Foods to avoid after a Brain Haemorrhage
- Mar 10
- 6 min read
Recovering from a brain haemorrhage is a journey that requires attention to every aspect of your health; and what you eat plays a more crucial role than you might think.
What lands on your plate each day can be the difference between supporting your healing and creating new risks. That's why understanding which foods to avoid, and which foods to enjoy, after a brain haemorrhage is so important as it can make a significant difference to your recovery.
Why your diet matters during Brain Haemorrhage recovery
When a blood vessel ruptures in the brain, it creates pressure inside your skull and damages delicate brain tissue. After a brain haemorrhage, your focus shifts entirely to recovery and prevention.
Your diet plays a crucial role here. The wrong foods could contribute to raising your blood pressure or promotes inflammation that slows recovery.
In Prevent The Preventable Podcast, S2 Episode 7 Nicole Goode, Registered Nutritionist explains:
"The brain is one of the most energy hungry organs in the body. It uses around 20% of our energy daily, and what we eat directly fuels how much energy gets made."
Watch Nutritionist Nicole Goode explain more in Series 2, Episode 7 of the Prevent the Preventable Podcast
What to eat to support your Brain Haemorrhage recovery
Recovery from a brain haemorrhage requires actively including foods that help your brain heal.
Fill your plate with:
Colourful vegetables and fruits. "Think about eating two of each colour food a day," Nicole suggests
Quality protein (chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, beans, lentils)
Oily fish rich in omega-3s that support neuroplasticity, your brain's ability to rewire itself
Whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, porridge oats)
Healthy fats (olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds)
"Protein is key," says Nicole. "The building blocks of protein are amino acids and they're the building blocks of every cell in our body. Your body can't repair without protein."
Don't forget hydration."Dehydration, just one or two percent, impacts repair." Drink 6-8 glasses of water daily to maintain proper blood flow and support healing.
For a simple framework, Nicole recommends a Mediterranean-style diet: "It tends to be very anti-inflammatory. They eat a lot of fish, a lot of colourful veg, they eat locally and seasonally."
Ultra-Processed foods: The primary concern
But it's not just about what you eat; it's about what foods you avoid too. If there's one category of food to eliminate during recovery, it's ultra-processed foods. But what are 'Ultra-processed foods'?
"Ultra-processed foods are high in trans fats, high in sugars, additives, they raise blood sugar, they're full of salt. They increase inflammation, oxidative stress, they damage the blood vessels."
Nicole Goode
What counts as ultra-processed?
Ready meals with long ingredient lists
Foods with multiple artificial additives and preservatives
Packaged snacks with artificial flavourings and colourings
A helpful rule: "If it lived in a field or grew on a tree or a plant, it's not processed. If it was made in a lab or a factory, it's processed." Nicole explained.
The challenge? Time. We know that in our modern lives, we have less time than ever before, driving us to reach for the quickest, easiest option; Ultra-processed foods.
The solution? Batch cooking. Make slow cooker stews, portion them out, put them in the freezer so that you could just grab something out the freezer on a busy night. It's home-cooked, so it's not going to have the additives, the excessive amount of salt and sugar.
High Sodium Foods: A blood pressure threat
Salt is one of the biggest culprits when it comes to high blood pressure and as high blood pressure is the leading cause of brain haemorrhages we need to manage this carefully.
When you consume too much salt (sodium), your body retains water. This increases your blood volume, which raises your blood pressure. For someone recovering from a brain haemorrhage, it is important to focus on managing a normal blood pressure level, rather than risking elevating it and potentailly causing more problems.
The biggest sodium offenders include:
Canned soups (often over 800mg per serving)
Processed meats like bacon, sausages, and deli meats
Ready meals and frozen dinners
Shop-bought bread and certain cheeses
Bottled salad dressings
Nicole clarifies an important point:
"What we're not talking about is home cooking with a pinch of salt in. We're talking about ready meals and packaged foods where they really are heavy on the salt."
