You may already know that hospitals are dangerous. The rate of infection is extremely high and medical mistakes are one of the biggest causes of death in this country. But theres another reason hospitals are dangerous — especially if you are bedridden.
Bedsores, or pressure ulcers, are a common and devastating complication. Your own body weight is enough to cut off circulation and break down the skin. A mobile person turns and relieves the pressure without thinking about it. But if you cant move well on your own, they are a real problem. They are terribly painful and they can get infected very easily.
It would be great if we could prevent these sores. But it requires a large number of people to keep turning the patients. And hospitals are already financially strapped and short of staff.
One area that has not been considered until now is the nutritional status of those who are bedridden. A new study shows we should have paid attention to this area decades ago.
Researchers in a new study found that enriching the diet with specific nutrients can significantly lower the occurrence of new bedsores. These nutrients are the essential fatty acids EPA and GLA, and vitamins A, C, and E.
In Israel, Dr. Miryam Theilla and her colleagues recruited 100 patients suffering from acute pulmonary disease who were stuck on ventilators. The researchers gave half of the volunteers the normal food from the hospital. They gave the other half the same diet, but supplemented it with the above nutrients.
It took only seven days to see a huge difference. The number of skin lesions increased by 24% in the non-supplemented group. Those taking the supplements saw their bedsores increase by only 15%. The researchers concluded that such supplementation can prevent pressure ulcers.
Walk into any hospital and look at the food. You will be appalled at what they serve. When my grandmother was in the hospital, they fed her Jell-O, margarine, white bread, and meat. They also added a few vegetables, but they were cooked to oblivion.
Study after study confirms better outcomes in hospitals when they give patients nutritional supplements. If you have to go into a hospital, take your vitamins, especially a high potency broad-spectrum combination, such as Healthy Resolves Max Plus, which contains all these critical nutrients and much more.
Ref: Clinical Nutrition, June 6, 2007.