Another link to zinc... which we find to be helpful... Beware of overdoing zinc though. It can cause as much trouble and it can help.


http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/527751_4




Lines of Beau

In 1846, Joseph Honoré Simon Beau described transverse lines in the substance of the nail as signs of previous acute illness.[2,3] The lines, also known as Beau-Reil cross furrows because Johann Christian Reil described them 50 years earlier, look as if a little furrow had been plowed across the nail. By noting its location on the nail, the approximate date of the illness can be determined. Moreover, the depth of the line provides a clue to the severity of the illness. Illnesses producing Beau's lines include severe infection, myocardial infarction, hypotension, shock, hypocalcemia, or surgery. Intermittent doses of immunosuppressive therapy or chemotherapy can also produce Beau's lines. Severe zinc deficiency has also been proposed as a cause of Beau's lines.[4]