Nutrition Programs in Recovery: What to Expect

Addiction is a chronic disease with far-reaching ramifications, including poor nutrition and overall health.
Nutrition programs during recovery can help to reset the brain and body, helping a person to heal and improving overall health and quality of life.

The Role of Nutrition in Recovery

Nutrition and diet can play a big role in a person’s health and well-being. Drug and alcohol abuse can interfere with this in many ways.
Common drugs influence the body in different ways.

• Stimulants: Stimulants, including cocaine, methamphetamine, and prescription ADHD medications, can suppress the appetite. This can lead to weight loss and malnutrition from lack of eating.
  

• Marijuana: Marijuana can have the opposite effect, increasing the appetite and encouraging the intake of empty calories in the form of foods that are high in fat and sugar.

• Opioids: Prescription painkillers and heroin interact with the gastrointestinal system, often leading to nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation. This can lead to an imbalance of electrolytes and not enough nutrients being processed through the body.
• Alcohol: The U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) reports that alcohol is one of the No. 1 causes of deficiency related to nutrition in the United States, as it impacts two of the largest organs involved in metabolism — the liver and the pancreas. Excessive alcohol use can damage these two major organs, resulting in nutritional imbalances and deficiencies of B vitamins, which can cause anemia and significant neurological problems.

During recovery, nutritional imbalances and malnutrition can be addressed with a nutritional program that caters to the individual’s specific needs.

• Stress reduction
• Enhanced body image
• Reduced cravings
• Replenished physical health that was caused by malnutrition and damage from drugs and alcohol
• Stabilized moods and improved mental health
• Better sleep
• Tools for proper self-care and a higher quality of life

A nutrition program in recovery can provide tools to improve physical well-being. It can also help to regulate cravings and manage stress to better cope and minimize relapse in recovery.

Specialized Nutrition Programs in Recovery

Nutrition education and counseling set a person up to be able to know which foods to eat and which to avoid during healing to improve physical and mental functioning. This can be done in a group or individual setting during an addiction treatment program, and it is often in both settings.
Individual nutritional counseling can deal with the specific needs of an individual. Specialty needs, such as allergies, intolerances, or preferences, can be addressed.
Group education allows people to support each other, offering tips and strategies for healthy choices.
Depending on the level of malnutrition caused by drug and alcohol abuse, the nutrition program may need to be more medically based. In this type of program, medical, mental health, and nutrition or dietary professionals will all work together to make a plan for improving health through medical and nutritional means.