Page 342 - Total War on PTSD

These things are important! However, no current therapies address either the secondary phase that continues to damage the brain over the hours and days following injury or the need to facilitate the early neuroregeneration process to help the brain repair any damage.
I am pioneering methods to rebuild the injured brain rather than masking of symptoms with pharmaceuticals. In addition, I advocate increasing the resilience of the brain to withstand injury so those at significant risk may be protected. That simple conclusion is the basis of why Omega-3s are important in concussion and TBI – both in prevention of injury and even more important when an injury does occur.
• There is no cure for concussion and TBI. There are no magic medicines nor will there ever be. The brain has to heal itself. All we can do is optimize the conditions to help the brain do the healing. That is what using Omega-3’s will do. It provides a tool, the basic building block, for the brain’s healing.
30% of the brain is fat. Omega fatty acids are analogous to bricks in the wall of your brain. The balance between Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids is important. Omega-6 fatty acids are more inflammatory and an overabundance of them in your body can prevent healing. The critical Omega-3 fatty acids seem to be DHA and EPA (EPA – eicosapentaenoic acid; DHA – docosahexaenoic acid), precursors of Resolvins and neuroprotectins, and EPA influence healthy blood flow, cell-to-cell communication, and mediate anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Omega-3s have proven beneficial across the board in anecdotal cases for restoring brain function after traumas like concussions or car crashes, and all forms of age-related neurodegeneration.
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