ACE: 3 Vitamins That Will Keep Your Heels Healthy and Crack-Free

Heel fissures, more commonly known are cracked feet, can be unsightly at best, and painful at worst. They're also prone to infection, so it's a good idea to try to treat them. One natural way to reduce heel cracks is to add more vitamins into your daily diet. In particular, the ACE combination -- vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E -- are 3 of the best minerals to protect your feet. Here's how they can help you. Remember that while vitamins can improve full body health, they won't cure everyone's cracked heels. If fissures persist, contact a podiatrist for general foot care advice.

Vitamin A

The first vitamin which is known to help prevent heel fissures is vitamin A. Vitamin A helps your heels by keeping your skin healthy. Research indicates that a vitamin A deficiency can prevent wounds -- like cracks in your heels -- from healing if they form. This can lead to heel fissures quickly getting worse, becoming painful or infected. There are many ways to get more vitamin A into your diet. Carrots, cantaloupe, fish, dark leafy greens and liver are all high in vitamin A. As this vitamin is fat-soluble, you should make sure you eat vitamin A rich foods along with fats like butter and oil for maximum absorption. Remember that too much vitamin A can be as bad as not having enough; make sure you get tested before changing your diet.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is another vitamin that's great at keeping skin healthy. Like vitamin A, vitamin C supports skin repair, preventing dry heels from getting severely damaged. Additionally, vitamin C is a key agent in your body's collagen production. Collagen is known to help firm and strengthen skin, protecting it from damage and fissures. If you think your dry, cracked heels might be caused by prolonged exposure to the sun, vitamin C is also a known protector from sun damage. Some of the best sources of vitamin C are citrus fruits, capsicum, and broccoli. As vitamin C is a water-soluble nutrient, you should make sure your fruits and vegetables are as fresh as possible and raw or lightly cooked when you consume them.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble nutrient that improves your heel health by protecting your feet from sun damage, promoting hydration, and eliminating free radicals from your body. Exposure to sunlight depletes vitamin E, but supplementing it alongside vitamin C can reduce the risk of your heels getting dried out by the sun. Studies have shown that vitamin E also improves water retention in skin which reduces the risk of your heels drying out. Finally, it acts as an antioxidant, defending against free radicals that interfere with much-needed collagen production. Aside from topical application, you can get vitamin E from vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds.

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