Nutrition in Wound Healing
Resource to help raise awareness of the role of nutrition in wound healing
Nutrients - Vitamin C
Vitamin C (otherwise known as ascorbic acid) is a crystalline sugar (Halstead, 1993). It is a water soluble substance that humans can't synthesise.
As with vitamin B, because vitamin C is water soluble the body is unable to store large amounts of the vitamin, and any excess tends to be excreted through the kidneys. Due to this, a regular supply of the vitamin is required in order to ensure that the body doesn't become deficient (Webb, 2002).
Foods high in Vitamin C series
Foods that contain vitamin C include:
- Spinach.
- Potatoes.
- Tomatoes.
- Broccoli.
- Strawberries.
- Citrus fruits.
- Fortified cereals.
(Kemp, 2001, Halstead, 1993)
Vitamin C is required for a number of functions within the body that affects wound healing. Write down what you think these are, then proceed to see if you were right.
Vitamin C's Role in the body
Vitamin C has a number of important roles within the body that affect wound healing. These include:
- Enabling iron to be absorbed in the digestive system.
- Being an anti-oxidant.
- Being required for collagen formation.
- Promotes angiogenesis (growth of new blood vessels).
- Facilitates white blood cell migration to the wound, thus promoting resistance to infection.
(Hallberg, Sandstrom and Aggett, 1993, McIlwaine, 2003, Todorovic, 2003)
Research by Good, Burns and Walker (1992) linked vitamin C deficiency to increased risk of pressure ulcers.
Signs of Vitamin C deficiency / overdose
Due mainly though not exclusively to impaired synthesis of collagen, a large variety of serious signs of deficiency may be apparent. These include:
| Signs of vitamin C deficiency include: | Signs of vitamin C overdose include: |
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(Halsted, 1993)
