Nutrition for optimum wound healing.

Nutrition is crucial in a holistic approach to wound healing (Todorovic 2002). Nurses need to understand the roles of specific nutrients in wound healing. Such an understanding would enhance their role in the assessment of nutritional risk and enable them to obtain more easily the necessary support for patients to promote optimal wound healing. This concept is often neglected (Cartwright 2002). The literature shows that nutrition plays a key role in the pathology of wound healing. More research is needed into the effects of different food types on aspects of wound healing.