Hydration is important for everyone, regardless of history of substance abuse. Even if water hasn’t been a big part of your life before, make sure it is now. Flavor packets or flavored seltzer water can make this easier for those adjusting to increased intake or who don’t yet have a taste for water.
Substance Use Treatment
I used to eat a lot of whole wheat bread (the worst offender), pasta, and cereal. Ever since I started eating meals consisting of whole foods, I’ve felt much better and become leaner. Unlike fad diet programs, simple food substitutions can PERMANENTLY transform your health, mood, and physique – without any need to count your calories. Along with supplementation, designing your ideal diet is a major pillar of physical recovery from alcohol addiction.
How Doctors and Nutritionists Can Help
- Consider a zinc supplement, or eat plenty of shellfish, beef and pork, oats, cashews, and chickpeas.
- It’s important to understand that to some degree, taking vitamins is a personal process.
- When someone stops drinking, their dopamine and serotonin levels are initially depleted, so it’s common for them to seek out other sources of comfort and pleasure to compensate.
- Millions of readers rely on HelpGuide.org for free, evidence-based resources to understand and navigate mental health challenges.
- Although these new activities are healthy and productive, they can be a stumbling block to lasting recovery if they become a transfer addiction to fill the void left by the original addiction.
But, even if you’ve experienced cirrhosis, you can still usefood to help speed the healing process. Build your alcohol recovery diet to berich in protein and healthy carbohydrates, with a focus on healthy fats andminimal sugar. When planning meals for alcohol detox, it’s important to focus on creating balanced plates that include a combination of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. This combination helps stabilize blood sugar levels and provides sustained energy throughout the day. Alcohol rehab includes treatment programs that cover a variety of approaches to managing alcohol use disorder and overcoming addiction.
Alcohol Detox Foods
Even if those studies turn out to be false, I’ll still take cheat days. I’ve gotten away with them easily, despite weighing over 250 pounds before I quit drinking. My goal is to live life fully, not to feel deprived and have a 6-pack at all times. Chocolate cake tastes a lot better when you only eat it once per week. Too many people focus solely on psychological healing, only to be brought down later by biochemical imbalances caused by alcohol that can linger for months or years.
Foods for Alcohol Detox: The Key to Recovery
The escalation of substance abuse comes with increasingly severe cravings and the inability to control consumption despite building negative consequences. In the same manner, those who have bulimia and binge eating disorders experience extreme cravings for food and feel a loss of control when over-consuming. Both food and addictive substances present ways to escape from or numb unwanted feelings. Up to 50% of people with an eating disorder abuse drugs or alcohol, which is five times the rate of the general population.
You’ll never quit eating bad foods if you don’t choose viable (and delicious) alternatives. At Gateway Foundation, we understand the importance of nutrition for recovering addicts, and we incorporate it into our many recovery programs and services. Every individual has different nutritional needs that can impact their experience in treatment, which is why we work hard to provide customized treatment best foods for alcohol recovery plans that address nutrition. The first step in treating addiction to any substance is to remove all traces of the substance from the body. Unfortunately, many people attempt to quit drugs or alcohol on their own, which almost never works. No matter what the substance or the person’s history of abusing it, the withdrawal phase is where most people fail when trying to fight addiction alone.
- Drinking too much can lead to severe nutrient depletion, creating symptoms that can make alcohol detox and recovery more difficult and permanently affect your health.
- When you drink, the alcohol suppresses your brain’s production of a chemical called antidiuretic hormone, or ADH.
- Recovery from AUD is marked by stages of abstinence, withdrawal, repair, and growth.
- However, the realities of drug addiction don’t necessarily mean that a good diet won’t help.
People withdrawing or detoxing from substances including alcohol may often crave sweets. Experts think this may in part be because sugary foods stimulate similar brain processes as drugs. While you are in recovery, it is important to not substitute one addiction for another. For this reason, many experts recommend against sugary foods while you are in detox.
It may also help with hot flashes that can occur during alcohol withdrawal. The sooner you canwork with your doctor to create your recovery diet and commit to it, thebetter. You’ll have a lot to work on, so getting your healthy diet establishedearly on can help you focus on the bigger parts of your recovery. If you’re involved in a 12-step program, you likely already know the importance of milestones. In these programs, it’s customary to receive plastic chips as you progress to the one-year mark, at which time you receive a bronze coin.
The Role of Nutrition During Rehab
A 3-day liver detox is not only highly improbable but also potentially dangerous. The purported health benefits of drinking alcohol in moderation continue to be the subject of study and debate. Surround yourself with people who support your sobriety, not those who tempt you to slip back into old, destructive habits. You can learn to manage your problems without falling back on your addiction.