Aside from obvious factors like taking a bad fall or accidentally hitting your shin on a table, a number of factors contribute to skin bruising. Taking certain medications like blood thinners, lifting weights, having thinning skin due to aging, or parents who bruise easily are all reasons why people may be more prone to bruising.(1)
In the case of thin skin, Holly Phillips, M.D., a women’s health specialist in New York City, explains that as people age, skin’s collagen diminishes, therefore making it more susceptible to injury.(1)
Even those gym workouts can lead to those not-so-attractive blue and black marks. When it comes to lifting weights, even if a person doesn’t lift a lot of weight or even lift frequently, the microscopic tears that result can show up in the form of bruises.(1)
Fortunately, there are certain foods that help prevent bruising. They’re healthy to begin with and the fact that they help fight against those dark spots is an added bonus for those who tend to bruise easily.
Top Foods to Help Heal Bruises
1. Alfalfa sprouts
Alfalfa sprouts are high in tissue-healing nutrients and vitamins such as folic acid, zinc, magnesium and vitamin K.(2) Consider adding them in salads, wraps and sandwiches or blending with carrots to offset the strong flavor of alfalfa sprouts.
2. Oranges
Oranges are not only are enjoyable to eat because of their sweet, juicy flavor, but because they are good for overall health including keeping bruises at bay. They’re rich in Vitamin C, an antioxidant that helps banish free radicals inside cells, as well as around them.(3)
Furthermore, one orange has more than 170 kinds of phytonutrients and over 60 flavonoids.(3) The abundance of these outstanding nutrients makes them ideal for keeping health in tact; not only have they been shown to have properties that prevent blood clotting, but they can help with cancer prevention, reducing inflammatory conditions such as asthma and arthritis and even boost memory.(3)
3. Spinach
According to Cherie Colbom and John Colbom, authors of Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life: Unleash the Healing Power of Fresh Juices and Cleansing Diets (click to buy the book from this Amazon affiliate link), spinach is rich in vitamin E which works in conjunction with vitamin C to help heal tissues that have been damaged.(2)
4. Pineapple
Bromelain is an enzyme that naturally exists in pineapple, and it’s associated with reducing the amount of time it takes bruises to heal.(4)
In fact, one study compared bromelain’s effects with that of a placebo when assessing two groups of over 70 boxers and it was found that just 10 boxers taking the placebo lost all signs of bruising within four days while 58 of them taking bromelain showed no signs of bruising in that same time frame.(4)
5. Nuts and Seeds
Be sure to enjoy a variety of nuts and seeds. Like spinach, they’re also high in vitamin E and as such, play a role in healing bruises.(2)
All of the foods in this list are healthy, making them great foods to incorporate as part of a regular diet, regardless of whether a person bruises easily or not. But for those who are prone to bruising, their consumption can help expedite the healing process.
Sources for this article include:
(1) http://www.womenshealthmag.com
(2) http://www.livestrong.com
(3) http://www.whfoods.com
(4) http://www.livestrong.com
