Hello, wonderful people,
Every year, no matter if we have had a stroke or not, our bubble shrinks. It reduces because we take fewer risks, we play safe; we guard against danger; we lose our sense of adventure, we reduce our range etc. Even if we can barely perceive this gradual decline and loss, it’s present by default as we age. Our mitochondria grow tired and so do we, until our world implodes, we’re taken ill, and we’re unable to recover.
We who have suffered a stroke have taken a big knock, and our world can implode that much faster. Unless… unless we fight back. We increase our range, we take a risk (okay, a calculated risk) we expand our comfort zone, we must keep expanding our boundaries and enlarge our bubble to guard against implosion. So instead of growing old, shaky and indecisive, we retain a young, active brain. One that has a sense of adventure; one that self-stimulates, one that keeps thinking from a slightly different viewpoint each time; we must reinvent ourselves and create a new, better version of ourselves.
This can be mentally, or physically; last week I walked a mile. But let’s return to thinking outside the box, and expand our horizons. We could call this following concept the 101 of after-stroke nutrition. Contrary to what many believe, I’m not a supplement freak. In fact, 10 years ago, a Naturopath declared my weekly food diary to contain the healthiest list of nutrients she’d ever seen. This was all down to years of research by my wife. Fast forward to today, and I’m asking myself… Let’s take this a step further. It does our gut biome the world of good to introduce new nutrients and vary our diet. So instead of the same things all the time, here’s a way to diversify, and expand our bubble. The following “reverse engineering” thinking process will lead you to discover exactly what you need. For example, how can I help my brain? Tweak my crampy muscles? Indeed, how can I help my poor mitochondria, the powerhouse of every cell in the body (apart from red blood cells, where they do not reside) ? I need to supply the right nutrients (that includes sunlight, or UVB and oxygen for cellular respiration). So let’s Google what useful things I could give my mitochondria. Here are 3 of several nutrients that support mitochondrial health:
- CoQ10 A coenzyme and fat-soluble antioxidant that plays a central role in the electron transport chain, which is how mitochondria produce ATP, the body’s chemical energy
- B vitamins Essential for the mitochondria to metabolize carbohydrates correctly
- Magnesium A nutrient that helps synthesize adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the mitochondria, which provides energy for most of the body’s metabolic processes
You get CoQ10 in organ meats like chicken liver. Vitamin B ? I could buy a B complex supplement bottle, but I could, instead, buy some Kale. Let’s look it up: Kale is a good source of vitamin B6 and other B vitamins:
- Vitamin B6: Kale contains 0.27–2.5 mg of vitamin B6 per 100 g, which is more than other vegetables in the Brassicaceae family.
- Other B vitamins: Kale also contains other B vitamins, including folate. Kale is a cruciferous vegetable, along with broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts. It’s a nutrient-dense food that’s high in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, and low in calories.
Some magnesium foods? Leafy green vegetables which contain lots of chlorophyll, which is practically the same as our blood; your body can swap the magnesium out for iron, and you will then get an instant fresh blood transfusion! Mg is good for crampy muscles, too!
Now, Let’s look up the brain: Nutrients for the Brain. (Use ChatGPT if you like)
- DHA Omega-3. Did you know that fat makes up nearly 60% of your brain?
- B Vitamins. This family of vitamins protects the brain in multiple ways. …
- Vitamin D and other nutrients
What foods (not supplements) contain DHA ? I google “DHA foods?” Ah, Salmon, Eggs.
Why food, not supplements? Because we can absorb the nutrients more easily. It’s called Bioavailability: Nutrients in whole foods are often more easily absorbed than those in supplements (which are mostly synthetic). Many vitamins and minerals rely on other compounds in foods for optimal absorption.
What other benefits to food vs supplements? Well, Imagine there’s something in salmon that is good for us that we don’t (yet) know about. We know much, but not everything; some would say we know very little! A bottle of XXX supplements might miss out on important ingredients that my brain is screaming out for.
What’s the down side to “reverse engineering” our body’s requirements? It takes a bit of research, and much of the food sold in supermarkets is full of “impurities”, sweetened with sugar, adulterated with aspartame. Look up Marks & Spark’s Duck liver pate ingredient. M&S pretty good quality, so you think! Well nope, Dextrose is not on your want list since it spikes you blood sugar levels and ultimately can lead to Diabetes. Lots of things do! The state of our soil is toxic ; if you haven’t heard of glyphosate, a carcinogen which causes liver and kidney damage, (declared safe by EPA, of course) you are behind the curve. The bottom line is that getting good quality (declared organic or not) food is very expen$ive.
However my “reverse engineering” nutrition concept is valid, and while looking up a few details about my beloved mitochondria I came across a scientist who had improved her MS symptoms to miraculous levels with this very process:
Dr. Terry Wahls will talk you through a near identical thinking pattern I went through with regards nutrition. Indeed, I must credit my wife with being the ultimate guru who has been researching, and spending countless hours doing so for decades. It’s a simple but exciting process. Hopefully you already use it, but I was so impressed by this TED talk, which resonated and coincided with my own research that I decided to share.
Good luck with your research, Google (in this case) is your friend !
Bon Appetit ! And eat well, ciao, Roland
Stroke Improvement Group