Page 401 - Total War on PTSD Final

fight infections and bring healing to an infected or injured part of the body. Omega-3s are equally critical, and serve as balance with anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving properties. But, in the last half a century, the foods we eat have set the balance between the pro and anti-inflammatory Omega-6 and Omega-3s off kilter. We have way too many Omega-6s in our diet and in our brains.
Now the preconditions are set for additional trauma when the brain is injured. If there is a head injury, the brain is flooded with inflammatory factors from Omega-6s, which is necessary, to a point. We need inflammatory responses to address the injury, but we also need the anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving Omega-3s to calm the brain and extinguish the fire of inflammation. If that doesn’t occur, the acute injury can turn into a situation of chronic inflammation that continues to burn for weeks, months, or even years.
What the brain needs is, especially during and after trauma, is a balance between the Omega-6s and Omega-3s. Fish oil, filled with Omega-3s, can provide this protective armor and help feed the brain with what it needs to heal. To be clear, Omega-3s are not some miracle drug. They are a nutrition. When administered as a nutritional supplement in a protocol for TBI and concussion, they will only help heal the brain as much as it can be healed. Sometimes the damage is too great and nothing will help. Often, however, this healing far exceeds the expectations of doctors, parents, coaches, and patients. What we need to focus on is building that inner armor of Omega-3s in our soldiers and athletes.
If Omega-3s help with healing the brain and can be used to prevent or lessen the effects of concussion, do Omega-3s have any impact on brain trauma that occurred months or, in some cases, even years ago?
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