A demonstration of the important link between nutrition and living with a brain injury.
I have written about the importance of diet and nutrition when it comes to living with a brain injury. Eating the proper diet can make the world of difference if you have a brain injury and veteran Dave Bona is a prime example. Dave has posted many Facebook videos on the subject and can tell you first hand what it’s all about.
Dave has chronic quinoline encephalopathy after taking the antimalarial drug mefloquine, also known as Lariam. It is neurotoxic, and has destroyed cells in Dave’s brainstem leaving microscopic holes in it. This interferes with some of the signals that are going to his brain via his central nervous system and as a result he suffers from a myriad of debilitating symptoms. Among these are what are known as “mefloquine rages”. These are pretty much what they sound like and Dave describes the experience quite well on the video.
So what triggered it? He was out running some errands with his daughter who decided to buy herself a bag of saltwater taffy. Like most of us probably would he asked her for some and she gave him three pieces, which he enjoyed. About twenty minutes later he could feel it coming on and he knew something wasn’t right. Dave, usually ever vigilant, didn’t read the ingredients before consuming the taffy and missed seeing the sugars and artificial colors that were in it.
Lesson learned for Dave and he’s sharing it so that everyone else will know about it too.
The Advocate-Equalizer 