Copyright 1999 by Prof. Steven Rochlitz

Legally we must advise the reader that

1. The FDA has not read or approved this article
2. This article is for research and educational purposes and is not intended for the diagnosing, prescribing or treating of any disease or illness and
3. Consult your physician before making any dietary or nutritional changes.

It is important though to recognize that many physicians are unaware of the nutritional and kinesiological factors we will discuss on this website.

There are two primary and distinct nutritional factors to consider for brain-injured children. Simply put they relate to 1. what is optimal not to be putting into the bodies of brain-injured children; and 2. what is optimal to provide to them. Let us examine the first factor above first.

With a severe brain injury, it is likely that total parenteral (intravenous) nutrition (TPN) and/or direct stomach feeding via a shunt will be employed at least in the initial phase after injury. Avoiding allergic or intolerant food substances can be crucial for the survival and improvement of the brain-injured children. Unfortunately there is a preponderance of allergenic "formulas" especially the "complete" nutritional liquids. They may contain milk or soy proteins. Cow's milk products are notorious (among those in the know) for their allergenicity or intolerance. Few children will develop "recognized" complaints such as hives. Diarrhea, constipation, foul stool odors can be a clue to food intolerance. Indeed, ingesting the same food everyday is one of the leading causes of food allergy and/or intolerance. Much suffering by Brian Connolly occurred from the milk formula he was given. It was even causing severe, chronic muscle cramping and appeared to make his gastrointestinal tract too permeable resulting in other food intolerances. Parents need to consider purchasing nutrient formulas that are non-dairy or of liquefying other foods themselves and possibly rotating them. Of course, we recommend some form of food sensitivity testing and in particular this author's applied kinesiology testing which can be performed via a surrogate for unconscious children. (See the Applied Kinesiology page on this website or our own website, http://www.wellatlast.com or Allergies and Candida: with the Physicist's Rapid Solution, 3rd Edition by the author for more information.)

Providing only hypoallergenic food substances may present a challenge for the parent who will have to learn much here. But it is the parents' ultimate responsibility. Improvement and ultimate healing are at least in part dependent on providing safe and optimal foods and supplementation.

This brings us to the second factor cited at the outset here. Are there particular nutrients that can be crucial again for the survival, improvement, and ultimate healing in the brain-injured children? We must first realize that the so-called "complete" nutritional "formulas" usually only contain enough micronutrients (vitamins, minerals and other essential factors) to prevent classical nutritional deficiency diseases such as scurvy. They are not designed with optimum health and healing in mind.

Let us next discuss the need for providing extra micronutrients and newer, special nutrients. The great initial shock and stress to the brain-injured children is apparent to all. Such a condition usually demands higher amounts of so-called stress vitamins which include vitamin C, the B-vitamins and minerals such as zinc. The adrenals (stress glands) and other glands benefit from these essential nutrients. The immune system is also clearly stressed and all the anti-oxidants are probably needed in greater amounts than provided in standard "formulas." Parents can consider purchasing a complete anti-oxidant formula (which includes the above stress nutrients plus others such as Vitamins A and E) or a complete multivitaminmineral supplement from their local health food store and adding the contents to their child's liquid feedings. We recommend purchasing these supplements at the health store and not the drug store because (as the parent can readily verify) drug company brands lack many nutrients and/or are low in them in comparison to health store brands. We urge parents to begin reading and learning about optimum nutritional supplementation from holistic sources.

Finally and perhaps most crucially, let us examine specific nutrients that can be crucial in helping brain cells to function again, if at all possible. We are saying here that there are numerous nutrients that have the potential to help the brain-injured children to come out of a coma and may help at least some brain cells to function normally once again. These are usually naturally occurring substances in the body and are therefore not toxic or harmful. But once again, the optimal thing is to learn and to utilize applied kinesiology to test all such factors.

Octacosanol has been employed by enlightened nutritionists for decades for people in comas, Multiple Sclerosis sufferers and others with brain injuries. It may help nerve cells to in effect "wake up" and function again. An octacosanol supplement derived from spinach is available from Twin Labs. (The author has no financial or other connection to this company.) This nutrient has been employed to get people out of comas and to regenerate myelin sheaths in M.S. The well-known nutritionist, Carleton Fredericks, PhD used octacosanol for Tony Conigliaro, a baseball player who was hit in the head while batting. He subsequently came out of a coma. Of course, due to the infinite variables in humans with illnesses, there can be never be a guarantee that any nutrients cited here will have the same or similar benefits. But as we have said, these nutrients are usually naturally-occurring and likely very safe, but consult your physician.

Optimum nerve cell and brain functioning may be aided by adding several other nutrients. The acetylated forms of several amino acids can be beneficial and are readily available at health stores. These include N-acetyl l-cysteine, N-acetyl-l-carnitine and N-acetyl Glucosamine. The fish oil derived fatty acid DHA is also readily available too. Forms of choline can be very beneficial as they help make the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. These include phosphatidylcholine, citicholine and others. Phosphatidylserine similarly can aid in brain optimization.

Some herbs can also be beneficial in repairing or optimizing brain cells. Vinpocetine, an extract of the herb Vinca major (periwinkle), is known to have this ability. Noni herb with its high content of the tissue-repairing and optimizing substance, xeronine can benefit all tissues. Herbs should be tested by an expert Applied Kinesiologist because while they contain some substances found in humans, they may also contain substances that are not. This is unlike naturally occurring vitamins, minerals and amino acids. But when herbs are used wisely, they can have immense healing potential.

Brian's frequent muscle cramping was aided by the removal of the milk formula and adding extra minerals namely magnesium and potassium. Of course, there are safety limits in adding these minerals. More is not necessarily better after a certain point. An expert kinesiologist can find optimum amounts for these natural nutrients. Indeed there is also a simple kinesiology test to immediately determine if blood sugar is in balance and this was used many times on Brian. Of course, it is not a substitute for blood glucose monitoring. But there was excellent correlation!

In conclusion, there is much in the realm of diet and nutrition that may be of immense value in sustaining life and healing for brain-injured children. This article was but a brief introduction and synopsis of such ideas.