About 10-15 years ago I mentioned to my doctor that I bruised easily and they take a while to go away. She ran some tests and came back with only that 'some women bruise easily.' No suggestions or anything.

Over the years I've discovered that when I'm not well hydrated (alcohol consumption and just plain not drinking enough water) I bruise more easily. I'm a 'flirt' and am currently working meat out of my diet and increasing veggie intake and trying vegetarian and vegan cuisine to make a further transition easier.

Does anybody know what nutrients, vitamins or whatever may be lacking for those of us that bruise easily? Any natural foods or products that can be added to my diet or taken to help out?

In the past I tried something from a natural food store that you let dissolve under your tongue (can't recall vitamin/mineral/herb) that supposedly helps but didn't notice the difference. Any ideas, suggestions or recommendations would be great. Thanks!

In the traditional Chinese medical system we link the Earth energy with the ability of the body to hold the blood in the vessels. This is the digestive system associated with the spleen and stomach. It is injured and healed with foods. Foods that are beneficial to the blood are the dark leafy greens. Kale collards, brocolli rabe and spinach. You could consider working up to at least one bunch per day. The other group are the orange vegetables. Yams, sweet potatoes, butternut and/or acorn squash also build the blood and keep it in it's vessels.
What harms the spleen is many of the ingredients of the American diet.

Trishkie,

Have you been tested for Von Wilenbrand (sp?)  I have been complaining about bruising for years.  Finally, my  Dr saw this enormous bruise on my leg during my annual exam.  And he was like "what happened to you?!".  I explained that this was very typical and normally I can't even recall, what I've done.  So he tested me and I have a blood disorder that increases bruising.  I had even gone through to 2 deliveries and my OB didn't even catch it.  Fortunately, for me it is a very mild case.  But there really isn't much I can do about it but at least being aware of it I know that there are certain precautions and medications I should take prior to a surgery.  You may want to ask your doc to specifically test you.

Good Luck!

Love this thread...Very interesting about the leafy greens.  I've always bruised easily and been tested to find no issues.  But since switching to a more raw diet, (and starting every day with greens) I rarely see a bruise.

I didn't associate the two though or even think about it till reading this.... Very cool indeed!  I've gone through 4 bunches of kale in less then a week :-)  (not including the spinach and romaine)  So it must be helping.

Wow, thank you all for your advice, suggestions and experiences!

If anybody else is following the thread and curious, as it turns out, the spelling of what Heather Buckley mentioned is "Von Willebrand" (I googled it ;-). Thank you for the info, Heather. Just from what I read on wikipedia (which I know is not totally reliable), it sounds like a possibility. I have not been tested but will do so now! It seems to mention bleeding issues, but I don't have that. I don't even remember the last time I had a nosebleed (many years). But that may not be an issue if a mild case (?). Worth getting tested anyway.

Justin Bean- Thanks for the insight into traditional Chinese medicine. I'll be trying to encorporate more dark leafy greens and orange vegetables into my diet now. I'm not big on the cooked greens, but can definitely get some fresh in salad. And I love the orange recommendations you gave-all of them, so that will be easy to add more to my diet. :)

Vegmom- Very interesting experience on the leafy greens. How do you get them into your diet - especially as part of your morning? And please share any kale recipes! I grew some last summer although never having eaten it and hated it. Tried twice, sauteed w/olive oil and garlic. Nasty! What's the trick?

Again, thank you all for your support! I'll post an update if I notice a significant decrease in my bruising by adding more of the suggested foods.

Hi Trishkie,
I think the trick is raw leaf veggies, so not cooked.  Because before this I'd eat them cooked without the same results.  Its all making sense now :-)

As for Kale.. The reason I purchased it was for making "Dehydrated Kale Chips"  The way I understand it, dehydrated still holds enzymes if under a certain temp.  But they can be made in the oven if your settings are low enough (I have old oven so had to use dehydrator) 

Anyway..I ran out of spinach for my morning smoothies, so I started throwing the kale in there... Worked perfectly with no adverse taste.  After a couple days, I realized I went through 2 bunches, and hadn't even made my kale chips yet.  :-)

Once making the kale chips, they were delicious and have since made two more batches.  Only bad thing is we go through them too fast.

