Eyes may be a window to the soul, but it seems that fingernails are a great barometer for our health.

I learned this after reading an article on WebMD about how our fingernails' color, texture, surface, and other details give experts insight about what is happening inside our bodies.

In fact, our fingernails can tip us off to both relatively minor health concerns, such as a mild case of dermatitis (or itchy skin) to serious ailments, including heart disease, diabetes, respitory illnesses, anemia, auto-immune disorders and other chronic diseases.

Here's a quick look at what they can reveal. I also found a slideshow at the Mayo Clinic's website with photographs of when to be truly concerned. It's a helpful reality check for those of us who find that this kind of health information brings out an inner hypochrondiac:

• Yellow Nail Syndrome: Yellow, thickened, slow-growing nails may indicate serious respiratory ailments, such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and other lung diseases. Yellow nails with a slight blush at the base, however, might indicate diabetes.

• Beau's Lines: A horizontal groove in your nails, like those shown here, are signs of uncontrolled diabetes, circulatory ailments, malnutrition or a severe high fever. A single horizontal line, however, could be the result of trauma or injury to the nail.

• Clubbed Nails: If the tips of your nails expand, begin to extend around fingertip, or become inverted (like the one shown here), it could be a sign of anemia, liver or inflammatory bowel disease, or lung ailments.

• Red Nails/Nail Beds: Red lines at the base of the nail fold could signal lupus or a connective tissue disease; a red nail bed, however, is a sign of heart disease.

I have to admit that apart from giving myself standard maintenance manicures, I hardly pay attention to my fingernails (My toenails are another matter).

In fact, the only times I ever really study them are if I need to trim off a stray hangnail and, of course, during those awkward pauses when I can't think of anything to say. (But, I'm definitely not thinking about my nails at those moments.)

Now that I know that my nails hold important health warnings for me, I'll tune in more often. I also just listened to this Lime podcast from The Herbal Pharmacist on nail health supplements. Meanwhile, though I rarely paint my fingernails, I'm going to keep them clear so that I won't, ahem, gloss over any early warning signals that my body is trying to give me.