What to do instead: Focus on fresh, whole foods. Use herbs, spices, lemon juice, and garlic to add flavour. When buying packaged foods, choose options with less than 140mg of sodium per serving.
Saturated and Trans Fats: Damaging your blood vessels
After a brain haemorrhage, protecting your blood vessels becomes crucial. Unhealthy fats contribute to atherosclerosis: the build-up of fatty deposits in your arteries, which makes blood vessels more likely to rupture or become blocked.
Foods to avoid or strictly limit:
Fried foods (chips, fried chicken, doughnuts)
Fatty cuts of red meat and processed meats
Full-fat dairy products
Commercially baked goods (biscuits, pastries, shop-bought cakes)
Trans fats are the worst type of fat for your cardiovascular health. They raise your bad cholesterol and lower your good cholesterol, creating a double threat.
Here's something critical: "60% of the dry weight of our brain is fat," Nicole explains. "A low-fat diet is not feeding your brain."
What to choose in stead: Choose olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, and oily fish like salmon and mackerel instead. These contain fats that support brain health and reduce inflammation.
Inflammatory foods: Slowing your recovery
Chronic inflammation can significantly impact your recovery.
"We have a delicate balance in the body," Nicole explains. "Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory. Things like omega-6s are inflammatory. If we have the wrong balance, we are driving inflammatory pathways."
And the impact is significant: "Chronic inflammation causes no end of problems. Pretty much every chronic disease has inflammation as a driver."
Particularly inflammatory foods include:
Excessive seed oils (rapeseed, sunflower, use olive or coconut oil instead)
Refined sugars and processed carbohydrates
Excessive red meat (limit to once per week)
Alcohol
The relationship between alcohol and brain haemorrhages is clear.
Drinking alcohol raises blood pressure and can interfere with your medication. For someone recovering from a brain haemorrhage, even moderate drinking carries serious risks.
The safest approach: Complete abstinence from alcohol is recommended during the acute recovery period. If you're considering having the occasional drink further into your recovery, talk with your doctor first.
Nicole acknowledges the social aspect: "Alcohol is a social thing and social connection is really important for mental health." Consider finding alternative ways to maintain community, walking groups, clubs, or activities that don't centre around drinking.
Caffeine and sugary foods
Caffeine stimulates your nervous system and can cause temporary spikes in blood pressure.
While many people consume caffeine daily without issues, after a brain haemorrhage, these fluctuations can pose real risks. Consider switching to decaffeinated versions or herbal teas. If you continue consuming caffeine, limit yourself to one or two small servings daily.
Refined sugars and processed carbohydrates contribute to inflammation throughout your body, including in your brain. Sweets, fizzy drinks, sugary cereals, and white bread cause rapid blood sugar spikes that stress your cardiovascular system.
Choose whole fruits instead of fruit juice and opt for porridge over sugary cereals and wholemeal bread instead of white.
The path forward
Recovery from a brain haemorrhage is a marathon, not a sprint and your recovery isn't something to navigate alone.
Work closely with your doctor, dietitian, and other healthcare professionals to create a plan according to your needs. They can also help you with a nutrition plan tailored to you and your medication - which may require specific dietary requirements.
Small, consistent changes in your eating habits can make a profound difference in your long-term brain health and quality of life. Every healthy choice you make is an investment in your future.
As Nicole reminds us: "Genetics load the gun, environment pulls the trigger."
While you can't change your DNA, you can absolutely change your diet and lifestyle, and these factors account for roughly 70% of health outcomes.
Be patient with yourself, stay in close communication with your healthcare team, and know that each healthy choice matters.
If you or someone you know has been affected by a brain haemorrhage, remember that you're/they're not alone. The Natalie Kate Moss Trust is here to provide support, raise awareness, and fund vital research to save lives from brain haemorrhages.
Together, we can work towards preventing the preventable.
