Nutrition & Meal Planning for Addiction Recovery

Let’s speed up your recovery and ease your transition to a newly sober life. After the initial stage of severe withdrawal symptoms is overcome, and you feel like you can finally have something more than liquids to eat, introduce meals slowly. Since your body hasn’t yet adjusted to digesting food, it’s better to start off with small and frequent meals. During your stay at a rehabilitation center, a nutritionist will help you manage your meals, nutrition, and weight gain.

The opportunities to heal and support recovery through nutrition are immense; unfortunately, many individuals are unaware of nutrition benefits in recovery and in improving withdrawal symptoms. As such, introducing healthy eating practices is often not considered until after withdrawal symptoms have passed (Chavez & Rigg, 2020). Group-based nutrition classes and incorporating these concepts into recovery plans are effective ways for individuals in recovery to learn about proper nutrition (Grant et al., 2004). Recovering alcoholics may have a decreased appetite in the beginning, but tend to overeat when regular eating habits return. Low-fat foods help them feel better and improve moods to reduce the risk of relapse.

The Best Foods To Eat While Detoxing From Alcohol

Learn which signs to look out for, and how to care for your well-being. “It works, and we’ve just got to get those in mainstream alcohol treatment to realize that it does,” says Beasley.

Alcohol is known to be one of the major causes of nutritional deficiency across the United States. Drinking alcohol can reduce the body’s ability to absorb B vitamins properly, including vitamins B1, B6, and B12 .

Vitamin B Rich Foods

Exercise also activates the body’s neurotransmitters and can trigger a release of serotonin and dopamine. This helps people in recovery regulate mood and offers a substitute coping strategy, when they may have previously turned to substances. The damage done by drinking or substance use is not permanent. A comprehensive approach to recovery includes building the body back up through proper nutrition. A proper diet with nutritional supplements begins the healing process for those with less severe damage. Those who suffer from severe damage to their body may require short-term intravenous therapy to provide the body with needed nutrients. Nutrition needs are determined by whether a person drank or used substances.

This, along with the big boost of blood sugar, brings a temporary high. Depending on the severity of their past drug use and their personal circumstances, patients may live on-site in an inpatient rehab facility, or participate in intensive outpatient rehab. Regardless, patients will be required as part of their recovery to attend in a variety of different therapies, including nutritional counseling in combination with psychological treatment. Once a person enters recovery, nutrition and a good diet will give the body the tools it needs to heal and rebuild itself. Vitamins and nutrients are the essential building blocks to repair organ damage, electrolyte imbalance, and other complications of malnutrition.

Foods to Avoid

Achieve Concierge is committed to providing the highest level of mental wellness care with personalized service that is second to none. Understanding and respecting the value of their time, our patients enjoy preferential care and exclusive services. A combination of evidence-based treatment elements alcohol recovery diet in a personalized treatment plan ensures that all aspects of the patient are addressed holistically and successfully. Alcohol and heroin use also can damage the inner lining of the intestines. Vitamins and minerals aren’t absorbed by the intestines, causing a lack of nutrients sent to the brain.

You may have a strong urge to eat sweets because they set off dopamine, the same chemical messenger triggered by some drugs. Not getting enough of this vitamin can lead to anemia, depression, confusion, and a weak immune system. Poultry, fish, non-citrus fruit, and starchy vegetables such as potatoes are good sources.

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You can find vitamin D in some foods, including fortified milk and oily fishes, like herring; however, vitamin D primarily comes from exposure to the sun. The body only needs a small amount of vitamin D, but it is crucial for maintaining good health. Eating a variety of foods in recovery is a good way to ensure you’re incorporating vitamin A into your diet as it is present in many different foods, including carrots, spinach and sweet potatoes. It’s normal for recovering alcoholics to desperately crave sugar to the point that they struggle to eat anything else. This is usually due to neurotransmitter imbalances, fluctuations in blood sugar content or just having an addictive personality.