Nutrition in Wound Healing
Resource to help raise awareness of the role of nutrition in wound healing
Nutrients - Zinc
Zinc can be found in a number of food products, though its digestion is complicated as other food products (such as phytic acid, which is in wholegrain cereals) can reduce its absorption.
Food products that are good sources of zinc include:
- Meat.
- Milk and dairy produce.
- Cereals.
(Hallberg, Sandstrom and Aggett, 1993)
Zinc's Role in the body
Zinc has a number of roles within the body. These include:
- Being a constituent for a number of enzymes, which control many chemical reactions within the body.
- Acts as an anti-oxidant. (Neutralises free radicals which can damage cells and their DNA).
- Needed for protein digestion and protein synthesis.
- Involved in carbohydrate metabolism.
- Required for a healthy immune system.
- Required for nucleic acid synthesis (needed for DNA which is required for cell replication).
(Hallberg, Sandstrom and Aggett, 1993)
Due to zinc being required for a number of important functions within the body, zinc deficiency has a number of detrimental effects on the body and should be rectified.
Signs of Zinc deficiency / overdose
In order to assist in identifying malnutrition and also determine how treatment is progressing, the nurse should be aware of signs of zinc deficiency and overdose.
| Signs of zinc deficiency include: | Zinc overdose is relatively rare, however overdose of zinc can cause: |
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(Hallberg, Sandstrom and Aggett, 1993, and Kemp, 2001)
