Picture an onion in a jar. Something like a mason jar. Clear and glass. When you drop the jar, your onion will hit the container with moderate force. When you shake the glass in your hand with more force your onion hits with more force and is thus more damaged.
This is what happens inside your head when you get a concussion. The severity determines how damaged or hurt your brain becomes.
In such a sport focused culture concussions have become a much bigger and more common injury.
“A recent study found there are approximately 30,000 concussions or head related injuries reported annually among the 12 to 19 year old age group, with over 80% being sports related. Car accidents, falls, and military duty also frequently cause brain injuries. While these numbers are increasing every year, the majority of concussions are still not being reported so the true numbers are likely underestimated.”
What Happens to the Brain?
Recent research shows that brain trauma resulting from a concussion causes a complex onslaught of neuro-inflammation. This process is started by a large release of brain signaling molecules. These molecules will overpower the brain’s ability to function and heal itself. The parts of the cell that gets damaged is known as the mitchondria responsible for producing energy.
In a mild TBI or concussion, the brain has the ability to stop the cellular damage with its own built-in antioxidant systems. This is why most mild concussion symptoms only last a few days to a week and resolve by themselves.
How to treat a concussion:
There are many treatments that doctors recommend to treat a concussion. Most of them involve little activity and lots of bed rest. Conventional drugs have shown limited benefits for brain trauma since they don’t address the root cause of what is driving concussion symptoms. Most recently, some research suggests that what you eat can help you recover more quickly.
Treat a concussion naturally:
1. Curcumin: is a phytochemical found in the spice turmeric. It has extremely potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. While results are still preliminary, curcumin extracts are showing positive benefit in neuro-recovery, cell membrane stabilization, and reduction of oxidative stress in animals. Curcumin stands as one of the most promising neuroprotective and therapeutic agents due its excellent safety profile and wide ranging mechanism of action.
2. Green Tea: Green is much more than a tasty, warming drink. It is well known for its powerful antioxidants. Its neuroprotective properties can be attributed primarily to the power antioxidant molecule called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the amino acid L- theanine, and to a lesser degree caffeine. Green tea has shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in animal models of brain injury. The L-theanine is an unique component within green tea which offers protection immediately after a concussion.
3. Omega 3 fatty acids: Omega 3’s have been associated with brain development and function for a long time. A number of animal trials in have found that omega-3 supplementation improves cognitive function, reduces nerve swelling, stabilizes cellular energy production, and increases nerve repair. One of these studies also showed that pre-injury dietary supplementation with fish oil has a positive neuroprotective effect.
4. Vitamin E – Ok we’ve all heard of vitamin E before, right? It’s a commonly studied natural compound for brain health since it has a powerful antioxidant effect, specifically in fatty tissue. A few animal studies have found that vitamin E reduces nerve damage and improves cognitive performance following repetitive, concussive brain injury. Similar to the others mentioned, vitamin E also had a neuroprotective effect before a concussion occurs/
Overall, this research is very new and needs to be studied further.
If you think you have a concussion the first thing you should do is consult a doctor. After that, there is no harm in adding these four items to your diet.
Sources:
http://vitalitymagazine.com/article/healing-brain-injuries-naturally/
Image Sources:
http://www.gaylord.org/portals/22/Images/Concussion%20Clinic.jpg
http://spiutica.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Concussion-Newsletter.jpg
http://www.meghantelpner.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Trumeric-Latte-Recipe-1012×675.jpg
