rub moisturizer that contains alphahydroxy acids or lanolin into nail tips. For another moisturizing agent, you can also massage vitamin E oil into your cuticles. Tip - keep a bottle of vitamin E oil next to your bathroom sink to remind yourself to apply it to your cuticles.

If you keep your nails healthy and strong, you should notice changes in the composition and color of your nails. Keeping your nails healthy holds a twofold benefit - gorgeous fingertips and tootsies and a helpful clue to learn if anything might be wrong elsewhere in your body. And while we don't necessarily think of nails as gauges of our health in most cases, we sure do love getting dolled up and showing them off!

Our hands are such an integral part of our daily lives, and constantly, we risk their health and strength, often without even noticing, because of the hustle and bustle of our day-to-day activities. Take a few moments each day, or at least a few times a week, to monitor the condition of your nails - the color, the texture, the appearance of ridges or white marks.

When filing or buffing your nails, always go in one direction. If you file or buff your nails back and forth, this will cause splitting.

Your cuticle is the tissue that overlaps your nail plate at the base of your nail. It protects the new keratin cells that slowly emerge from the nail bed.

To harden soft nails soak them in warm olive oil for about 20 minutes on alternate days.

Cotton-lined rubber gloves will help absorb moisture while keeping your hands and nails dry.2. While working in the garden, it is important, as with cleaning, to wear the right kind of gloves. When dealing with damp soil, chemicals, or liquid fertilizers, it is best to wear rubber gloves that are water resistant.