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What Mineral Helps a Wound to Heal?

Wounds have many phases that they need to go through on the human body before they can properly heal. They are the inflammatory, proliferative and remodeling phases. All wounds go through these phases but certain minerals can be ingested to help these phases proceed more quickly.

  1. Zinc

    • Zinc is required for protein synthesis, which helps flesh and other tissues rebuild more quickly. There is an increased demand for zinc when cells need to multiply and be built together. Zinc also keeps bacteria from growing, which will help to push the healing process through the inflammatory phase when the body is naturally fighting off infection from the wound's exposure to the air and other small organisms on the skin or clothes. Zinc can be found in seafood and whole grains, and also can be ingested in zinc supplements.

    Iron

    • Iron is integral to the body's health in general and helps aid the development of healthy blood and blood vessels. It is also a co-factor in collagen synthesis, which is the main protein synthesized during the healing process, so a lack of iron definitely inhibits the speed at which a particular wound heals. Excess iron will aid this, depending on the size of the wound but stops becoming too much of a factor after a certain point. The highest concentrations of iron can be found in red meats, including beef.

    Copper

    • Copper helps the body utilize iron and is a trace element in the body as it is. It also helps to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the energy the body runs on. The other co-factor in collagen synthesis is copper, creating the glue that holds freshly produced cells together, which will help heal wounds. Although there are copper supplements, eating a diet of oysters, legumes, vegetables and red meat will help bolster the copper in a wounded body in need of healing.

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