Wound Healing
Wound healing is the physiological process by which the body closes and rebuilds injured tissue, moving through overlapping phases of hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. A wound is described as impaired or chronic when it does not progress through those phases as expected, which can appear as slow closure, a wound bed that looks essentially unchanged over an extended period, skin that had closed and then broke open again, or heavier scarring. Impaired healing is discussed in the context of chronic wounds, diabetic foot ulcers, pressure injuries, and recovery from surgery. Because closing and rebuilding tissue places demands on the body's supply of protein and specific micronutrients, nutritional status may be one of the factors a clinician assesses when a wound is not progressing. This information is educational and is not a diagnosis.
How Medical Foods Can Help
Medical foods are formulated to be used under the supervision of a physician for the dietary management of conditions that carry distinctive nutritional requirements, and the period during which the body is closing and rebuilding injured tissue is recognized as one of them. Recognized nutrition science describes this process as drawing on protein and specific micronutrients: vitamin C is a required cofactor for the enzymes that hydroxylate proline and lysine, a step the body uses in forming and stabilizing collagen; zinc is a cofactor in enzymes involved in protein synthesis and normal immune function; and arginine serves as an amino acid substrate and as a precursor to nitric oxide. Iaomai's EB-M4 is a medical food for the dietary management of wound healing that provides vitamin C, zinc, L-arginine, and type I collagen, at a suggested use of 3 capsules daily with food. It is intended to sit alongside, never in place of, the wound care your clinician provides, and your physician should confirm that it fits your plan.
Collagen Synthesis Cofactors
Vitamin C is a required cofactor for the enzymes that hydroxylate proline and lysine, a step the body uses in forming collagen, the structural protein of skin and connective tissue.
Immune and Enzyme Cofactors
Zinc is a cofactor for enzymes involved in protein synthesis, cell division, and the normal function of the immune system.
Amino Acid Substrate
L-arginine and type I collagen provide amino acids the body draws on for protein synthesis. Arginine is also a precursor to nitric oxide, which is involved in normal blood flow.
Common Symptoms
- Slow wound closure
- Poor wound appearance
- Chronic non-healing wounds
- Excessive scarring
- Post-surgical complications
What Causes Wound Healing?
Healing can be delayed when something interferes with the biology of one or more of its phases. Reduced blood flow from diabetes, peripheral arterial disease, venous insufficiency, or sustained pressure can limit the oxygen and nutrients reaching the wound bed, and oxygen is involved in the hydroxylation step of collagen formation. Infection and unresolved inflammation can hold a wound in the inflammatory phase, where enzymes released by immune cells break down new matrix as it is laid down. Elevated blood glucose can affect immune cell function and the small vessels that supply the skin. Advanced age, smoking, corticosteroids, chemotherapy, and radiation are each associated with changes in the growth factor signaling and cell division that tissue rebuilding depends on. Undernutrition is also associated with impaired healing: recognized nutrition science describes the body drawing on specific nutrients while tissue is being rebuilt. Protein and amino acids, including arginine, serve as substrate for new tissue; vitamin C is a cofactor for the enzymes that hydroxylate proline and lysine in collagen formation; zinc is a cofactor in enzymes involved in protein synthesis, cell division, and normal immune function; and iron deficiency or anemia is associated with reduced oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. A shortfall in any of these may constrain the biology described above, which is one reason nutritional status may be evaluated as part of a clinician's assessment of a wound that is not closing as expected. Nutrition is one factor among many here, and it is addressed alongside, never in place of, the wound care a clinician directs.
Medical Foods for Wound Healing
Our scientifically-formulated medical foods are designed to address the nutritional needs specific to Wound Healing.
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Individual experience. Results vary from person to person and are not typical or guaranteed. Testimonials describe one person's experience and are not evidence that any product will work for you. Iaomai Health products are medical foods for the dietary management of specific conditions, intended for use under the supervision of a physician.
Struggling with Wound Healing?
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Explore how medical nutrition supports other related conditions that may co-occur or share similar underlying mechanisms.