BUT - I had some kale left that didn't fit in the dehdratyor and it was already maranated in the dressing (lemon juice, agave nectar, garlic salt and olive oil)

So I put them in a sealed glass bowl and in to the fridge.  Then every day that I made a salad, I'd throw some of the marinated kale on top.  Soooo good!
After soaking for a couple days, it wasn't near as bitter.

Now it has become a weekly staple in the house... Spinach also goes in my smoothies every morning.

Here is my post regarding the kale chips if you want to try them:

http://www.vegmom.com/my_thoughts_and_your_opin/dehydrator/

Hi Triskie,

Just an FYI - I have never had a nose bleed.  The only bleeding issue was after giving birth, which the drs attributed to my ethnic heritage.  Irish, with natural red hair and light skin.  I guess red heads are bleeders ???

Anyway- ask for the test:-)

Good Luck!

Vegmom - I'm a goober! It wasn't kale that I grew, it was swiss chard. Bleah!
If anybody has suggestions on how to make that tasty (even young leaves raw in salad is too bitter for me), by all means please share!

I haven't had morning smoothies in a while but started that back up this week. I've never added greens to it (usually frozen berries, banana) but tried some spinach like you mentioned. Very nice! Couldn't taste it and wouldn't know if I hadn't made it myself aside from the small green specs.  With a bit of smoothies including spinach in them, I'll upgrade to kale or some other big-benefit greens. Thanks for the tip, Vegmom!

Heather- Although probably less than 50%, I've also got some Irish ancestry. Dad was a red-head, but I got blonde/light brown hair. Definitely with the fair skin though. That's interesting that they attributed it to that. I'll have to let you know if tests come back that I have it or not. Interesting!

Incidentally, what prompted the original post was that I received a NASTY bruise from a 2-drawer lateral filing cabinet tipping over onto the front of my shin.
(Lesson learned: make sure the bottom drawer is TOTALLY filled with heavy stuff before filling the top drawer. Doh!)

That was about 2.5 weeks ago now and the color is mostly gone but I have kind of a lump underneath. It's not overly tender or anything, only as much as would be reasonable for how it looks at this point (sensitive to pressing, but not tender to the touch). Talked to an advice nurse today who suggested it might be a blood clot in the muscle tissue and recommended I put heat on it for about 20 mins no more than every 2 hours - moist heat if possible - to try to break it up. If not better by Monday to call to come in to see the doctor. Weird, eh?

I guess being in the muscle tissue, I don't have to worry about the clot breaking up and traveling through my blood stream, but still a bit unnerving. If I end up going in to see the doctor, I'll be asking for that test for Willebrand disease!

Trishkie - OUCH!!  Hope that feels better quickly and nothing serious.  Glad you like the smoothies.  :-)

As for Chard, I've followed this Collard recipe from Vegan Lunch Box using both Collard and Chard and found it to be really good...  I would toss in pasta or serve as a side dish.  So far that is the only way I've found to use Chard :-)

PS, I tried the Chard in smoothies and it was too bitter for me.  But kale and spinach and romaine, all do well.

Also might try bioflavonoids, it is a vitamin and found in green foods. I sold lots of it when ran a health food store, older customer swore by it to help reduce bruising. It helps the capillaries be stronger.

Tina- Very interesting on bioflavonoids.
A google search gave me info that says that some believe vitamin C is incorectly given credit for boosting the immune system when it's the bioflavonoids. Apparently the two are often found in the same foods, thus the reason for the supposed false credit.

It also said that most of them are found in citrus and vegetables with yellow pigments. Maybe the same reason for the benefit of the orange vegetables that Justin Bean previously posted are good for this.

And finally, it provided a few sources: apricots, blackberries, black currants, broccoli, canteloup, cherries, grapefruit, grapes, oranges and lemons. It seems that some of these are in season at all times of the year, so that'll give me something to work with.

Somewhere else I found that specifically citrus bioflavonoids (there are apparently 4 categories of them, with citrus as one) have obtained 'clinical results in treatment of capilary permeability, easy bruising, hemorrhoids and varicose veins' (http://www.chiro.org/nutrition/ABSTRACTS/bioflavonoids.shtml). I totally also have varicose vein issues, so I'm going to so pump up the citrus in my diet!