no. 80 - The Kids and Concussions Episode (Part 2)

Experts say nearly 45 million kids play sports in the U.S. and of those, 3 to 5 million experience some form of brain injury like a concussion each year. In this two-part podcast series, one mom shares her son's story following a traumatic brain injury suffered during a basketball game. In Part 2, I interview the nation's leading expert on targeted nutritional therapy for concussion protection and recovery.

Up first in this second episode of the series, I'm interviewing Dr. Michael Lewis -- founder of Brain Health Education and Research Institute and a global expert in nutritional interventions for brain health, particularly the use of omega-3 fatty acids for the prevention, management, and rehabilitation of concussions and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

In this episode we discuss:

• Dr. Lewis' distinguished career and how he got involved in treatment of traumatic brain injury
• The statistics about kids and concussions -- both how many are experienced each year and what the general recovery rates are
• His general protocol for both treatment and protection against concussion, which includes optimal doses of the specific Omega 3s, DHA and EPA
• Why it's important for parents to be aware of the levels of DHA and EPA in their child's supplement, noting specifically that specified doses of most gummies typically don't contain near enough DHA and EPA
• What type of symptom improvement patients see and when, when following his concussion recovery protocol

We end the interview with a brief discussion of Dr. Lewis' book -- When Brain Collides -- and the importance of the material in it as a resource for parents with kids playing sports, specifically.

After my interview with Dr. Lewis I share a brief discussion with frequent podcast guest, Dr. Chris Mohr. Having known Chris for years, I was aware that he and his family are already following these advanced levels of Omega 3 supplementation and wanted to give him a chance -- as both an expert in the field and parent of two young children -- to share with listeners what his family is doing in the way of Omega 3 supplements.

I end the show with one final interview -- a quick discussion with my friend and colleague, Sally of Real Mom Nutrition, about her No Spend January experience.

Thanks so much for tuning in to this two-part series. It's truly been one of my favorite podcasts I've produced to date. I hope you enjoy them both and take away information helpful to both you and your family. If you enjoyed this episode and listen to the show on Apple Podcasts, please be sure to leave a 5-star rating and/or a positive review.

I look forward to bringing you a new episode next week. Take care. ~Regan