Proper nutrition is one of the best ways to nourish your mind and body during addiction recovery. Healing from substance abuse and dealing with the symptoms of alcohol detox is not easy on your body. Not to mention, active addiction upsets your appetite and nutritional balance.
During your treatment for drugs or alcohol, you’re not just healing your mind, you’re also healing your body. While drugs and alcohol counselling is vital for the former, proper nutrition is the only way to achieve the latter. Drug and alcohol abuse can lead to loss or increase in appetite, poor food choices and gastrointestinal disorders.
At Hills & Ranges, drugs and alcohol counselling and rehabilitation centre in Melbourne, restoring your body to optimal health plays a crucial role in the recovery process. In this article, we share how different substances affect your nutrition and how you can replenish them during recovery.
Alcohol and Nutrition
Alcohol creates two major nutritional problems. First, people who abuse alcohol usually do not pay attention to what else they are putting into their bodies. Second, alcohol inhibits the proper absorption of nutrients. Even if you are health conscious, you can still experience deficiencies.
Alcohol abuse affects the liver and the pancreas, preventing the absorption of certain fats, proteins and carbs, and deregulating the blood sugar. You are likely to be deficient in Folic Acid, Vitamin B6 and Thiamine. Even though the symptoms of alcohol detox may cause appetite loss, nourishing yourself with these essential vitamins will help you recover faster.
Opioids and Nutrition
Opioids suppress the appetite so drastically that many users develop disordered eating habits. Users tend to skip meals and eat far fewer calories than they need. When you’re eating so little, you become deficient in almost every essential nutrient.
Another common problem for many opioid users is opioid-induced constipation. After a while, this becomes painful and causes further appetite suppression. When stopping opioid use, eating fibre is the only way to get your system and appetite back on track.
Stimulants and Nutrition
Stimulants also cause appetite suppression. When users feel a high from the drugs, they often forget to eat or drink, causing dehydration, electrolyte imbalances and malnutrition.
When stimulant users begin treatment for drugs, they may experience a spike in appetite as the body tries to recover from weight loss and nutrient deficiencies. Unfortunately, this causes many people to overeat in recovery, disturbing the digestive system even more. That’s why supervision is critical to ensuring you get the right nutrients in the right volumes.
Nourishing Your Mind and Body
If you are seeking treatment for drugs and alcohol abuse in Melbourne, Hills & Ranges can help. We offer fully-immersive recovery programs that focus on mental and physical health, nutrition, and counselling, giving you the best opportunity to achieve complete recovery and holistic health. To learn more about your treatment options, call us on 1800 954 749.
