Bruises occur when damaged blood vessels leak blood into your skin, resulting in discoloration. Your body requires certain vitamins to keep your skin and blood vessels strong and resistant to damage and to control bleeding. Deficiency in these vitamins leads to easy bruising and other bleeding problems. If you're experiencing these symptoms, you may need to improve your diet or take vitamin supplements. If your tendency to bruise has developed suddenly, consult a health care provider for accurate diagnosis.
Vitamin C and Bruising
Vitamin C helps form collagen, a protein group your body uses to build skin, blood vessels and connective tissue like cartilage. Without enough vitamin C, your skin and blood vessels become thin and weak, leaving you susceptible to bruising. Bleeding gums and wounds that don't heal are also symptoms of vitamin C deficiency. Severe vitamin C deficiency, or scurvy, is rare in developed countries, but marginal deficiency is more common. Smoking and using oral contraceptives increase your risk for deficiency in this vitamin.
Getting More Vitamin C
Increasing your vitamin C intake may reduce your tendency to bruise. Older adults deficient in vitamin C experienced less frequent bruising after taking vitamin C supplements for two months, found a study published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in May 1981. Men require 90 mg of vitamin C daily, while women need 75 mg. If you smoke, though, you'll need 35 mg a day more than those suggested amounts. Increasing the number of servings of vegetables and fruits you eat adds more vitamin C to your diet. Sweet red peppers, strawberries, oranges and broccoli are particularly rich sources of this vitamin.
Vitamin K and Bruising
Your body requires vitamin K for normal blood clotting, or coagulation. This vitamin is essential for the function of enzymes that affect proteins responsible for coagulation. Deficiency in vitamin K is rare, but possible if you've been taking antibiotics for more than a month. Taking an anticoagulant drug such as warfarin also increases your risk for vitamin K deficiency. Symptoms of deficiency include a tendency to bruise easily and abnormal bleeding, such as nosebleeds, bleeding gums and blood in your urine or stool.
Getting More Vitamin K
Men need 120 mg of vitamin K a day, while women need 90 mg. Vegetable oils and leafy green vegetables are among the best sources of this vitamin. A half-cup serving of cooked broccoli provides 110 mg of vitamin C and a half a cup of fresh spinach provides 72 mg. Swiss chard, kale, parsley, olive oil and soybean are also good sources of vitamin K. If you take any anticoagulant drugs, consult your health care provider before taking vitamin K supplements or consuming large amounts of foods rich in vitamin K.
References
- Oregon State University Linus Pauling Center; Vitamin C; Jane Higdon; January 2006
- New York University Langone Medical Center; Vitamin C; August 2011
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; The Effect of Vitamin C Supplements on Body Weight, Serum Proteins, and General Health of an Elderly Population; CJ Schorah, et al.; May 1981
- Oregon State University Linus Pauling Center; Vitamin K; Jane Higdon; May 2004
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Vitamin K; Linda Vorvick; March 2009
- New York University Langone Medical Center; Easy Bruising; August 2011
