Why do my fingernails...

My nails are very smooth and grow very quickly - I keep them short and I have to cut them every few days. I do get lots of sunlight (just got back from a two hour walks in the sunshine) and I have a very healthy diet.
My sister has to use false nails because her own are so brittle, but I am sure the cement she uses can't be good for them.

Some good tips absent. My nails go through strong/brittle stages, so I shall try your tips out as and when.

Anaemia, or at least not enough iron-rich food in your diet soop?

Long nails are inevitably weaker than shorter ones so keep them neatly trimmed. Biotin (vitamin B7) helps to strengthen nails. You can take a supplement or find it naturally in brewer's yeast, egg yolk, offal and soy products. Coat brittle nails with warm olive oil plus a couple of drops of lemon juice at bedtime and let soak overnight. Rub soft nails with a mixture of cider vinegar and a few drops of lemon juice once a day. Don't use nail polish remover that contains acetone.

horizontal ridges are caused by stress (i.e. ones across the nail rather than ones that point in the same direction as the fingers.)

Bags Do you know why my nails have deep ridges - a bit like a mini old-fashioned wash-board!

I'm with Gilly I love the sun so must get plenty of Vit D and I take a calcium supplement because of damage to my parathyroids so that can't be the reason. If anyone has the secret pass it on please.

Oh Bags tell me your secret please. My finger nails are really weak and brittle and split as soon as they get any length on them. I was never meant to have long nails as always in the garden or cleaning something for someone but I would like them to be a bit nicer than they are.

Mine, too, grow quickly and are extremely strong, but I don't think I have a particularly good diet so it can't be that in my case!

Always, or is it more a series of spurts?

Ah is that the reason... mine are similar and very strong.

Because you have a diet rich in calcium and biotin and you spend a lot of time outdoors so have a stockpile of vitamin D, perhaps?