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If even a slight bump causes you significant bruising, it may be due to a nutritional imbalance, experts have revealed.
The blue, brown, and sometimes purple discoloration happens when tiny blood vessels just below the skin’s surface burst, leading to blood leakage to the surrounding tissues.
While bruising is a completely normal phenomenon, the ease with which you bruise could signal a serious vitamin C deficiency, Paris-based naturopath Lydie Palmieri told Vogue.
Vitamin C — found primarily in vegetables such as broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts, as well as fruits including strawberries, guava and citrus — is an essential antioxidant important for healthy skin, bones and connective tissue, according to Medline Plus. It promotes healing and helps the body absorb iron.
“The human body can neither produce nor store vitamin C sustainably,” Palmieri explained, emphasizing the importance of daily consumption.
To ensure you’re consuming the recommended daily dose of vitamin C — around 75 milligrams for women and 90 milligrams for men, per Mayo Clinic — make sure your diet contains fresh fruits and vegetables, which, compared to those cooked, frozen, or canned, possess a much higher vitamin C content, according to the National Institute of Health.
However, if that’s a challenge, you may want to opt for a supplement. It’s recommended that you limit your daily intake to no more than 2,000 milligrams.
Also speaking to Vogue, Howard E. LeWine, MD, Chief Medical Editor of Harvard Health Publishing, noted that while the most famous culprit for easy bruising is “scurvy due to vitamin C deficiency,” it can also be a “manifestation of zinc deficiency or vitamin B deficiencies.”
Vitamin C deficiency is considered rare in developed countries due to widespread access to a diverse range of foods, according to the NIH. But because vitamin C deficiencies are “primarily related to inadequate dietary intake,” the website says that affected individuals may “also exhibit deficiencies in other essential nutrients.”
So if you bruise easily, it’s important not to jump to conclusions, as blood thinners, aging skin and corticosteroids are also common contributors to bruising, per Prevention.com.
Still, other possible symptoms of severe vitamin C deficiency include bleeding gums, fatigue, dull skin, frequent illnesses, corkscrew hairs, and tiny red spots around hair follicles.
If you suspect you might be suffering from a severe vitamin C deficiency, or any other vitamin for that matter, it’s important to speak with your doctor.
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