Brain surgery is a common treatment for a number of disorders, including brain cancers and tumors or some forms of epilepsy. During surgery, the surgeon may temporarily damage tissues, including your scalp, subcutaneous fat layers, your skull, or even the membranes surrounding your brain to reach the affected regions of your brain. During recovery, these tissues begin to repair themselves. Eating a diet rich in vitamin-containing foods can help support proper tissue repair and prevent vitamin deficiencies that could slow your recovery.
Vitamin D-Rich Foods
One type of food that may help you recovery from brain surgery are those rich in vitamin D. Also called calciferol, vitamin D plays a role in controlling the levels and placement of calcium in your body, ultimately helping to regulate bone growth and density. During brain surgery, a surgeon often has to open or drill into your skull to access your brain, leaving wounds or lesions in your skull. As a result, recovering from brain surgery involves long-term bone deposition and growth to repair these lesions. The Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University indicates that vitamin D deficiencies can lead to diminished bone health or even bone wasting, which would diminish your body's ability to heal your skull. Eat foods high in vitamin D, including milk, salmon, mackerel and sardines, to help ensure proper vitamin D intake to support recovery after your brain surgery.
Vitamin E-Rich Foods
You may also help with recovery after brain surgery by eating foods rich in vitamin E. During surgery, internal layers of tissue normally isolated from the environment become exposed to air. The high levels of oxygen in air can lead to oxidative stress, which can prove damaging to your tissues. The Linus Pauling Institute indicates that vitamin E-rich foods may help protect your cells from oxidative stress, since vitamin E is an antioxidant and neutralizes harmful oxygen-based chemicals -- potentially helping speed recovery. Foods rich in vitamin E, including olive and soybean oils, as well as almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts and spinach, can help you consume adequate vitamin E and may help support your recovery after brain surgery.
Vitamin C-Rich Foods
Another type of food that may help you recover after brain surgery are those rich in vitamin C. Like vitamin E, vitamin C is an antioxidant and therefore also helps protect your tissue from the oxidative stress that may occur during brain surgery. It may also contribute to recovery after brain surgery by stimulating wound healing of any incision sites on your scalp, since the vitamin is involved in skin healing, according to MedlinePlus, an online resource of the National Institutes of Health. Foods rich in vitamin C include orange and grapefruit fruits and juices, tomatoes, strawberries, and red bell peppers.
