Over one million people worldwide each year experience peripheral nerve injuries. Your diet plays an important role in your body’s ability to recover from any injury and this includes injury to your nerves. Omega-3 fat, an essential polyunsaturated fat is known to support the general health of your nerves. Omega-3 fat helps create the neuronal membrane and creates adequate viscosity to the lipid membrane. Omega-3 fat also plays a role in making sure the nerve cells can send signals. This essential fat also plays an important role in healing your nerves after injury.
For your body to heal, it needs adequate energy. This is provided through the macronutrient’s carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Your body also requires micronutrients like zinc as well as antioxidants. The importance of fat to repair a nerve is especially important and specifically omega-3 fat.
Omega-3 fat enhances the survival pathway of a nerve to prevent further damage. Omega-3 fat also has anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effect which promote healing. Research has found that when a nerve was damaged, the myelin sheath, or outer coating of a nerve cell which promote effective nerve signaling, was not lost when omega-3 fat was given. In addition to this, new neuronal growth was enhanced when omega-3 fat was supplied to the nerve cells.
The rate of nerve recovery was also seen in diets which were rich in omega-3 fat. Specifically, healing of the axon. The axon is the long, cord-like component of the nerve cell where the message is sent to other cells in your body. Omega-3 fat also promotes faster myelination of your nerves as well as growth of the complex branching and outgrowth required for optimal nerve signaling.
The good news continues for including omega-3 fat in the form of fish oil or in food from fatty fish like salmon, herring, sardines, anchovies, and mackerel. Omega-3 fat may help decrease the nerve pain you feel associated with nerve injury.
The researchers used fish oil or specific type of omega-3 fats as supplements in their studies. To promote healing as well as to give your body additional health benefits beyond omega-3 fat, a food first approach is recommended. For example, seafood gives your body protein, B12, and zinc. All these play important roles in promoting healing in your body.
Take home message: While you may not be able to stop an injury from occurring to your nerves you can promote optimal healing. Try including fatty fish in your diet if you are healing from a nerve injury two to three times a week, with a serve being 100g of cooked seafood.
Reference:
El Soury, M., Fornasari, B. E., Carta, G., Zen, F., Haastert-Talini, K., & Ronchi, G. (2021). The Role of Dietary Nutrients in Peripheral Nerve Regeneration. International journal of molecular sciences, 22(14), 7417. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22147417
