While recovering from drug or alcohol addiction, one may overlook the importance of diet. Over time, drug and alcohol addiction can be rough on your mind and body, leading to a multitude of health problems. Nutritional therapy can help you heal from the damage that alcohol or drug use has done.
At Red Oak Recovery®, we take a unique approach to recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. Our nutritional therapy program helps our clients develop a healthy relationship with food and learn how to look at the therapeutic value of meals. Our nutrient-dense meals are sourced directly from our gardens and orchards, which our clients help cultivate. To learn more about how our nutritional therapy program can help you start feeling better today, call us at 866.457.7590.
The Relationship Between Nutrition and Recovery
It’s essential for those in recovery not to ignore the relationship between nutrition and recovery. Here are three benefits of nutritional therapy for addiction:
1. Nutritional Therapy Can Address Nutritional Deficiencies Caused by Addiction
Drug and alcohol addiction often correlates with nutritional deficiencies. Alcohol tends to deplete your body of specific vitamins and minerals, leading to a health-depleting deficiency. Drugs can interfere with your body’s hunger mechanism and lead you to go for long periods without eating. Both drug and alcohol addictions can also affect the type of foods you choose to eat. Those suffering from addiction may be more likely to reach for fast foods and convenience foods with little to no nutritional value, leading to malnutrition.
A dietician can create a diet plan for you that consists of foods rich in nutrients that your addiction has depleted. Once you start to give your body the nutrients it needs, you will begin to feel better physically and emotionally, which will be beneficial for your recovery.
2. Nutritional Therapy for Addiction Can Decrease the Risk of Relapse
Nutritional deficiencies can make it more challenging to stay clean and sober. You may mistake your body’s hunger pangs for drug or alcohol cravings. Blood sugar fluctuations, in particular, can be problematic when trying to refrain from alcohol use. Learning how to manage blood sugar levels through nutritional therapy for addiction can make it easier for you to abstain.
Nutritional deficiencies can also exacerbate mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. When you feel stressed, depressed, or anxious, you are more likely to reach for drugs or alcohol. Nutritional therapy can teach you which foods are best for your mental health needs. Following a recommended diet can help you feel more balanced, greatly supporting your journey to clean living.
3. Nutritional Therapy Can Improve Your Overall Health and Wellness
In addition to addressing nutritional deficiencies and co-occurring mental health conditions, nutritional therapy can help you manage or prevent health conditions like diabetes and obesity. Through nutritional education, you will learn which foods to eat to help address these issues, which will help you feel better overall.
When you are not feeling well physically or mentally, a cycle can begin where you numb your discomfort with substances. Then, your health problem worsens, and you reach for more drugs or alcohol. Nutritional therapy can give you the tools you need to help break this cycle to a healthy diet and lifestyle.
Experience the Red Oak Recovery® Difference
The relationship between nutrition and recovery should not be overlooked when your goal is a long-term clean lifestyle. We believe that food has healing properties, making nutritional therapy a valuable component of any addiction recovery program. We may utilize nutrition therapy in a range of treatment programs, including:
- Alcohol addiction treatment
- Heroin addiction treatment
- Cocaine addiction treatment
- Opioid addiction treatment
At Red Oak Recovery®, you will be part of a community where you learn how to grow and appreciate whole foods and how they can be your ally in recovery. Call us today at 866.457.7590 to get started healing from addiction with the Red Oak experience.
