Tommy Wood, BM BCh, PhD, is a neuroscientist, elite-level professional nerd, and performance consultant to world-class athletes in a dozen sports. He received an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge, a medical degree from the University of Oxford, and a PhD in physiology and neuroscience from the University of Oslo. 

Tommy is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Neuroscience at the University of Washington and a Visiting Scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. His research focuses on brain health and brain injury treatment across the lifespan, as well as developing easily accessible methods with which to track health, performance, and longevity in both professional athletes and the general population. Tommy serves as deputy editor of the Wiley Journal Lifestyle Medicine, is a Director of the British Society for Lifestyle Medicine, and consults for a number of digital health companies and charities that focus on how lifestyle and the environment can affect long-term health and chronic disease.

You can learn more about Dr. Wood at his website, www.drtommywood.com/

His substack, betterbrain.fitness is an excellent resource, and if you subscribe, you’ll get some useful resources like a list of blood tests to monitor for brain health, a list of nutrients that support brain health and how to integrate them into your diet, and some in-depth information on how those nutrients and tests work. 

Timestamps:

00:00:22 Is Supplemental Intake of B Vitamins Useful?

00:02:36 Useful Factors to Help with TBI Recovery

00:10:45 Homocysteine Metabolism 

00:11:54 Food Sources of Polyphenols or Catechins

00:13:52 Understanding the Effects of TBI and Micro TBI

00:18:17 Nutrient Density in Food Helps to Protect from Brain Injuries

00:18:53 Sponsor Note: Coaching Mentor Program

00:19:40 Why Are Formula 1 Drivers so Interesting?

00:22:29 Ruler Test for Formula 1 Drivers

00:27:07 What Has Dr. Tommy Learned from Elite Athletes?

00:29:21 TBI’s Reliable Effect on Hormones

00:31:01 Is Pituitary Damage Specific to TBI?

00:32:02 What Are We Not Talking About with TBI?

00:34:32 Examples of Different Health Variables We Forget to Account For

00:37:28 Outro