Nutrition and Addiction Recovery at Beaches Recovery

Long-term drug or alcohol use negatively impacts your health in many ways. Of course, we know addiction affects organs, stress, mood, sleep, and relationships. However, you may overlook how addiction changes your diet and health. For example, stimulants like cocaine often suppress hunger to the point of severe weight loss. Similarly, opioids like Vicodin slow down the stomach, leading to constipation. Further, alcohol abuse damages the liver and disrupts the body’s absorption of vitamins. In sum, substances greatly hinder the intake of the proper foods needed to thrive.

Meanwhile, addicts usually skip meals and focus concern on next doses instead of healthy food preparation and cooking. Therefore, relearning good eating habits is an essential step to rehab treatment. In other words, nutrition and addiction recovery must go hand in hand during rehab.

Links Between Nutrition and Addiction Recovery

First, addiction recovery starts with a systemic cleansing called detox. During these five to 10 days, individuals go through withdrawal as drugs or alcohol leave the body. Rehab staff will serve nutritious foods to reduce severe symptoms and rebuild strength.

Second, detox graduates begin individual or group counseling that will address diet deficits. Commonly, addiction centers have nutrition therapy professionals to teach healthy meal choices. This step’s value can’t be overstated because lacking nourishment risks relapse. After all, malnutrition can make it hard to think, concentrate, interact, and avoid depression. Indeed, vitamin-rich foods fuel healing from the inside out.

Third, the last link between nutrition and addiction recovery follows treatment. Here, transition programs develop the life skills training to prepare excellent meals at home. Ultimately, the goal is to make recovery maintenance easier by replacing cravings with nutrients.

Useful Nutrition Tips for Recovering Addicts

Since nutrition and addiction recovery are so related, it’s helpful to arm yourself with tips on what to eat. In addition, remember that quantity is as vital as the quality of foods consumed. Altogether, daily calorie intake should range from 1,600 to 3,000 based on gender and exercise levels. For best results, pick whole foods that are fresh and not processed. Accordingly, you should stop eating fast food altogether. Likewise, switch out sweet treats with natural sugars in fruits.

Recovering addicts need five servings of produce, including vegetables, per day. Leafy greens like spinach have the vitamin B6 most alcoholics lack. Then again, whole grains will provide healthy amounts of fiber with wholesome carbs. In regards to protein, select natural, organic meats when possible. Lean beef beats processed hot dogs and sausages. If you’re vegetarian, then lentils, beans, and nuts are healthy fats too.

Setting a Nutritional Plan at Beaches Recovery

Each person’s nutrition and addiction recovery needs vary based on many factors. Given that, it’s best to consult with trained dietitians for nutrition advice. At Beaches Recovery, we do just that. Markedly, our accredited Florida center offers nutritional guidance to feed and hydrate healthy bodies. Across the spectrum, we weave the importance of proper diet into several treatments, such as:

• Alcohol rehab
• Cocaine rehab program
• Opioid addiction rehab
• Heroin rehab
• Meth addiction rehab
• Adderall addiction treatment

Don’t let wrong food choices derail your hard work. Instead, have Beaches Recovery develop personalized diet plans that satisfy your tastes and keep you substance-free. Now, contact us today at 866.605.0532 for nutrition and addiction recovery tools.