5 Eating Habits for Better Wound Healing

Depending on its severity and your level of health, a wound may take a few weeks or longer to heal. But did you know that you can speed up and improve wound healing simply by watching what you eat? 

At the Vein Heart and Vascular Institute, we help you get the wound care you need. Dr. Hesham Fakhri and Dr. Abdulghani Saadi are experts in both vascular care and cardiac care. 

They help you get treatment when you have a wound that won’t heal. To that end, we discuss wound healing and how your eating habits can improve wound healing.

What affects wound healing?

Your body normally begins healing a wound immediately. But different wounds take different times to heal completely. For instance, a minor cut heals much faster than a large surgical wound.

Your body goes through four stages when healing a wound. They are:

• Hemostasis
• Inflammation
• Proliferation
• Remodeling

Each stage plays a vital role in the initiation of healing properties within your body.

There are several reasons that your wounds might not heal appropriately, including:

• Diabetes
• Nutrition
• Obesity
• Skin moisture
• Age
• Other chronic conditions
• Multiple trauma

Despite the challenges you may face with wound healing, there are steps you can take to increase the ability of your body to heal. In fact, the proper nutrition can actually increase the odds that your wound heals in record time.

Diet habits that help your body heal

Your daily nutrition plays a large role in helping your body heal. When you eat mostly processed, sugary foods, your body goes into a stage of chronic inflammation. This can lead to many different issues, including delayed wound healing.

But don’t worry. We can help you improve your nutrition and thereby help your body heal appropriately. Here, we discuss five of the most important nutritional goals you can shoot for:

Eat plenty of vegetables

Vegetables are rich in essential vitamins and nutrients that aid your body in recovery. Zinc, vitamin C, and B vitamins are all essential to helping your body rebuild and repair tissues. 

Vegetables like leafy greens, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and bell peppers have high concentrations of important nutrients.

Ramp up your intake of vitamin C

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient all of the time, but especially when you have a wound. This vitamin aids in the overall health of your tissues, along with tissue repair. This is vital when you have a wound that needs to heal.

You can find vitamin C in citrus fruits and juices, along with other foods like broccoli and tomatoes.

Increase your protein

Protein is essential for not only helping your wounds heal, but also preventing an infection from starting. This crucial segment of your diet helps your body to rebuild tissue around the areas that need it the most.

You can get protein from meats like chicken and beef, along with fish. You can also get adequate protein in seeds, nuts, and legumes.

Drink plenty of water

Staying well-hydrated is essential for all of your body functions, but especially keeping your skin healthy and preventing infections. Drinking water throughout the day can help your body stay at its best and prevent delayed wound healing.

Control your sugar intake

This is especially important if you’re diabetic. Diabetes can lead to ulcers and other slow-healing wounds, so keep your sugar in check. But this advice isn’t only for diabetics. Refined sugar leads to inflammation throughout your body, which can interfere with the wound healing process. 

If you have a wound that won't heal, don’t hesitate to call one of our offices in Wesley Chapel, Sun City Center, or Tampa, Florida, or use our online system to request an appointment with one of our doctors today.