Concussions: 8 Ingredients for healing the brain

By Dylan Dahlquist- Sport Scientist

Nutritional interventions to minimize the damage and expedite recovery from a concussion.

Now that we know a bit about concussions, sub-concussions and TBI’s (see Concussions 101: The Basics), let’s move on to what you can do to fortify your brain to minimize the damage and speed up the recovery. 

Concussions – and any head trauma – are some of the most complex injuries in sports and have left researchers perplexed. Have you ever seen a situation where someone takes a massive digger, headfirst, and then proceeds to walk it off like nothing happened? Or perhaps you’ve witnessed someone take a very light “knock” to the dome and they suffer from headaches for weeks later. Unlike a bone break, brain injuries are not so black and white. Take the collarbone for instance. To heal a broken collar bone, a small incision is made, the bones are setback together, a plate may/may not be used to reinforce it, and you’re good to go in a few weeks with proper rehabilitation techniques from your medical team. The idiosyncrasies of a brain injury are multi-faceted and complex. You can’t simply “put it back together”.

Advancements in technology have resulted in equipment that can be the difference between life or death (helmets) and have enabled us to push harder and harder in our desired sport due to the increase in safety. With that being said, just because your noggin is enveloped within a cocoon, your brain can still get jostled around in your skull by a combination of linear and rotational forces you’d experience during a crash. Because of this, we need to find ways to protect our brain like how we protect the skull. Just as there are nutrients and training practices that can increase bone density and improve your chances of avoiding bone breaks, there are also dietary measures we can take to fortify our brain and protect it from unexpected jostling.

Currently, there is far more literature on post-concussion recovery than pre-concussion protection. Although there is limited research, omega 3s, creatine, and curcumin have each shown some promise for impact protection on the pre-concussion side. The research on post-concussion recovery is far more extensive. In addition to omega 3’s, creatine, and curcumin, the following have also proven to speed up post-concussion recovery: vitamin D, magnesium, vitamin C,  N-acetyl cysteine and hyperosmolar sodium lactate. Aside from N-acetyl cysteine and hyperosmolar sodium lactate, not only would consuming these nutrients support brain health and concussion prevention, but they also help athletic performance in general.

Omega 3

Primarily DHA, has consistently demonstrated being highly beneficial in reducing the severity of neurological damage after a concussion. Studies have shown consuming roughly ~2g of DHA a day can have neuroprotective benefits (1, 2).

Fish Oil is a great source of Omega 3

Creatine

Following a head trauma, there is a rapid and acute decrease in creatine levels within the brain. Creatine’s main purpose within the brain is to maintain temporal and spatial energy homeostasis and the ATP-PCr energy system. Therefore, although there is limited research at this point, if one were to increase the stores of creatine prior (and likely after) a brain trauma, you could theoretically maintain energy homeostasis during the period of crisis. Dosages vary, but ~2-3g/day for 2-4 weeks would be sufficient to fully saturate the tissues so that homeostasis could be maintained.

There’s some interesting research out on Creatine’s role in brain health

Curcumin & Vitamin C

Brain injuries lead to an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS), which you do not want. Curcumin and vitamin C have a rich history highlighting their effectiveness in reducing inflammation when balanced effectively. Due to this, the best way to be increase one’s curcumin levels would be to combine it with black pepper for maximum absorption. For Vitamin C, due to its abundance in most food, one can likely get enough through a balanced and healthy diet.

Vitamin C can help reduce inflammation

Vitamin D

Vitamin D’s benefits to athletic performance has been well documented, and typically, many athletes and non-athletes will find themselves deficient in the sunshine vitamin which is linked to worsened outcomes following concussions. Vitamin D supplementation has shown neuroprotective properties in a host of brain related injuries. Authors suggestion: we’d highly recommend contacting us or your medical team before supplementing freely with vitamin D and would gravitate towards getting your blood levels tested (e.g., Athlete Blood Test) to determine proper dosing.

Magnesium

Magnesium under normal conditions regulates calcium entering and exiting specific neurons within the brain, relaxes vascular smooth muscle tissue, and causes vasodilation and an increase in blood flow to the brain. Like creatine, magnesium in the brain quickly drops after a concussion – thus – in order to minimize neuronal damage, ensuring you have proper storage of magnesium is crucial. Plus, magnesium plays an important role in athletic performance and athletes can become quite deficient in it given the strenuous demands of training. Further research is needed in order to understand proper dosing but using a product such as CALM or taking electrolytes that contain magnesium will likely help.

N-acetyl cysteine

NAC for short, has been shown to down regulate inflammatory and oxidative stress that is exacerbated following a concussion. Despite this, there are only a handful of studies (typically limited to pilot-studies in elderly) showing the efficacy of using it in humans. Although promising, we’d suggest focusing on the other supplements suggested in this document vs the more experimental products.

Hyperosmolar sodium lactate

During concussion insults that are severe enough, you have an increase in intracranial pressure (meaning, your brain is swelling) and a reliance on anaerobic metabolism to fuel the brain. That being the case, lactate is one of the most fuel-efficient sources for energy in the body and especially the brain for these circumstances. It’s been shown that HSL has promise to reduce ICP and act as an energy source for the brain. Author’s suggestion: we’d highly recommend contacting us or your medical team before venturing off to use this.

One thing we haven’t covered here is the role that exercise can play in recovering from concussions. The reason is because it’s a controversial topic where some practitioners suggest no physical activity, and others, recommend movement as soon as one can following the initial insult to expedite the recovery process. We’ll cover this in another topic, but for now, given how concussions are complicated, scary and can cause chronic complications if left untreated – seek medical care and follow the procedures they recommend. Concussions are not to be taken lightly, so we hope this article provides some helpful insight into nutritional therapies that can educate you and prepare you should you or someone you know experience a concussion or brain trauma.

Thanks for reading!