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Can your body heal from addiction with just good nutrients and diet? This seems too good to be true!
Whenever we hear people talk about addiction recovery, they try to make it sound so scary that we disbelief the simple methods. In reality, every recovery and detoxification center uses a good nutritional diet to get their patients on foot again.
So, yes, nutrition can help you recover better from addiction. Now, can nutrition minimize the withdrawal symptoms?
Technically no.
Although withdrawal symptoms do not last for too long, they can still be painful. So then, where does good nutrition come in? It will give your body the strength which helps us to combat the effects of withdrawal symptoms.
Why Is Nutrition Important?
These are some of the reasons why your body needs nutrition, especially when you are trying to recover from a toxic addiction.
This is one of the reasons why detoxification centers take such extra care about a patient’s food intake. This is a report collected from a Dallas detox treatment center.
1. Your Body Gets More Accustomed
Here is a rundown of what happens during any substance addiction. First, you start taking these toxic substances, and soon your body is habituated. Now, the craving begins, and your body wants it all the time.
As a result, you lose your appetite for anything else. You start consuming less food and more of those toxic substances. Because your immune system is battling with the toxins, it takes up more of your energy [whatever it can get].
The moment you start getting into a healthy diet, it is like you’re giving your body something new to get accustomed to. Within a week, your body will start reacting accordingly, and you will regain your appetite back for normal nutritional food.
2. Your Body Is Getting The Strength
When you eat these nutritious food items, your body is regaining strength. However, during the addiction, patients feel fatigued and tired all the time because there is no energy left in them.
However, the more healthy food they intake, the more of this energy is charged back inside the body. This energy is also known for increasing the endorphins hormone in our body. Thus, we have more willpower to fight the urge of addiction and combat the withdrawal symptoms.
3. You Are Talking To A Professional
Whenever you are planning to get into a healthy diet during your recovery, ensure that you talk to a doctor. Do not try to do it on your own. A professional nutritionist can check your body and make a customized diet for you.
Thus, nutritional food during addiction recovery is so helpful because the patient’s body is checked by doctors. Therefore, if there is any problem that was caused by the toxic materials, they can be detected at a very early stage.
4. You Are Getting Into A Routine
During the period of addiction, a patient’s life is chaotic. There is no sense of routine, and most of the time, they are resting in isolation. Getting into a good diet is the first step to regaining a sense of routine.
It is not very rigid, but you will have specific nutrition amounts to intake and in the specified time. Getting into a routine always makes a person more productive, and it is a good distraction for the patients as well.
5. You Will Regain Your Appetite
Losing your appetite amidst any addiction is very common, especially if you are suffering from something which is more dangerous, like drugs, alcohol, or anorexia.
Once you get into the routine of consuming nutritional food every day, you will automatically regain your appetite. It is like a body reflex, and no, not all nutritional food is tasteless.
Eating healthy will also allow them to regain the lost weight and promote healthy skin, which deteriorated during the addiction.
What Does an Addiction Recovery Diet Look Like?
An addiction recovery diet has most of the main nutrients that a body needs. Especially because patients are already going through a lot of detoxification, and they need healthy food to combat this.
The nutrients that this diet should contain are,
- Moderate Amount of Fat, not more than 30% calorie count.
- Complex carbohydrates, since this is the pioneer ingredient in any meal. The calorie count should be more than 50%.
- Protein can be that of the moderate count; they do not have to consume a lot of meat products since their body will need more time to digest animal protein. The calorie count can be as little as 15%.
- Dairy products, on the other hand, are extremely important. The diet should be filled with a good amount of milk products. The calcium quantity counts, so if you are vegan, you can alter milk products with tofu and kale dishes.
- Make sure that the food doesn’t look too bland and has a lot of variety. The diet plan should not be monotonous because the patient is very vulnerable at this time. You might not know whether this monotony can trigger something.
- The key is to make their lives interesting without the aid of such harmful substances. Because they also need to have good mental health and not just physical strength.
How Should One Approach This New Diet?
These are some of the ways you should approach this diet, whether you are helping yourself with addiction or a friend.
- Always take help from a professional because someone who doesn’t work in that field might not be familiar with everything. For example, get a full-body checkup before going to a nutritionist.
- You can also enroll yourself or the close one into an in-patient recovery center. There are professionals who can supervise the recovery 24/7 and at the same time give them a proper diet.
- As mentioned above, the diet should have all the nutritional value in proper quantities. You can also make the necessary changes based on professional suggestions.
- If the patient is craving outside food, then here are some of the safest options: grilled chicken, salads, and smoothie bowls.
- Keep caffeinated drinks at bay.
Final Note
Good nutrition can put a person in a better mood; psychological research has shown many times. Thus, good, tasty, and healthy food choices are a must-have when dealing with a patient of addiction.
Eating healthy food during correct meal timings is very normal, and patients need to get their lives back to normal again.
Thanks for reading this article, I hope it help!