Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

7

The topic pretty much says it all.

I can't really think of any other way than "with their teeth". When this is true Why then is nail biting regarded as something one shouldn't do?

What other ways are there to get rid of your nails in a natural way? How do you do it?

edited Jul 22 2011 at 22:31

Paul
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asked Jul 22 2011 at 11:20

mephju
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Thanks for the edit! – mephju Jul 23 2011 at 11:37

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I gnaw mine down to a nice length when they get too long. Good jaw exercise. You can also tear them, but that's not as predictably even. – gydle Feb 3 at 17:02

Omnomnivore · Answer 1 · 2011-07-22 11:40:20Z UTC

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I would suspect they'd simply be worn down due to physical labour. Like how we have to trim a pet dog's nails, but in general, a dog in the wild doesn't need them trimmed because they wear down due to walking, hunting, digging, etc.

answered Jul 22 2011 at 11:40

Omnomnivore
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I second this notion! Another example would be birds. In captivity, they need to gnaw on cuttlebones to wear down their beak, but in the wild this happens naturally. – FED at LiveCaveman.com Jul 22 2011 at 12:25

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sometimes my dogs bite down their nails. – No more. Jul 22 2011 at 14:22

Which kind of labor would wear your finger nails down that much. I can only think of digging in dirt? The labor of women and men is supposed to have been vastly different but conincidentally they both did work which shortened their nails? And which work wears down your toe nails at all? I really don't know what kind of labor they did so you might be right of course! – mephju Jul 23 2011 at 11:33

Look up the youtube video of the San going after a porcupine for supper. They block 3 exits via digging and then dig the little sticker up. "Stone age" style hunting wasn't very glamorous! – Satchmo Apr 14 2012 at 23:09

Jessica G · Answer 2 · 2011-07-22 11:36:12Z UTC

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This thread has some pretty good explanations: http://paleohacks.com/questions/33812/how-did-fingernails-and-toenails-work-in-paleolithic-times#axzz1STQSSVVw

answered Jul 22 2011 at 11:36

Jessica G
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	You're right. Didn't find it when I searched for "cut nails"... – mephju Jul 23 2011 at 11:34
	That happens to me a lot - I search and find nothing, but then what I'm looking for shows up in a related thread with the same keywords :) – Jessica G Jul 24 2011 at 16:02

Jules K · Answer 3 · 2011-07-22 11:32:38Z UTC

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Interesting question, I hadn't thought about that! I just cut my nails with a regular nail clipper; not gonna start biting them in the name of re-enactment ;) I think it's come to be regarded as less socially acceptable because of sanitary issues involved with spitting bits of fingernails wherever.

answered Jul 22 2011 at 11:32

Jules K
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And sanitary issues regarding whatever gunk is under your fingernails!Anyone ever hear of pinworms? gag – twochickadeez Feb 2 at 19:40

turkeytyme · Answer 4 · 2011-07-22 11:54:08Z UTC

I don't think there's anything innately bad about biting your nails. It's just that the people who do it do it as a nervous habit and end up biting them down too far. Paleo man probably did bite them though, when they didn't end up getting broken off by his daily activities.

Arlokk · Answer 5 · 2011-07-22 14:12:21Z UTC

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What's a humen?

answered Jul 22 2011 at 14:12

Arlokk
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the opposite of a huwomen - of course :) – none Jul 22 2011 at 16:08

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I think OP's first language isn't English. Easy to see how you could get human/humen from analogy to man/men. – Olivia Jul 22 2011 at 16:22

Yes, I'm not making fun, I just like the idea of the word huwomen - – none Jul 22 2011 at 16:59

I could swear I've read "humen" before and was just assuming it must be right then. Well we never learn too much :) HUMANS it is!! – mephju Jul 23 2011 at 11:30

Humen makes more sense. I think I'll start using it. – Satchmo Apr 14 2012 at 23:10

PaleoAngel · Answer 6 · 2011-07-22 13:31:33Z UTC

3

A lot of stuff gets stuck under nails. If you put them in your mouth you could risk infection. It seems more likely that early humans filed them naturally through labor like someone else mentioned.

answered Jul 22 2011 at 13:31

PaleoAngel
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I was wondering if gut flora was better when we all bit our nails? Question to be asked perhaps? – Efaitch Jul 22 2011 at 18:54

I mean maybe all the bacteria was good for immunity.. Hmmmmmmmm – PaleoAngel Jul 23 2011 at 0:46

This seems to me like an answer from a typically modern point of view. I too suppose like PaleoAngel that the exact opposite could be the case. – mephju Jul 23 2011 at 11:36

KellyBamboo · Answer 7 · 2011-07-23 14:49:19Z UTC

3

Ever since I was a kids I used to pick at the side of my nails and then peel the ends off. The grain of the nail runs in a curve around the end of your finger rather than straight across so the nails splits in a curve around the end of your nail therefore not tearing into the skin (unless you pick too far down. This works on toenails too.

Only sine I became an adult did I start using nail clippers.

answered Jul 23 2011 at 14:49

KellyBamboo
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	Oh my gosh, I did/do that, too. I don't know of anyone else who does that. Interestingly, earlier this summer I started supplementing with Vitamins D, Bs, and K2, and (about a month later) my nails got so strong that I could grow them without being able to peel them. I just got back from 3 weeks out of town, not taking my vitamins, and was just able to peel my smaller fingernails, again. So I think the peel-ablity of the nails may be a sign of nutrient deficiency, and I need to stay on my vitamins. – Sara S. Jul 9 at 23:17
	My girlfriend does this still (ie as an adult). Occasionally she will use the clipper but she usually just peels them off. Every time she does I cringe a little at the thought of splitting the nail or having really jagged edges, but she hasn't had a problem with those. I imagine before we had clippers/scissors people just peeled them off. – Valai Feb 2 at 19:36

WaveHunter · Answer 8 · 2011-07-22 13:32:19Z UTC

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Like someone else said they probably naturally fall off. Or you could rip em off with your other nails.

answered Jul 22 2011 at 13:32

WaveHunter
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That's usually how I trim my nails: they either break on their own or I use my thumb nails to trim/rip the nails on my fingers. I always intend on using a file, but it's never close by when I think about it... – Ali Jul 22 2011 at 14:01

Terry · Answer 9 · 2013-02-02 19:23:33Z UTC

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It must have been alien technology,or there women bit them off for them because everyone knows when man has long toenails he can get a better grip while making love,so either aliens did it for them or there women bit them off for them or they bit each others off like apes do when they groom each other.

answered Feb 2 at 19:23

Terry
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Funnily enough, this isn't the first time aliens have been given as an explanation here on PH. I love it every time it happens. – Varelse Feb 3 at 16:44

KA24 · Answer 10 · 2013-02-02 19:46:38Z UTC

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Bite them! The tradition continues with millions of people today! This would help their teeth AND would be another delivery agent for essential bacteria to get into the system. All PALEO!

answered Feb 2 at 19:46

KA24
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Kashkillz · Answer 11 · 2013-02-03 06:22:40Z UTC

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They wouldn't cut their nails. Wild living would keep them down, and regular stress would've put more growth into thickness. You'd want them kinda long. Occasionally they'd get broken or torn out.

answered Feb 3 at 6:22

Kashkillz
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zoomia · Answer 12 · 2013-02-03 16:37:16Z UTC

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Yet another level of ridiculousness.

answered Feb 3 at 16:37

zoomia
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How did paleo humans cut their nails?

12 Answers