Concussion Diet

image: @brookelark

Nutrition is an area that many people often have a hard time getting a grasp on.

For some people, it’s hard to justify spending more money on healthy food items. For others, it’s hard to spend more time cooking healthy meals than to grab something fast at Wendy’s or Tim’s.

There are good foods and there are bad foods. There are foods that help you, and those that don’t.

When it comes to our health and in particular, Concussion management, a proper diet is something research is now finding can play a big role in helping someone recover from their injury thanks to the effects that some foods have on inflammation in the body.

Some of the important aspects of nutrition and it’s effects on health have remained fairly constant over the years however, many aspects are still continually being updated, especially with regards to the development and understanding of nutrition and its effects on inflammation in the body, and how that might affect the development and progression of various diseases.

We now know there are certain foods that are inflammatory in nature (processed foods, sugar, alcohol), and foods that are anti-inflammatory (blueberries, fish, turmeric). The trick is knowing when you should eat certain foods and when to avoid others in order to help mitigate any potential worsening of symptoms or issues.

Although proper nutrition post Concussion is only a portion of the recovery, its impact is vast.

When a concussion occurs, it is believed that a number of particular systems might be involved in secondary injuries resulting in changes to ion balance and flow, disruption of cellular function, derangement of blood flow and the blood-brain barrier, and elevated levels of free radicals. What this really comes down to, is inflammatory changes occurring at a cellular level.

A proper diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods and low in inflammatory foods can assist in reducing the levels of inflammation on the various systems within.

Amazing right?

One fact that I forgot to mention earlier, its “All or none” approach.

Yes, that’s correct. You either have to give it your all (100%) and follow a strict “Anti-inflammatory” diet in order to achieve the best outcomes, otherwise the effects are not there.  It’s like going to the gym and only finishing 2/3 of your workout. You won’t achieve the same gains unless you finish it all.

As always, if you are looking for more information, feel free to shoot me a message via email (arasruslys@gmail.com) or reach out and follow me on instagram (@ahh_rass_physio) or facebook (Aras Ruslys – Physiotherapist).

Eat proper and prosper.

Aras Ruslys
Registered Physiotherapist