Nutrition and Traumatic Brain Injury: Improving Acute and Subacute Health Outcomes in Military Personnel

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) accounts for up to one-third of combat-related injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to some estimates. TBI is also a major problem among civilians, especially those who engage in certain sports. At the request of the Department of Defense, the IOM examined the potential role of nutrition in the treatment of and resilience against TBI.

• Front Matter
• Summary
• Part I: Background
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Nutrition in Clinical Practice Guidelines for Traumatic Brain Injury
• 3 Understanding Pathophysiological Changes
• Part II: Nutrition and TBI
• 4 Approach for Selecting Nutritional Interventions: Mechanistic Targets
• 5 Acquiring Resilience to TBI Prior to Injury
• 6 Energy and Protein Needs During Early Feeding Following Traumatic Brain Injury
• 7 Antioxidants
• 8 Branched-Chain Amino Acids
• 9 Choline
• 10 Creatine
• 11 Ketogenic Diet
• 12 Magnesium
• 13 Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA)
• 14 Polyphenols
• 15 Vitamin D
• 16 Zinc
• Part III: Recommendations
• 17 Summary of Recommendations
• Appendixes
• Appendix A: Agenda
• Appendix B: Evidence-Based Guidelines for Traumatic Brain Injury
• Appendix C: Workshop Speakers' Papers
• Appendix D: Glossary
• Appendix E: Acronyms
• Appendix F: Committee Member Biographical Sketches