People suffering from alcohol or drug addiction may not realize how important their diet can be especially in the early stages of recovery. The people struggling with addiction are used to abusing their bodies. They also have fallen into an unhealthy lifestyle based around their addiction of choice. While there is a lot of emotional work involved in rehab, physical health can be equally important and diet is one of the many ways to improve overall well-being. Most alcoholics or drug addicts are used to having very poor diets as a result of their addiction and many end up with serious nutritional deficiencies.
Focusing on eating healthy foods can be a positive move toward better health and lead to more stable moods as well. While in recovery an addict can learn the basics of good nutrition and continue to apply it to their eating habits after they return home from rehab. So the healthy lifestyle is very important after recovery from addiction which is very useful for the person to becomes strong enough not to relapse into old and potentially life-threatening habits.
Nutritional Problems with Addiction
For someone with a drinking problem, alcohol often replaces food and alcoholics get much of their calories from booze instead of healthy sustenance. It is common for alcoholics to lack important nutrients and suffer from deficiencies that can cause health problems. Alcoholics tend to be deficient in folate, vitamin B12, vitamin A and calcium which are all needed for a strong immune system and crucial body functions.
People with drug addictions can also deal with deficiencies because certain illegal drugs are known to drastically reduce appetite such as cocaine, methamphetamines and opiates. Those who are addicted to these types of drugs can become emaciated and frail from their lack of food intake. Once in recovery, people suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction will have to begin eating regular meals again and giving their bodies the important nutrients that they need.
The Problem of Comfort Eating
One of the dangers that many addicts experience while in recovery is the tendency to replace their addiction with another or engage in other unhealthy ways of running from their problems. The lack of escape from alcohol or drugs could lead them to seek comfort food as a way to avoid issues they are dealing with. They might frequently binge on junk food or become addicted to unhealthy foods as a kind of replacement for their substance abuse.
It is important to avoid this kind of behavior because although they might be engaging in a less harmful addiction they are still finding a way to escape feelings by emotionally eating. Addicts can start gaining weight and feel tired or depressed because of a poor diet while in recovery. Creating a healthier diet can help prevent the negative physical and mental effects of eating poorly from interfering with the process of recovery.
How to Eat Healthier
A healthy lifestyle revolves around nurturing the body, and understanding the saying “you are what you eat.” Balanced nutrition is extremely important for someone in recovery to have so that they can learn how to take care of themselves in a positive way. A healthy diet means feeling better, having more sustained energy and even thinking more clearly.
Getting the right amount of nutrition can help stabilize a person’s mood which is very important for addicts who are dealing with many volatile emotions. A healthy diet means eating lots of fruits and vegetables to ensure that you are getting all the right vitamins and minerals that you need. Lean protein and complex carbohydrates are also important for maintaining energy and repairing the body. Drinking lots of water is an essential part of healthy eating and can prevent any of the negative effects of dehydration on physical well-being.
For better health an addict should avoid the crashing effects of caffeine and refined sugar which are both harmful to the mind and body. When an addict begins to eat healthier they will be more focused and better able to handle the experience of recovery. Instead of comfort eating or becoming addicted to junk food, a person in rehab needs to understand the importance of healthy food and its role in their ability to recover.
Taking Control
One of the big benefits of a balanced diet is that the addict in recovery is learning how to feel in control of life again. When someone is an addict, they are a slave to their addiction and allow it to run their lives. But by learning how to have a healthy balanced diet, they are taking control of their own lives and their destinies.
They are learning how to cook healthy meals that make them feel good, combating weight gain, and keeping busy learning new skills and nutritional knowledge that they might not have had before. This can help circumvent some of the cravings that they will have to combat.
Balanced Nutrition Leads To A Balanced Life
One of the most important life lessons a recovering addict has to learn is how to live a balanced life. Previously, the addict’s life had been spiraling out of control and was wildly unbalanced with the addiction taking center stage. But in recovery a healthy balance needs to be achieved in all aspects of an individual’s life to have the best chance at achieving long-term recovery, learning how to navigate life without feeling the need to turn to drugs or alcohol to cope.
And at the center of holistic healing, which is often integrated into inpatient rehab centers, is the idea of keeping a person’s energy balanced. And when someone is eating a balanced, healthy diet this contributes tremendously to a positive lifestyle, because the food is the fuel the body depends on every day.
Focus On Replenishing The Body
When addicts first enter rehab, their bodies are still recovering from detox and need to be nurtured and replenished. The body needs to heal, and a healthy diet is essential to the body growing strong and healthy again. Even more so than the diet, is the awareness a person imbues in one’s life to heal and replenish the body.
These mental affirmations, a long with the balanced nutrition to go a long with it, will help a person both spiritually and physically to replenish themselves after reaching their lowest point. Foods that are especially healthy for recovering addicts to eat are:
- Fresh fruit
- Fresh vegetables
- Whole grains
- Fish
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Low-fat dairy products
These foods will help replenish the serotonin in a person’s body, which has been depleted of because of previous abuse from addiction. Fruits and vegetables also have antioxidants and will help revitalize a body that has been previously abused. People who do this will start feeling happier, healthier, and stronger emotionally and physically.
Lifelong Benefits
And perhaps most of all, learning how to eat a balanced diet will equip an individual with lifelong tools needed to battle addiction. Recovering from addiction is a journey, and even people who have achieved long-term sobriety warn that no one can be completely cured and it’s a journey. Of course you’ll need to exercise as part of your recovery, to maximize the benefits gained from proper nutrition.
