Hello Again:

Last time we talked about how our alcohol intake might affect our tendency to bruise easily.  Today we’ll look at a different dietary situation, loading our diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, which will be a little bit like the discussion we had about a vegetarian diet.  As with all forms of diet, balance is critical to overall good health, which can then be related to our efforts to prevent bruising.  Increasing our intake of fruits and vegetables, as long as they are the “good” fruits and vegetables, can make a dramatic impact on our body’s healing process and improve our body’s ability to prevent bruising.

To start with let’s look at foods that are known for having an abundance of vitamin C.  We’ve learned that the absence of vitamin C can cause some really ugly conditions like teeth falling out and massive bruising, so increasing our intake of vitamin C can be very beneficial.  Vitamin C provides a boost to our immune system and makes our body and skin more resilient, which may shorten the time bruises remain visible.  Vitamin C can also provide a quick energy boost and help us heal from existing bruises more quickly than otherwise.  We all know about citrus fruits being rich with vitamin C, but sweet potatoes also are a good source for vitamin C.

Another vitamin that can be enhanced by the diet we choose is vitamin A.  Vitamin A helps the body fend off cellular damage and to deal with trauma, so it would appear to be a good addition to our diet to help us reduce bruising.  Although vitamin A can be obtained through supplements, it’s probably not the best course of action for us to take because, rarely, very rarely, vitamin A poisoning can occur when using supplements.  The best way to increase our intake of vitamin A is by incorporating more foods like carrots, cantaloupe, apricots, pumpkin, and collard greens into our diet.

Speaking of collard greens (how about that segue?), dark green vegetables are rich in iron.  Iron not only is an essential nutrient in preventing anemia, but it also helps strengthen our circulatory system.  Increasing the strength of our circulatory system would help strengthen our capillary walls, which should then help us combat or reduce bruising.  Some other dark green vegetables to consider increasing in our diet would include spinach, kale, mustard greens, broccoli, and Swiss chard.  Our bodies will naturally absorb iron from these vegetables, which, as we’ve seen, is another way to help keep our body healthy.

As we’ve said many times, a properly balanced diet can go a long way to help us in our struggle with easy bruising.  Of course, we can help ourselves when we augment a balanced diet with the unique Bruises Be Banned daily program of increasing our body’s supply of vitamins and nutrients that have been clinically proven to help us reduce bruising or prevent bruising altogether.

Talk again soon,

CC