Plant-Based Diet
 

Just wanted to stop in quickly to share this: http://happyherbivore.com/2012/06/herbie-week-jessica/

Although it's not directly related to post-concussion syndrome, it does echo the experience I had this spring after I switched to a vegan (plant-based) diet as part of the Nedley program. My headaches and cognitive impairments became much less pronounced, and my muscle/nerve pain disappeared almost completely.

I do still have some troubles, but they are MUCH MUCH less severe than they were.

Hmmm....definitely worth trying...although I am not a vegetarian anymore, and I don't know if I want to try to transition back to vegetarian...but it could be worth a shot. I love my meat though, now. Hmmm...."food" for thought! Thanks for the article!

Interesting, thanks for posting!

I eat a lot of vegetables, but I have found since my accident I really crave meat too (and eggs and cheese!). More so than before. Before my accident I'd only eat meat a couple times a week, but now if I don't have some daily, I just don't feel well.

I wonder if I gave up meat if that feeling of being unwell would pass or increase.

Something to consider, thanks!
Starr

Very good idea, I will add this to my list of "things to try".

Starr,

I think it's important to note that a plant-based diet is not just "giving up" something and eating only vegetables. You will still need protein, fat, etc. -- you just will get them from plants instead of animal sources. So you probably will end up eating a lot more legumes, nuts, whole grains, etc.

What I learned at the Nedley clinic is that when you are craving a food, your body probably needs a nutrient that you associate with that food. For example, people who are depressed often crave chocolate, which stimulates the release of serotonin in the brain. They actually need the serotonin, and they associate it with that food. If their body is supplied with serotonin in another way, the craving disappears.

Shortly before going to the Nedley clinic, I started craving salmon (although I have been a vegetarian for nearly 20 years). When he started talking about the role of Omega-3s in brain health, I understood why. I was able to increase my intake of omega-3s through plant-based sources such as flax seed, and the craving for salmon disappeared.

So, you might have to do some detective work to figure out more specifically what it is that your body needs from the foods you have been craving. Is it iron? Tryptophan? Protein? A certain type of amino acid? If you can find another way to meet that need, the craving almost certainly will disappear.

Also, in all my previous attempts to go vegan, I have been unsuccessful because I have had strong cravings for some egg or dairy food (usually cheese).

This time, because of the great diet they fed us for 10 days at the Nedley program, the nutritional counseling we received, and the recipes and cooking instruction they sent us home with, I did not have ANY cravings after I came home.

My son even had chocolate candy out in front of me and it didn't seem appealing at all. My body had what it needed and felt good, so I wasn't craving something I was missing.

There is a sea weed that has all of the amino acids and such. It is a form or spirolina. The question is which classification does spirulina fall under. Is it plant or animal? Some say it predates the split between animal and plant. Others say it is a combination of both.

Except for the occasional salmon that is raised as carnivores, The meat I eat is fed a plant based diet.