Which Vitamin Has Been Shown To Have An Important Role In Wound Healing & Maintaining Healthy Gums?

Healthy tissue is vital for healing wounds and maintaining gum health. Nutrition plays a critical role in generating healthy tissue and fighting infection. Vitamin C assists in the production of tissue needed for healing. Specifically, vitamin C binds the body's cells together, forms bone and teeth, supports the walls of your blood vessels, boosts your immune system and assists in the absorption of iron.

Wound Healing

The skin is your body's first line of defense in against infection. A wound disrupts this defense when an abrasion, cut, scrape, scratch, puncture, burn or boil occurs. Vitamin C helps the body produce collagen, a protein that is a component in skin, cartilage and other tissues in the body. Slow-healing wounds may reflect a vitamin C deficiency. Vitamin C boosts the immune system, which fighting infections and allows optimal healing. If you're vitamin C-deficient, your body can have an impaired immune response and a heightened susceptibility to infection.

Gum Health

As with wound healing, vitamin C fosters healthy teeth and gums by fighting infection and bacteria. Periodontal disease occurs when bacteria is trapped and grows between the gum and teeth, causing bleeding gums, inflammation, foul odor and receding gums. Vitamin C helps repair the connective tissue surrounding the teeth and destroys free radicals common in periodontal disease. Vitamin C deficiency increases the risk of developing periodontal disease.

Recommendations

The University of Maryland Medical Center recommends taking 1,000 mg of vitamin C two to six times per day to promote collagen production for optimal wound healing. Because vitamin C is water soluble, you must replace this vitamin each day through your dietary intake. Excellent sources of a vitamin C include citrus fruits, broccoli, turnip greens, green peppers, strawberries, blueberries, spinach, tomatoes, squash, kiwi, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and watermelon. The University of Maryland Medical Center recommends eating grapefruit and other citrus fruits to prevent and destroy bacteria related to periodontal disease.

Warnings

Too much vitamin C may cause stomach cramps and diarrhea. Vitamin C supplementation may function like a diuretic. Consume plenty of water to avoid dehydration and an electrolyte imbalance. Extraneous variables may interfere with your body's vitamin C levels. For example, cigarette smoking causes vitamin C depletion. Environmental stress and pregnancy may require you to consume a higher dose of vitamin C. If your body is fighting an illness, infection or fever, you will need a greater amount of vitamin C to help your body heal.