Neuronutrition after Traumatic Brain Injury: The Nutrients your Brain Needs
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes
Neuronutrition after Traumatic Brain Injury: The Nutrients your Brain Needs
No matter how well you take care of yourself and your brain, the reality is that anyone can suffer from a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) at any time. TBIs do not discriminate against gender, age, race, or health status.
For my husband Joe, it happened in a cycling accident.
For Maggie, whom I interviewed last week, it happened at a waterslide park.
For you, it may have been on a football field or hockey rink.
But regardless of how one may have sustained a TBI, the science is showing that proper nutrition following acquisition can play a helpful role in TBI recovery.
At HappiHuman.com, we pride ourselves on being able to support everyone’s optimal brain health - regardless of whether you are a TBI survivor, struggle with a mental health issue, wish to improve cognitive function or simply want to age gracefully.
This month, being Brain Injury Awareness Month, we decided to focus on specific nutrients that may be able to speed up recovery or mitigate the damaging effects of a brain injury.
But first, have you ever wondered what a TBI is or how it can be so detrimental?
Read on to discover some facts about TBIs and which nutrients can help with recovery.
TBI 101
What exactly is a TBI?
A TBI (traumatic brain injury) is generally described as an insult to the brain or disruption of brain function due to an external mechanical force (blow to the head or penetrating injury), which may lead to permanent or temporary impairment of cognitive, physical, and/or psychosocial functions. It is also usually combined with a diminished or altered state of consciousness.
TBIs are also considered Acquired Brain Injuries (ABIs) because damage to the brain happened after birth and was not related to a congenital or degenerative disease. But regardless of what it’s called, a brain injury can be devastating!
Just as there are many names to describe a brain injury, there are many reasons why someone may sustain one. Sports injury-related concussions are typically the main cause of brain injuries in North America. But they can also be the result of a fall, a car accident, a blow to the head, an infectious disease, toxic exposure, a seizure, a tumour, the reverberations from an explosion, or the deprivation of oxygen.
TBIs can have an enormous impact on brain function. They can affect one’s mood, cognition, memory, emotions, and even motor function. The effects can be debilitating and last a long time - in some cases for the remaining life of the survivor.
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They are also very common - listed as the leading cause of death and disability for Canadians under the age of 40.
How common are they? Approximately 1.5 million Canadians live with the effects of an acquired brain injury. Each year, they affect more people than breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and AIDS combined! [1]
A misnomer is that you have to lose consciousness when you sustain a TBI. But this is not true. Concussions are considered TBIs because they alter brain function for minutes to hours to years.
Headlines have recently described the detrimental effects sports injuries have on the brain - especially repeated concussions NFL players or boxers experience. Multiple devastating stories describe the mental health challenges experienced by athletes who have suffered repeated concussions, even as young adults.
Repeated concussions, even without loss of consciousness, can also cause a progressive condition called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). This can impact emotions, cognition, behaviour, memory, speech, movement, and personality. It can even lead to Parkinsonism. [2]
But what exactly happens to the brain and its functioning when someone experiences a TBI?
How food can support TBI recovery
In general, a healthy diet is crucial for a healthy brain.
After a brain injury, this becomes even more critical. Proper neuronutrition with a brain-healthy diet can support TBI recovery.
The brain’s nutritional requirements following any type of injury, including a TBI or concussion are greater, with certain nutrients becoming more important. The following are some of the most important nutrients that can support a TBI recovery by helping repair tissue, improving cerebral blood flow, and reducing inflammation.
What a TBI does to the brain
A TBI damages the structure and function of brain cells the moment it occurs then a cascade of events follows.
The first thing that happens, upon impact, is the malfunctioning of the mitochondria inside neurons (brain cells). Mitochondria, often referred to as the “powerhouses of the cell,” serve to produce energy. As such, they are vital for keeping cells alive. When they don’t work properly, the cells cannot produce sufficient energy, which makes you feel extremely tired - a hallmark symptom people suffer after a TBI.
But this lack of energy production is only the beginning. A toxic build-up of chemicals is allowed to collect in the cells, causing free radical damage or oxidative stress. In turn, this creates neuroinflammation or inflammation in the brain. Neuroinflammation then leads to neurodegeneration - the progressive loss of brain cells called neurons.
Over time, this brain inflammation can spread, creating many other issues. One of the most common is depression.
“Did you know that people who have sustained a TBI are about 8 times more likely to experience depression?”
Yes, research has shown that an inflamed brain is more prone to depression. Additionally, any loss of healthy brain function, as is the case with neuroinflammation, will likely exacerbate stress. This increased stress will create more inflammation and make you more prone to mood imbalances and emotional changes - other common symptoms of a TBI.
