The Importance of Nutrition During Drug Addiction Recovery
The process of recovering from a substance addiction, no matter what the substance you used, is always a hard thing to do. There are endless factors that play out in the process of getting sober and entering back into normal day-to-day life. Some of those factors aren’t easily controlled and will take time to return to normal, but other factors like what you eat on a day-to-day basis can be. Nutrition can be a huge factor when trying to recover from addiction, as eating certain foods like fast food and all foods high in fat and sugar will make the struggle harder for you in the long run. By sticking to a healthy diet, the body can gain the energy and balance it desperately needs during this difficult healing process and put all of its energy into recovery.
Foremost, because addiction takes such a serious toll on the body, it probably needs all the nutrition it can get to help it heal. Very commonly, the addict disregards his or her body in the pursuit of getting high and this can lead to severe malnutrition. By beginning to eat well, you will start to reverse the effects of malnutrition as well as increase the flow of positive, feel-good chemicals in the brain.
For optimal nutrition, here are a few tips to follow:
- Go decaf. Caffeine in coffee, soda and tea is stimulating and can trigger fluctuations in mood that can make it difficult to resist cravings. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this for a while.
- Don’t indulge in sugary foods and refined carbohydrates. Like caffeine, sugar can cause mood swings and can also make resisting cravings more difficult.
- Eat plenty of antioxidant-rich foods like fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants will help clean your body and give it vital vitamins and minerals at the same time. These foods help to maintain a positive mood and sustain energy much longer than unhealthy man-made foods.
