The importance of food and water in recovery IMHO

 I think one topic I wish I would have known more about at the time of my TBI was the effect of food on the brain. And how HUGE the difference in how you feel and what you can do is related to what you eat.

You know the old adage You ARE What You Eat? It's literally true.  You can only run on the fuel you put in the tank, and you need super high quality food (fuel) to help your brain heal and provide strength for all your bodily functions.  Your brain absorbs and requires a giant amount of energy and calories just for a normal person.  You are not a normal person anymore.  You are a person with an injured brain and you can't just throw any dart at the food dartboard and hope for a Bullseye.  You will have to find what works for you and you will have to throw some bad darts but the important thing to be aware of is that food affects your TBI dramatically in my experience.

Advice:

Limit or eliminate as much as possible SUGAR.  It is inflammatory.

Limit drastically your carbohydrates.  They convert to sugar and are inflammatory.  Each brain injury and body is different but the only way I gained back some balance and stability in year two of my recovery was to limit carbs to about 50 grams a day.  In year three of my recovery, I find I can eat a few more carbs, maybe even up to 100 grams a day if I am outside working burning calories, but it has to be monitored.

Drink water.  Up to 8 to 10 glasses a day if you can, especially if your headaches or migraines are flaring up.  You may always have some head pain, and the Lord has given us the ability to deal with it and adapt.  I never thought I could live with constant head pain, but you can if you have to, and there are things you can do to make it less painful and bothersome, to keep the head pain and flare ups from incapitating you. 

In my opinion, lots of high quality FAT is another key.  If you end up on a Keto diet, or variation of a Paleo, or raw food, you are going to have to think seriously about what works and not what your diet doctrines are.  Follow the precepts that seem moral to you, and ask the Lord to bless your food, no matter if you can eat organic or not organic or some combination.  

 

Your brain is some 60 percent fat.  You need healthy fats.  Lard number one.  Lard from heritage hogs that we raise has been a huge boon.  This type of lard has 10,000 IU's of Vitamen D in one tablespoon, and is one of the most powerful things you can do for your immune system.  It also has as much or more Omega 3's as wild salmon.  Yes, Lard is vital for recovery.

I think organic and non-GMO is important.  My body at this point just gets rid of junk food and conventional food goes through me with lots of rumbling like a broken trash compactor coming off its bolts.

Jerimiah 33:3-- The Lord hears you, friend.

 It was 2.5 years ago now that I was hit on my motorcycle between farms here in Central Ohio.  I had many dreams of things I could and would do to help others during my recovery, and I find myself facing new challenges with my recovery every new season.  I am writing this directly for people who have or had a moderate to severe TBI.  I fractured my skull in 17 places, split the back of my head open over five inches, and had three brain bleeds.  I am a walking miracle, but the aftereffects of the accident are real and must be shared.  

The "world" actually doesn't care about you.  Even your friends and family, most of them will have a hard time staying interested more than a cursury amount of time.  After all, my wife works in assisted living, and sometimes all old and sick people can do is talk about their problems.  It gets old.  We must understand that and have empathy for our general, non-TBI audience.  I am not writing this blog for any of these people.  It does not bear enough fruit.  I tried to teach the university where I have taught English the last 25 years about my condition, and share a few narratives from New Zealand that were not my own story, as I wanted people to know how common and profound this injury is.  Basically, those narratives fell on deaf ears.  

It says in God's Word at the end of each of the seven letters to the churces in Revalation, that "those who have ears let them hear."  TBI friends, let's state the truth because the truth has power: the injury cannot be comprehended unless you have it, or unless You are the Creator of all life, and nothing escapes You.

The Lord hears your cry.  He answers.  He can.  He will.  Jesus lives! That is what this blog is about and my prayer as I post this first entry is for healing and for the Lord to take away the bitterness that can come with such a devastating injury.  He is the only one who can, and He will.  He loves you more than you could know, and I wll try to explain my journey and point you to help in God's holy Word for your challenges.  

We have to stand on the Rock.  All other ground is sinking sand.