Nutrition in Wound Healing
Resource to help raise awareness of the role of nutrition in wound healing
Nutrients - Protein
Protein is made up of 20 amino acids, which are joined together by chains of peptide bonds. Large chains of protein tend to be broken down in the gastro-intestinal tract and are absorbed as smaller pieces of amino acid. Such amino acids are then used for a number of processes in the body. (Webb, 2002)
Foods high in Protein
Protein can be found in a number of food products.
Those that are high in protein include:
- Meat
- Eggs.
- Dairy produce.
- Fish.
- Cereals.
- Pulses.
(Todorovic, 2003)
What do you think the body uses protein for? Read on to find out.
Protein's Role in the body
Protein has a number of important roles in the body. These include:
- Being utilised to provide an effective, healthy immune system.
- Being the main component of enzymes. Enzymes control many chemical reactions within the body.
- Protein is needed for the formation of collagen and elastin. These provide the base for new tissue and ensure that it is supple.
- Required for the inflammatory response in the wound healing process.
(Gray and Cooper, 1999, McIlwaine, 2003, McLaren, 1992, Oppenheimer, 2001, Todorovic, 2003)
Due to the important and varied roles that protein has in the body, it is a vital nutrient in wound healing. Protein deficiency is widely held to be a major problem in the malnourished patient and has been linked to an increased risk of pressure ulcers and slow wound healing in a number of studies (Ripley, 2006).
Signs of Protein deficiency / overdose
In order to assist in identifying malnutrition and also determine how treatment is progressing, the nurse should be aware of signs of protein deficiency and overdose.
| Signs of protein deficiency include: | An effect of overdose is: |
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(McLaren 1992, and Todorovic, 2003)
