Secondly, addiction influences habits such as sporadic eating and poor nutrition that impair the body. For former substance users, the road to recovery is long and winding. A woman’s poor diet when pregnant, especially if she drinks alcohol, can harm the baby’s growth and development in the womb. Infants who were exposed to alcohol while in the womb often have physical and mental problems.

Recovery Needs: Necessary Nutrients

Most of the research is on citicoline for cocaine addictions, followed by some research on methamphetamine addictions. It’s important to note that withdrawing from alcohol can be particularly dangerous, especially if you’ve been drinking heavily for a long period of time. Too little could eventually cause serious learning and memory problems, a condition called Wernicke-Korsakoff’s syndrome. Eat beans, peas, lentils, pork, brown rice, and fortified foods like breakfast cereal. Not getting enough of this vitamin can lead to anemia, depression, confusion, and a weak immune system. Poultry, fish, non-citrus fruit, and starchy vegetables such as potatoes are good sources.

Freedom Detox’s Promise to You

We recognize the importance of healthy eating, and the effects of addiction and substance use disorders have on clients and their diet before attending rehab. Detoxing at home can be difficult, and in some cases, dangerous. In a medical setting, you’ll have access to medicine and detox vitamins to help alleviate withdrawal symptoms and healthy meals to help your body begin the healing process. People who are addicted to either drugs or alcohol generally lose their appetite for food. This can result in severe malnutrition, a deficiency of essential micronutrients – such as vitamins and minerals.

Nutrition During Recovery

Some of the best food sources of zinc include oysters, grass-fed beef, pumpkin seeds, cashews, mushrooms and spinach. These foods are included in my Free Grocery Shopping Guide for Optimal Brain and Mental Health. And researchers have concluded that magnesium supplementation can decrease nicotine addiction in heavy smokers. NAC is included in Optimal Antiox, along with a number of other antioxidants and nutients that can help you overcome addiction and manage withdrawal. Oxidative stress can change neuronal pathways and cause addictive behaviour.

• This can lead to low blood sugar, also known as hypoglycemia.
• During detox, your focus will be on reducing your caloric intake and finding balance with foods that nourish your body.
• Folate is required by the brain to effectively synthesize serotonin and dopamine.
• Severe deficiency, called scurvy, may result in anemia, bruising, and dental issues.
• Nearly 1 out of 10 who use opiate medications appear to abuse or misuse the medications, showing signs of addiction.

The alcohol affects the growing baby by crossing the placenta. Did you know there is scientific evidence of changes in the chemistry in our brains that is linked to cravings? This is part of why so many people complain of struggling with food cravings during treatment.

Opiates, as we’ve discussed, strongly and artificially increase dopamine. We know that magnesium modulates the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis. Opioid withdrawal sleep disturbances are related to orexin/hypocretin signaling. https://ecosoberhouse.com/ Orexins are modulators of the sleep/wakefulness cycle and are expressed by neurons in the lateral hypothalamic area. Magnesium’s role in regulating the hypothalamus may explain why it helps with insomnia related to drug cessation.

The Necessary Nutrients for Drug Detox

Even when an addicted individual does eat a healthy meal, chances are their bodies are not able to process the nutrients effectively. For example, alcoholism causes the body to struggle to absorb various forms of vitamin B. One small study in people with an addiction to heroin showed that vitamin C and vitamin E helped with withdrawal symptoms. People took vitamins C and E for at least 4 weeks, and about half of them reported fewer withdrawal symptoms. Another study of vitamin C in people going through withdrawal for opiates or other drugs found that it eased withdrawal symptoms in some cases.

• A B12 deficiency can also be referred to as a cobalamin deficiency and result in fatigue, headache, pale skin, and heart palpitations.
• Instead, you can control these cravings and rebuild your health by eating regular meals that are rich in protein and nutrients.
• It’s important to eat regularly scheduled, balanced meals containing proper caloric and nutritional values.
• Returning to the article published in Magnesium Research, let’s look closer at the role of magnesium in drug abuse and addiction.
• Illicit stimulants include cocaine, crack, and methamphetamine.

You should avoid things like sugar and highly processed foods, as these are poor sources of nutrients and can increase your cravings for drugs or alcohol. To increase the specific nutrients that your body needs to heal, there are some foods you should especially include in your diet. When drugs create the same feel-good reflex as the chemicals in your brain, you get overloaded. To compensate, your brain produces fewer of these important chemicals.

• According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a healthy diet consists of a mix of proteins, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and dairy products.
• These “binges” may lead to dehydration and electrolyte imbalances due to a significant decrease in appetite and inattention to nutrition.
• However, I still recommend at least short-term zinc supplementation to ensure you get enough.

Nutrition plays an important role in recovery from substance abuse. Drugs and alcohol can affect metabolism, organ function, and mental well-being, and can prevent the body from properly absorbing, digesting, and using vitamins for recovering alcoholics nutrients. This leads to vitamin deficiencies and poor nutrition overall. Common symptoms of vitamin D deficiency include fatigue, sleep disorders, hair loss, muscle weakness, loss of appetite and bone pain.

B Vitamins – B vitamin supplements are readily available everywhere. By consuming the right amount of B vitamins, you may be able to reduce cravings during early recovery and can help to improve health in your brain and your mental health, too. A prolonged deficiency can lead to various health problems, some of which may be of a chronic nature. Treatment for addiction therefore often incorporates high dosages of vitamins, minerals, and pre-digested proteins.