Neuroinflammation also increases one’s risk of dementia. This is especially true if the person suffered multiple concussions or TBIs, as the effects of doing so are cumulative.
Several factors come into play here, though. In part, it depends on the age of the person when the TBI occurred, as well as the severity of the injury. The older the person was when injured and the more severe the injury, the greater the risk. [3]
The nutrients your brain needs after a TBI
The following 6 nutrients can help with a TBI recovery:
Omega 3 fatty acids: Omega 3 fatty acids consist of Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). They are anti-inflammatory agents that can also help speed TBI recovery. DHA specifically, can act as a protective agent against the detrimental effects of a brain injury and help speed recovery. Scientific research has also linked diets high in omega-3s with improved mood and memory.
Where can you get these amazing omega 3 fatty acids? They are readily found in oily fish like wild salmon, sardines, anchovies, black cod, halibut, trout, and mackerel.
To achieve the therapeutic effects of EPA and DHA, supplementation is often recommended in doses from 1-5 grams of a quality fish oil supplement per day.
CAUTION: If you have a bleeding disorder, large doses of fish oil supplementation may prevent blood clots from forming, which could make your condition worse. It may also be problematic if you are taking any type of blood-thinning medication. Consult your doctor, pharmacist, or Functional Medicine practitioner before taking large doses of fish oil.
2. Antioxidants: Antioxidants are compounds that help counteract the negative effects of free radicals. They include vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, and selenium. Antioxidants boost blood flow and oxygen to the brain, which makes them very helpful for TBI recovery. In rat studies, they also helped improve memory and reduce the signs of neuronal cell death.
Human trials on participants who have sustained a TBI indicate that a combination of the antioxidants vitamin C and vitamin E created more positive results that taking any one antioxidant alone.
In general, antioxidants can be found in colourful fruits and vegetables like all types of berries, dark greens, bell peppers, and grapes, in addition to almonds, sunflower seeds, and wild salmon.
3. Co-enzyme Q10: Co-enzyme Q10 is a naturally occurring antioxidant in the human body. Administering it following a TBI had a positive effect on brain recovery in animal studies. It works to increase blood flow to the brain and reduce neurodegeneration (the death of brain cells). Also called Co-Q10, co-enzyme Q10 has shown positive effects against neurodegenerative and mitochondrial disorders. [4]
4. Magnesium: Magnesium plays many important roles in brain function. It stops glutamate, the excitatory neurotransmitter, from acting, increases cerebral blood flow, promotes energy production, and balances blood sugar levels.
Following a TBI, a reduction of magnesium levels in the brain means glutamate and calcium levels rise. When these compounds enter the brain, they contribute to the degeneration of neurons and cell death. Magnesium supplementation, therefore, can help protect against some of the secondary consequences of a TBI, including depression. [5]
The good news is there are many delicious ways of getting magnesium into your body, including eating green leafy vegetables, avocados, figs, bananas, raspberries, nuts and seeds, algae, beans, and cacao.
5. Zinc: Zinc plays an important role in the regeneration and repair of tissue, including damaged tissue in the brain. It also helps reduce neuro-inflammation. Diets rich in zinc have shown promise in speeding recovery after a TBI.
It’s also interesting to note that people who have just experienced a mild TBI, have lower levels of zinc in their blood. It’s been suggested that this happens because larger amounts of zinc are needed to help with the immediate repair process.
Foods rich in zinc include quality red meat like grass-fed beef, bison, duck, and lamb. Other foods containing zinc are shellfish (especially oysters), chickpeas, lentils, eggs, nuts, seeds, and dark chocolate (I recommend it contains at least 75% raw cacao).
6. Choline: Acetylcholine functions in the brain and body as a neurotransmitter. It's released by nerve cells and sends signals to other neurons, muscle cells, and gland cells all over the body. Acetylcholine requires adequate levels of choline in order to function correctly. But why is this important? Higher choline levels are related to less anxiety, improved cell membrane health, and improved memory.
Besides, choline can reduce brain inflammation, reduce the body’s perceived levels of stress, and help normalize some TBI-induced deficits. It would be especially helpful to supplement with choline if a brain injury occurred to the temporal lobe of the brain and the person’s memory was affected.
Conclusion
Since a traumatic brain injury causes so many detrimental effects, some of which may not be realized until years later, proper nutrition consisting of the right nutrients can play a helpful role in TBI recovery. They can help reduce the cascade of damaging effects caused by a TBI, particularly by reducing neuro-inflammation and oxidative stress.
As always, I welcome your thoughts and value your feedback. Let me know what you think by dropping me a line or commenting below.
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