Nutrition in Wound Healing
Resource to help raise awareness of the role of nutrition in wound healing
Nutrients - Vitamin B Series
A vitamin is an organic compound that is essential for bodily function. The series of B vitamins consists of 8 water soluble vitamins. These are thiamin (B1), ribofavin (B2), niacin (B3), pyridoxine (B6), cobalamin (B12), folic acid, pantothenic acid, and biotin.
As vitamin B is water soluble, the body is unable to store large amounts of the vitamins, and any excess tends to be excreted through the kidneys. Because of 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 B series
Foods that contain vitamin B include:
- Fortified cereals.
- Wholegrain bread.
- Vegetables.
- Red meat.
(Kemp, 2001)
The nurse should be aware that heat and prolonged cooking can destroy vitamin B (Anderson, Keith, Novak and Elliot, 2002).
Vitamin B series Role in the body
Lack of vitamin B can affect wound healing in a number of ways as it is required for many processes. These include:
- Being required for collagen linkage.
- Ensuring a healthy immune system that is able to fight infection.
- Required for protein synthesis.
- Needed for DNA synthesis.
- Required for the formation of red blood cells, which supply the wound with oxygen and nutrients.
(Kemp, 2001, McLaren, 1992, Rainey, 2002, West, 1990)
Signs of Vitamin B series deficiency / overdose
| Signs of vitamin B deficiency include: | Signs of vitamin B overdose include: |
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(Halsted, 1993 and Webb, 2002)
