Cavin Balaster, founder of Feed a Brain (feedabrain.com) and Adventures in Brain Injury (adventuresinbraininjury.com), author, and sought-after speaker, delivers an informative and important discussion on brain function and the nutritional protocol that can deliver dramatic results.

Cavin Balaster made a miraculous recovery from an accident that could have easily taken his life instantly. In 2011, he survived a two-story fall and was comatose for twelve days. Balaster was diagnosed with a diffuse axonal injury (DAI) and his chances for recovery were not good, bleak actually, at less than 10%. Emergency medicine and the work of many skilled, truly outstanding healthcare professionals and specialists saved his life, without a doubt. Balaster acknowledges that he would absolutely be dead if it were not for their incredible work over a long period comprised of many crucial moments in his recovery. But after he began to wake from the severe brain fog, and recover somewhat from the memory loss, double vision, infections, etc. when he was able to begin doing some research on his own, he started on a mission, a goal to take back his life to the best of his ability. He states that once he was cognizant of his predicament and the gravity of it, he felt he was faced with a choice: to wallow in despair considering the impact of his injury or consider it to be an adventure.

He chose the latter.

Balaster recounts the early months of his life after the fall and subsequent severe brain injury. As he describes, the entire ordeal, as we can only imagine, was overwhelming to say the least.

He talks about the extreme, and frightening, brain fog that he experienced early on and how he actually had no memory of what happened and no way to understand where he was or who the white lab coat people were. His brain fog was so intense that he imagined he might have even been kidnapped and the lab coat people were using his body to test and experiment on. Clearly, it was not a good time for Balaster. But slowly, his brain fog began to clear so he could begin to understand where he was, and what was happening to him.

After defying death through the help of his incredibly wonderful team of intelligent and supportive healthcare providers, and waking from the coma, Balaster dug deep into functional nutrition, functional neurology, neuro optometry (developmental optometry), physical and occupational therapy, and other targeted therapies. And it is these methods and practices that he attributes to his incredible recovery, at such an accelerated pace. Balaster talks about his first discovery of the nutritional connection, and how his nutritional protocol was restoring his clarity. And he describes the technical aspects of how the intestinal process is coordinated with the brain. Balaster discusses his hunger for education on the various subjects that were affecting his life and recovery. He began taking online courses at multiple universities to further understand how the brain works, and how it is fueled—neurometabolism. He details some of the many and various nutritional supplements to his diet from bone broth, to licorice, to L-glutamine, as well as fruits and vegetables, etc., and how he began to see incredible improvements right away. Balaster discusses the details in his book, covering ketogenic metabolism, color charts for fruits and vegetables, and the carbohydrate ratings of foods.

Balaster documented his process to neuro-rehabilitation in an attempt to more fully understand and heal his body and brain. He discusses his blog, Adventures in Brain Injury, and the international attention he received from his postings and research. Balaster talks about the work he has done with clients who have severe injuries, and the nutritional coaching he provides to the patients and their doctors that has led to many remarkable changes and improvements. As Balaster recounts, his work with patients is tremendously rewarding.

As the author of How to Feed a Brain: Nutrition for Optimal Brain Function and Repair and as a successful podcast host on the related subjects, Balaster has now devoted his life to helping others who are struggling with health issues, sometimes very severe ones as his was. Through Balaster’s journey he has gained incredible knowledge regarding the optimization of brain function and he seeks to share his experiences, information, training, and services with the community.

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