Nutrition Assessments
Feed your healing journey correctly .
Nutrition Assessments
Nutrition assessments are available at Encompass Healthcare and Wound Medicine in West Bloomfield, Michigan in our outpatient office so that you don’t have to go to the hospital.
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Our outpatient facility serves all Michigan Oakland, Wayne, and Macomb county cities. We are located in The Lakes Medical Building on the border of West Bloomfield, Walled Lake, and Commerce township.
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What are a patient’s nutrition needs in a non-healing or infection-healing state? The body needs more protein in a healing situation. In fact, sometimes protein intake increases of up to three times or more is recommended in order to heal. Only with that kind of increased intake can the body carry on normal healing functions such as allocating sufficient protein, calories, and energies to wound healing.
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How do we determine a patient’s nutrition?
To determine a patient’s nutritional status, Dr. Ruben use the results from blood tests and/or an indirect calorimeter and takes the patient’s activity level into account. In fact, for more information on this topic, read Dr. Bruce Ruben’s published article on Why Protein is Important for Healing Wounds at Woundsource.com.
An indirect calorimeter is a machine we have in-house used to detect a person’s basal metabolism and thus how many calories are needed in order to maintain or gain weight. In many instances, our patients need to gain weight, but in the form of muscle in order to aid in wound healing. It can also measure how many calories your body burns after eating.
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Why Nutrition Matters
Getting the extra nutrition to heal wounds can be challenging because:
A patient can look well-nourished and still be deficient of adequate protein for wound healing and combating infection. The amount of additional protein needed is quite substantial. But in some cases, the patient does not have the capacity to take in the extra protein and calories due to an underlying condition(s). That’s when feeding tubes become an important treatment modality since they can provide nutrition throughout sleeping hours.
It matters where the extra calories come from. For example, fats are calorie dense, but your body needs proteins and carbohydrates over extra fats to speed healing.
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Protein: The key to healing
It all begins with protein intake since your body uses proteins to build new tissues, carry away dead tissue, and deliver nutrients to wound sites. It can take up to three times the normal amount of protein intake to heal a wound. So if you’re normally supposed to take in 56 grams of protein each day to carry out normal activities, you need up to 160 grams or more each day during the healing process. Great sources of protein include:
Seafood: Seafood is an excellent source of protein because it’s usually low in fat. Fish such as salmon is a little higher in fat, but it is the heart-healthy kind: omega-3 fatty acids.
White-Meat Poultry: Stick to the white meat of poultry for excellent, lean protein. Dark meat is a little higher in fat. The skin is loaded with saturated fat, so remove skin before cooking.
Milk, Cheese, and Yogurt: Not only are dairy foods—like milk, cheese, and yogurt—excellent sources of protein but they also contain valuable calcium, and many are fortified with vitamin D. Choose skim or low-fat dairy to keep bones and teeth strong and prevent osteoporosis.
Eggs: Eggs are one of the least expensive forms of protein.
Beans: One-half cup of beans contains as much protein as an ounce of broiled steak. Plus, these nutritious nuggets are loaded with fiber to keep you feeling full for hours.
Pork Tenderloin: This great and versatile white meat is 31% leaner than it was 20 years ago.
Soy: Fifty grams of soy protein daily can help lower cholesterol about 3%. Eating soy protein instead of sources of protein higher in fat—along with a healthy diet—can be heart healthy.
Lean Beef: Lean beef has only one more gram of saturated fat than a skinless chicken breast. Lean beef is also an excellent source of zinc, iron, and vitamin B12.