deficient in this nutrient.

You can get your Daily Value of zinc (15 milligrams) by filling your plate with shellfish and other seafood as well as with whole grains and lean meats. In fact, just one steamed oyster contains a whopping 12.7 milligrams of zinc.

Zinc Food Source

Note: Frequent inexplicable bruising, although rare, may be a sign of a clotting disorder or an immune problem, or a side effect of some medication. If you find yourself bruising easily and frequently, see your doctor.

Bedsore Skin

ulcers, because it ensures that they get the appropriate nutrient intake every day.

A multivitamin/mineral supplement is especially important for older people who are confined to bed or to wheelchairs. They are frequently defi­cient in a wide array of vitamins.

Vitamin C Plays a Major Role

One of the most common single vitamin deficiencies among the elderly is vitamin C. Too little of this vitamin opens the door to

Vitamin C

thinning skin, capil­lary fragility, and, consequently, bedsores.

Some studies even indicate that vitamin C deficiency may be the key nutritional factor in bedsore development. Brazilian researchers found that hospital patients with bedsores had lower levels of ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, than those patients without bedsores. Fortunately, studies have also shown that supplements of vitamin C can significantly aid in the healing of bedsores. Doctors discovered that patients with bed­sores who took a regimen of vitamin C, along with zinc and arginine, healed faster than those who took supplements without these nutrients.

Vitamin C deficiency can double your healing time, doctor routinely put their patients who are being treated for or who are at risk for pressure ulcers on 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C a day. Vitamin C won’t help if there is no deficiency, but the extra vitamin won’t hurt, either.

Zinc Speeds Healing

Like vitamin C, zinc has been linked in studies to preventing bedsores and helping them heal.

Zinc Food Source

If there is a zinc deficiency, healing time is retarded by 50 percent. Like vitamin C, supplemental zinc won’t do any good if there is no deficiency. But zinc deficiency is so common that I routinely supplement it as well.

The Daily Value for zinc is 15 milligrams, an amount that you can get from either foods or supplements. To add some superior food sources of zinc to your diet, try eating more seafood and shellfish, wheat germ, and whole- grain breads and cereals.

“So far, however, all we have are primarily case-control studies,” said doctor. Those studies that looked at actual supplementation with micronu­trients or vitamins did not show significant improvement of lung function, with the exception of one study, according to professional nutritionist. In that study, people with asthma who took 100 micrograms of sele­nium daily for 14 weeks had improved lung function and were less sensitive to airway-constricting inhalants than when they were taking placebos (inac­tive pills).

Lung Infection

Selenium is needed in the body to produce glutathione peroxidase, an enzyme that helps protect cells by breaking down biochemicals associated with inflammation.

It’s too soon to say for sure whether supplementing a regular diet with selenium will help people with asthma. People who want to try it can safely take 100 micrograms, the amount found beneficial in the Swedish study. (The Daily Value is 70 micrograms.)

Studies have shown that people generally get about 100 micrograms of selenium a day from the average healthy diet. Don’t overdo it with selenium, say nutrition experts. A daily intake of 400 micrograms from foods and sup­plements is considered the upper limit of the safe range.

Antioxidant Compounds

People who want to take other antioxidant nutrients can safely supple­ment with up to 400 IU of vitamin E and 6 milligrams of beta-carotene a day. It’s a good idea to talk to your doctor before taking more than 400 IU of vitamin E daily. However, a diet of fish, whole grains, fruits, and fresh vegetables may be the best approach to prevention of asthma.

Some studies suggest that in addition to the nutrients mentioned above, calcium, zinc, copper, and vitamin D may all play supporting roles in easing the symptoms of asthma.