Download Can Omega-3 Intake Aid in Brain Health Recovery?

For Immediate Release
News from Taylor & Francis
August 2016
Concussions and Brain Injury -Can Omega-3 Intake Aid in Brain Health Recovery?
The treatment of concussions and traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a clinical challenge. Clinical studies thus far have failed
to identify an effective treatment strategy when a combination of targets controlling aspects of neuroprotection,
neuroinflammation, and neuroregeneration is needed. According to emerging science and clinical experience,
aggressive intake of omega-3 fatty acids (n-3FA) seems to be beneficial to TBI, concussion, and post-concussion
syndrome patients. This research is presented in Concussions, Traumatic Brain Injury, and the Innovative Use of
Omega-3s, a review article from the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, official publication of the American
College of Nutrition.
Research suggests that early and optimal doses of omega-3 fatty acids (n-3FA) have the potential to improve outcomes
from traumatic brain injury. The article reviews preclinical research and cites three brain injury case studies that
resulted from a mining accident, a motor vehicle accident, and a drowning accident. Each instance showcased evidence
of safety and tolerability, wherein the patients who sustained life-threatening brain injuries recovered brain health
with the aid of omega-3 fatty acids (n-3FA).
Growing clinical experience by numerous providers is that the brain needs to be saturated with high doses of n-3FA in
order for the brain to have the opportunity to heal. Without an optimal supply of omegas, healing is less likely to
happen. It is well recognized that n-3FAs are not a drug and not a cure and every situation is different. Clinically, some
patients respond better than others. However, there is no downside to providing optimal levels of nutrition in order to
give a patient the best opportunity to regain as much function as possible following a TBI.
Article author Michael D. Lewis, a retired Army Colonel and physician, is the author of the highly anticipated book,
When Brains Collide: What Every Athlete and Parent Should Know About the Prevention and Treatment of Concussions
and TBI, that will be available on Amazon in September 2016. Dr. Lewis concludes, “n-3FA should be considered
mainstream, conventional medicine, if conventional medicine can overcome its inherent bias against nutritional,
nonpharmacological therapies.”
FREE ACCESS: Concussions, Traumatic Brain Injury, and the Innovative Use of Omega-3s
Michael D. Lewis MD, MPH, MBA, FACPM, FACN
Volume 35, Issue 5, 2016, Pages 469-475
URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07315724.2016.1150796
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About Journal of the American College of Nutrition - www.tandfonline.com/r/jacn
Published eight times per year, the Journal of the American College of Nutrition continues to provide original and
innovative research in nutrition with useful application for researchers, physicians, and other health care professionals.
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About the American College of Nutrition® - www.americancollegeofnutrition.org
The American College of Nutrition® has been dedicated since 1959 to enhancing clinical nutrition. The College strives
to stimulate nutrition research and publication, elevate nutrition knowledge among researchers and clinicians, and
provide practical guidance on clinical nutrition. Society Contact: Michael Stroka, JD, MBA, MS, CNS, Executive Director,
American College of Nutrition.
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