Nutrition to Support Brain Health & Offset Brain Injuries

1. Dr. Andy Galpin

   The science and practice of enhancing human performance for sport, play, and life. Welcome to Perform. For the final time this season, welcome back, friends. I'm Dr. Andy Galpin. I'm a professor of kinesiology in the Center for Sport Performance at Cal State Fullerton. So far in the first season of Perform, we've talked about everything from muscle to the immune system to liver and lungs, metabolism, genetics, sleep, blood work, and so I thought we have to end this thing on what I hate giving credit to, because I'm a muscle guy, but probably deserves it, and that's the brain. There are obviously many factors that go into getting your brain to perform at its best, but today I want to focus specifically on what you can do from a nutrition perspective to reduce your risk of, as well as recover faster from, brain injuries, concussions, and TBIs. I think it's worth reminding you, though, that if it's good for preventing and returning faster from a brain injury, it's probably safe to assume it's also good for brain performance as well as long-term health.

2. Dr. Andy Galpin

   Now, I'm particularly passionate about this subject, having dealt with it a lot personally. I've had a concussion or two myself, and I've spent much of my career working with athletes prone or at high risk of developing similar injuries. This includes football players, wrestlers, fighters, boxers, and so forth. That said, those are not the only people at risk of a brain injury. In fact, those things are quite common, and not only in athletes. So I'm really excited about this topic because brain injuries are really common, they can be completely debilitating, and there's actually a lot of evidence that nutrition and supplementation can have a big effect in, again, both reducing your risk of getting one, as well as coming back faster once they've happened. And so I really want to make sure everyone knows what their options are from a supplementation as well as whole food perspective on getting back and returning as fast as possible and minimizing the symptoms of brain injuries.

3. Dr. Andy Galpin

   Now, as I was saying, traumatic brain injuries, or what we'll refer to as TBIs, are really common. In fact, a lot of people in the field refer to them as the invisible disease, because they don't come with a physical appearance. There's no cut, there's no bruise or joint sticking the wrong way, bone poking out of the skin. And so these things can happen, and you don't necessarily know that an injury occurred. Other problems include the fact that the symptoms that are associated with a TBI or concussion are really similar to those generally associated with aging. So you talk about memory recall issues, mood, sleep, and other things that people don't necessarily know are because of an injury, and they may think it's just due to normal aging. In fact, we'll get into this a lot as the episode progresses, but a lot of the research on brain health with aging, Alzheimer's, dementia, and other related topics, come from the same data sets that we work on for TBIs and concussions, and the inverse.

4. Dr. Andy Galpin

   So there's a huge overlap or Venn diagram between the types of research, the study design, the actual papers themselves, the interventions, the models, whether we're talking about data from humans or animals and rats and ferrets and things like that. There's a large overlap between these two bases. They're different, of course, and we'll try to highlight those, but these are some of the reasons why I want to get into today's episode, even if you're not an athlete, because many of you are still at risk of getting a TBI. In fact, the vast majority of concussions and TBIs do not come from sports. They come from accidental slips and falls and other problems like that. In addition, they're still going to tell us a lot of indirect information about overall healthy brain aging. So the goal here will be to reduce our risk, of course, but if it does occur, to minimize the symptoms and return back to a healthy brain as fast as possible.

5. Dr. Andy Galpin

   Now, before we go too much further, I'd like to take a quick break and thank our sponsors, because they make this show possible. Not only are they on this list because they offer great products and services, but because I actually personally love them and use them myself. Today's episode is brought to you by LMNT. LMNT is an electrolyte drink mix that has an ideal ratio of sodium, potassium, and magnesium, but has no sugar. Electrolytes are critical to proper hydration, which I've been harping on for years, but you can't do that by only drinking water. In fact, many of you will probably remember that I featured LMNT in my YouTube series on optimizing hydration all the way back in 2020, which is obviously long before this podcast even existed. So I've been a fan of LMNT for a long time. In fact, astute listeners will also realize these hydration videos were the genesis of the Galpin Hydration Equation, named not by me, but by the legendary neuroscientist, Dr.

6. Dr. Andy Galpin

   Andrew Huberman. I featured LMNT in these videos because their blend of 1,000 milligrams of sodium, 200 milligrams potassium, and 60 milligrams magnesium really is different than any other electrolyte on the market and has great scientific support. I personally use the citrus and watermelon flavors a ton to pre-hydrate before heading out on a full day of training or a long hike or a hunt, since I know I'll be losing a bunch of fluids and won't have many opportunities to take things with me. LMNT has also just released a new line of canned sparkling LMNT, which I am all about. If you'd like to try LMNT, you can go to drinkLMNT.com/perform to claim a free LMNT sample pack with the purchase of any LMNT drink mix. Again, that's drinkLMNT.com/perform to claim a free sample pack. Today's episode is also brought to you by Continuum. Continuum is a membership-only wellness club designed to help high performers reach their fitness and performance goals.

7. Dr. Andy Galpin

   Continuum just opened its flagship club in Manhattan, quickly making it one of the most sought-after memberships in the city. Its location in Greenwich Village is incredible. In fact, it's stunning. It's a 25,000 square foot space with state-of-the-art equipment, a beautiful design And everything you could possibly want in this unique mix of a gym, wellness center, and social club. Continuum members start with a thorough Olympic-grade assessment that results in a biometrically-driven, AI-assisted wellness program that updates in real time and incorporates everything from personal training and physical therapy to hyperbaric and IV therapies. By bringing together true fitness experts, best-in-class technology, and proven wellness services and amenities, Continuum delivers the most comprehensive solution to performance. I've been involved with Continuum, working as their head of performance science, since their founding, and I've been incredibly impressed by what the team there has built.

8. Dr. Andy Galpin

   If you're interested in joining Continuum, their team has agreed to give a select number of you, the listeners here, a fully waved onboarding, which includes VO2 max testing, DEXA scans, blood panels, sleep analysis, and more, all at their fabulous New York City flagship location. To learn more, visit continuum.club/perform. Again, that's continuum, with two Us, .club/perform. Now, before we get started on the details, I want to highlight a couple of things. First, remember, I have a PhD. I am a scientist. I've published in this area. In fact, I have recently submitted a literature review as a co-author, and we'll talk about that later. But I'm not a medical doctor. If you think you have any risk of, or potentially have had or are suffering consequences from any type of brain-related injury, please see a medical professional in this area. Now, I want to focus this episode on nutrition and supplementation related to brain injury, but I also don't want anyone to think that I am suggesting this is all you should do for your brain injury.

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