Substance abuse wreaks havoc on a person’s body. One area often overlooked in addiction treatment and recovery is how nutrition is involved in drug and alcohol addiction. Chronic substance use depletes the body of valuable nutrients that help the body function at its best. Nutritional support aids the recovery process, so you regain your health and improve your focus. Along with our other therapy programs, learning more about nutritional therapy can help individuals create a treatment plan most effective for their needs.
Nutritional therapy at Red Oak Recovery® focuses on more than just eating right. The objective is to help our clients understand the importance of diet in overall health. You will lead a healthier life for years to come by learning healthy ways to eat. A healthier lifestyle instills confidence and decreases the risk of relapse.
What Is Nutritional Therapy?
As part of your nutritional support during recovery, you will work with doctors to determine your overall health and a nutritionist to develop your dietary game plan. Generally, nutritional therapy begins right away at detox program admissions.
First, our staff will evaluate the physical effects of your substance use. In particular, they’ll assess your weight, muscle tone, and vitamin deficiencies. This comprehensive evaluation is the basis of your overall drug treatment plan. This plan also considers any medications you will take during detox and throughout your treatment stay. Once completed, this initial plan is given to a nutritionist for the next phase.
Nutritional therapy is a tremendous help during the detoxification process. When substances leave your body, your appetite returns. As a result, you may experience significant weight gain. While an increased appetite is a good sign, eating the wrong foods can increase the risk of developing diabetes or heart disease.
There are also cases where newly recovering addicts struggle to eat during drug detoxification. Our certified dietitians will tailor a nutritional plan to your body’s needs, where they’ll establish proper meals for your stay at our treatment center. Specifically, our team selects the best foods to promote balance and healing during the five to ten days of withdrawal.
Making a Recovery Plan by Knowing What is Nutritional Therapy
After meeting with our clinical and nutritional experts, we will work with you to create a dietary plan to help you replenish your nutrient levels and restore you to your best self. Solid nutritional therapy will help you avoid substituting food for your substance of choice. It will also help you learn to eat for overall health and not to fill emotional voids in your life. When integrated into your treatment regimen, nutritional therapy helps you avoid triggers and cravings that can lead to relapse. You will also learn how to:
- Develop a Meal Plan: You create a meal plan and an eating schedule that fits your overall treatment plan. This may include eating smaller meals several times daily and having designated snack times.
- Set Goals: Nutritional therapy in drug treatment also focuses on realistic goal setting. You focus on the behaviors needed to achieve the desired dietary change. These changes focus on overall wellness and not achieving a certain body weight. Keeping your goals simple and realistic makes you more likely to stick to them.
- Get Support: As with any treatment, nutritional therapy is most effective when family and loved ones are involved in the process. It can even be a part of your family therapy program.
Benefits of Nutritional Therapy
Research shows that people battling addiction have poor diets and neglect self-care in favor of finding the next high. At Red Oak Recovery®, our nutritional therapy will ensure you are eating the best foods to sustain a healthy and lifelong recovery. Structured meals during recovery will lessen the discomfort you feel from withdrawal symptoms. Plus, getting the right nutrients into your body can reduce drug or alcohol cravings.
If you have barriers to healthy eating, nutritional therapists can help break them. Nutritional therapy can also be combined with family therapy to involve loved ones in food preparation. The advantages of a healthy diet include:
- Increased energy and endurance
- Better memory and decision making
- Stronger immune system defenses
- Lower threat of chronic diseases
- Improved digestion and gut health
- Reduced blood sugar and cholesterol
- Brighter mood and outlook on life
Nutritional therapy, as part of drug treatment, helps you restore a healthy diet balance. Having a structured meal plan with the right nutrients will minimize withdrawal pain and discomfort. Additionally, an in-house nutritionist will help identify your specific needs with an assessment of your overall health.
Learn More by Reaching Out to Red Oak Recovery®
Trust Red Oak Recovery® to help you map out a nutritional therapy plan to aid your recovery. Good diets can purge toxins and produce the power to stay on the recovery track. Contact us today by calling 866.457.7590 or completing our secure online form for information.
