Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, once said to let food be your medicine, and medicine your food. Nutrition and a healthy diet are important for everyone. Eating wholesome food and keeping a balanced diet can lessen the severity of many adverse health conditions. Proper nutrition can even stave off illness as a person ages. Getting the right vitamins and minerals through diet or supplementation is essential for keeping the body’s systems in optimum condition.

If someone has been abusing drugs or alcohol, those chemicals will deplete the body of vital nutrients and essential amino acids. For those in recovery from substance abuse, it is critical that they learn the importance of nutrition during the recovery phase. Many effective rehab treatment centers have nutritionists on staff to help patients with this process.

How does nutrition play a role in recovery?

When someone decides they are ready to seek help for addiction and enter a treatment facility, there are many stages to the recovery process, with nutrition playing a pivotal role in how a person can manage sober living and avoid relapse. In most cases, a person will initially enter a detox program, so the body can have a chance to cleanse itself of all harmful chemicals and drugs thoroughly.

Under medical supervision, patients can get all of the drugs out of their system, while medical staff can prescribe medications that will lessen the severity and duration of the withdrawal timeline. It is after the patient is thoroughly detoxed from either drugs or alcohol that doctors can fully assess the damage that drug abuse has done to the patient’s state of nutrition. While a person is going through detox, medical staff will monitor the patient’s food and drink intake and will give the patient healthy food choices that are optimized for healing the body from vitamin deficiencies and malnutrition.

After detox, patients can begin the rehabilitation phase. Depending on the severity of their past drug use and their personal circumstances, patients may live on-site in an inpatient rehab facility, or participate in intensive outpatient rehab. Regardless, patients will be required as part of their recovery to attend in a variety of different therapies, including nutritional counseling in combination with psychological treatment.

Patients will get education and counseling on how to incorporate better nutrition into their diet, which may be tailored to their specific nutritional needs after recovery from substance abuse. Patients will also learn the importance of regular meal eating and staying hydrated. Doctors and nutrition specialists will also counsel patients on how healthy eating habits will strengthen their bodies and help them overcome cravings and avoid relapse.

Recovery from drug abuse is not a one-size-fits-all treatment. Each plan will need to be tailored to the individual. A patient who presents with the nutritional deficiencies present in alcohol addiction will have different dietary needs than a person who has abused marijuana. For recovery to be successful, patients will need access to a team of doctors who can put together a holistic and customized treatment plan that includes guidance on nutrition and healthy eating habits.

Are you or someone you care about suffering from the nutritional deficiencies present in drug or alcohol addiction? It’s never too late to get help. The dedicated and caring professionals at Windward Way are standing by to answer your questions about rehab and nutritional counseling. Please contact Windward Way today to learn how you can achieve sobriety.