Nutrition and Wound Healing

With mounting evidence regarding the role of poor nutrition in the development of chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes, it is no secret that appropriate nutrition is crucial to optimal health. Achieving the correct balance of elements provides the body with the ability to adapt to a shifting and often hazardous environment. Never is this capability more important than when a wound is sustained and the body's first line of defense, the skin, is breached. Nutrition and Wound Healing describes the importance of several nutrients, both macronutrients and micronutrients, and their relation to the body's requirements when healing itself. Beginning with an overview to introduce the novice to the fundamentals of nutrition and wound healing, the text analyzes the role of each nutrient, chapter by chapter. The authors discuss carbohydrates, fats, proteins, trace elements, and fat- and water-soluble vitamins. Balanced attention is paid to conditions of deficiency as well as toxic excess as applicable to each nutrient. Specific challenges to healing are considered with individual chapters on burns, cancer, and age extremes. The book also includes a chapter on hormones and the pharmacologic manipulation of wound healing. Specific recommendations for the appropriate administration of each nutrient and variations for individual circumstances are discussed throughout the book. In addition, future directions of research are provided in each chapter to guide young investigators in the field. While many wounds heal well on their own, there are many circumstances when intervention is necessary. Nutrition and Wound Healing provides the clinician, researcher, and even the interested novice with the information he or she needs to know to help the body heal itself.