One of the most important parts of the journey is learning how to nourish the body in different ways, and by eating healthily and making that commitment, a person will be more equipped to achieve long-term sobriety.
Regular Physical Activities is very effective in recovery from addiction
Incorporating physical activity into a regular routine is essential to facilitate health and sobriety. While it’s important for every person to do, it’s even more important for someone trying to maintain a long-term recovery from addiction. When someone is working on maintaining sobriety the process involves strengthening themselves physically and mentally. Besides working out nutrition plays an important role in recovery as well.
The body has already been weakened and is used to being abused, and physical activity helps the body become healthy and strong again. Many people now take the holistic approach to sobriety, and that means finding balance in their life, which involves integrating physical activities that help calm the mind and keep the body active. Here are 5 physical activities that benefit health and sobriety.
One: Walking Or Running
One of the simplest and most effective physical exercises that people can do is walking, or running if they feel like they are already in good shape. The great thing about walking is that it can be done by anyone no matter where they are located.
It’s free and doesn’t need any equipment or require any training. People can also vary the location of their walks, such as hiking on a nature tra
il or forest. Besides keeping a person in shape, it will lower the risk of heart disease and will help clear the mind. And when someone gets into the regular routine of walking, it helps add structure into their lives.
Two: Yoga
Yoga has been noted as being particularly effective in helping break the addiction patterns that the brain forms. Yoga increases body awareness and helps a recovering addict connect with the body in a more intimate way, through breathing and guided exercises. Yoga can help someone learn how to manage their emotional stasis and discover how strong and powerful their body actually is.
Three: Painting Or Drawing
In this day and age, when most people are glued to their smartphone or tablet, the physical act of drawing and painting can be incredibly therapeutic. The value of using one’s hands to create something is underrated and can have a calming and healing effect on a person. When someone in recovery paints or draws it’s not about creating the finished piece, but accessing the creative and happy part of the mind that probably had previously been lying dormant.
Four: Building Something
Likewise building something can help stimulate the mind in a way that it hasn’t been before. And it doesn’t have to be, and probably shouldn’t be complicated, unless someone has previous experience. It can be as simple as building a wall hanging or folding origami or constructing a simple piece of furniture, but the act of building something creates an innate sense of satisfaction and helps build self-esteem.
And in a more abstract sense, building something can even mean planting a garden or landscaping a yard. Overall it means just putting time and energy into a project and creating something.
Five: Swimming
If someone is lucky enough to be near water, whether a public pool or beach, then swimming is an amazing physical activity to take part in. Easier on the body than almost any other form of exercise, it nonetheless has great cardiovascular benefits, and helps a person feel stronger and happier. Being in the water is always an enjoyable and satisfying workout, where a person utilizes all parts of the body during swimming.
And like walking or yoga, regularly scheduling swimming sessions will help add structure to a person’s life. And by incorporating exercise on a regular basis, over the long-term the individual will look better, and be stronger mentally and emotionally. Exercise is an essential part of finding a holistic balance in one’s life. People can learn to interact with their bodies in kind, compassionate, and nurturing ways.
Is your loved one suffering
Addictions changes lives for the worse. The world of the addict revolves around the object of addiction, whether it is alcohol, drugs or any other addictive thing. Addictions can ruin careers, personal finances as well as relationships. Hence, it is best for the addict to receive treatment as quickly as possible to minimize the harm caused by addiction. However, many are reluctant to look for help at rehab facilities.
There may be a few misconceptions regarding what services rehab facilities render to those in need of treatment to overcome their addiction as well as what the conditions are like in these facilities. Once upon a time, treatment of addictions and mental disorders may have been inhumane and barbaric, but those days are long gone. Great strides have been made in the field of medical science for treating addiction. Malibu in Seasons operates one such modern rehab facility in Malibu where those in the grip of addiction can get the help they need.
This is what a modern rehab facility can do for the addict.
1) Diagnosis for Personalized care
When an individual opts to undergo treatment, they first undergo a diagnostic process. Every individual and their case is different. A one-size-fits-all approach will surely not be as effective. So it makes sense that the treatment program that they receive should be tailored for each person that goes to seek treatment at a rehab facility, including the medication and the treatments they undergo. This step starts with a diagnosis and assessment of the individual.
2) Detoxification
In order to fully overcome the addiction, the substance at the root of the addiction needs to be removed from the body. This is the most challenging step as ceasing the intake of the substance will cause withdrawal symptoms to appear and it will take a certain period of abstinence for them to subside. The addiction specialist will help the patient through this hard time.
3) Therapy Sessions
The core of rehabilitation revolves around a wide range of therapies over a period of time. The program the individual undergoes is formulated based on the personalized care package that was established on their initial diagnosis. In these sessions, the patient and the therapist and whoever else the therapy may involve come to terms with issues surrounding the addiction and learn better ways of coping with the triggers associated with their addiction.
4) Post-treatment Care
In the truly effective rehab facilities, the treatment does not stop upon the patient’s completion of the program. Relapses often occur in a certain period of time after the patient leaves the rehab facility and resumes life without therapy. Some rehab facilities offer aftercare support for their patients which drastically reduces the rate of relapse among ex-patients.
Modern rehab facilities are now better equipped than ever to handle addictions effectively. For more information regarding what to expect and how these rehab facilities help, kindly drop by the website www.seasonsmalibu.com which is operated by Seasons in Malibu addiction treatment specialists.
