Ouch! Help me nutrients, I'm hurt!

Last weekend I accidentally sliced the tip of my finger off, making blood pour out. I found it hard to stop the blood, so I finally listened to my mum and put turmeric powder on the wound to stop it bleeding, a well-known traditional remedy in the Indian culture, which really did work. Turmeric is used not only for cooking but also as a natural remedy, it acts as anti-inflammatory and stimulates growth of new tissues.
It was not a painful experience just uncomfortable as I found it hard to use my index finger for a couple of days. It has been a week and I have been amazed by how quick the wound has healed and gone back to normal. As I didn't only slice the outer skin but some if the inner layer of the skin, which was interesting to look at! (Sorry for the gory details).

It got me thinking about what vitamins and minerals help to repair and heal wounds and thought that I should take a look into it to see if I was having the foods that have the beneficial properties for cuts and wounds. Below I have listed some of the related vitamins and minerals:

Nutrient	What does it do?	Found in:
Vitamin A	Helps growth and maintenance of skin and tissues.	Melon, tomato, fish oils, green leafy vegetables
Vitamin C	Antioxidant, repairs and heals wounds.	Citrus fruits, green pepper, berries, sweet potato, spinach, papaya
Vitamin E	Powerful antioxidant,	Berries, olive oil, seeds, tomatoes, papayas, peppers, nuts, sweet potato.
Zinc	Vital for immune system, aids wound healing, growth and tissue repair.	Green leafy vegetables, onions, seeds, wheat bran
Copper	Involved in healing process with the aid of Iron. Also, helps to make collagen (protein in skin) with vitamin C.	Almonds, peas, beans, green leafy vegetables, whole grain. Prunes, raisins, berries, papaya, sweet potato.

From looking at the foods above you can see some recurring, like, green leafy vegetables, sweet potato, papaya, tomatoes and peppers. Stock up on these essential foods and incorporate them into your meals to help you at those painful or uncomfortable accidental moments.

I was suprised how quickly my wound healed after slicing the tip of my index finger. Here is a short blog to show what nutrients help the process of growth and repair of body tissues. 

A H Nutritionist