It’s important for every person to develop healthy eating habits, but it’s crucial for people who are recovering from a drug or alcohol addiction. Even short-term addiction can take a huge toll on the body as it is forced to work overtime to eliminate toxic substances and defend itself against the damage they do. Achieving nutritional balance is essential in repairing the harm addiction does to the body.
Reduced Heart Disease Risk
Most alcohol abusers are prone to vomiting what they eat during detox, especially in the initial stages. So, instead of heavy, solid meals, it would be best to start your alcohol-cleanse diet with liquid food, like soups. Soups that contain vegetables and lean protein can help provide the nourishment that your body needs.
Dark green, leafy vegetables
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. Macronutrients are those your body needs in large amounts each day to function.
Vitamins and Minerals
Fish, nuts and vegetable oils can also support health by adding important fatty acids into the diet. A struggle with alcohol use impacts many aspects of a person’s life, including diet and nutrition. 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. Eating a healthy diet and supplementing with vitamins as needed can help correct some of the damage from drinking.
How Alcohol Affects Your Nutrition
Moreover, a healthy diet helps your immune system, making you less likely to get sick and slow down your recovery. In essence, the right nutrition not only feeds your body but also cares for your mind and soul, playing a key role in your journey to lasting recovery. You’re probably not going to be lifting weights or jogging, but do your best to get some fresh air every day. A simple walk will help you clear your head, and the endorphins may help with your drug and alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Recovering drug users see improvement in their moods when they eat balanced diets, which often leads to the greater mental willpower necessary to conquer addiction. Many people with alcohol use disorder also have other mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia.
How Doctors and Nutritionists Can Help
Before we get started, you might be wondering what causes alcohol withdrawal? When an individual consumes unhealthy amounts of alcohol over an extended period of time, their body can adapt to the depressive effects of alcohol, which slows down the central nervous system. When a person then stops drinking alcohol, their central nervous system can become hyperactive and dysregulated, leading to various withdrawal symptoms. Some of the most common withdrawal symptoms include anxiety, nausea, insomnia, and shakes.
According to Volpicelli, the cognitive changes people can have from drinking—like memory trouble, slowed reaction time, difficulty controlling behavior, and poor concentration—get worse over time. Excessive drinking can lead to the build-up of toxic, highly cancer-causing (carcinogenic) compounds that contribute to inflammation in your best diet for recovering alcoholic body, especially in your liver. As alcohol is broken down and metabolized by your body, toxins get released. Some will eventually get broken down into less harmful compounds, but your body’s ability to process these substances is limited. One of the most profound ways that alcohol affects you is through what it does to your body.
- A good diet can help improve your mood, increase your energy levels, stabilize your blood sugar levels and reduce cravings.
- Superfoods are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other healthy compounds that strengthen the immune system, ward off illness and disease, and boost energy levels.
- Even if those studies turn out to be false, I’ll still take cheat days.
- Long-term alcohol use can deplete the body’s vitamin stores, leading to deficiencies that can exacerbate withdrawal symptoms and hinder recovery.
One reason why a proper alcohol detox diet is important is that alcohol abusers may suffer from malnutrition. Those who have AUD may experience the short-term and long-term side effects of malnutrition. And during the detox process, their malnourished bodies may be forced to endure more without an alcohol master cleanse diet. Alcohol detox can be challenging, especially when you’re so far in the booze that you find yourself craving every sip and shot all day long.
Foods That Are High In Vitamins And Minerals For Alcohol Detox
