Let’s take a while to talk about the most common issue in today’s generation –drugs and alcohol abuse. Studies suggest that misuse of drugs and alcohol can lead to severe mental, physical and psychological issues. The worse add-on is the fact that recovery from substance abuse is a long and slow process. From medication to therapies and diet management, the recovery process demands a lot of attention and time. Scientifically speaking, each act in the process focused on detoxification of blood, requiring a considerable amount of time.
A major challenge during the process is refraining from alcohol itself as you will socialize and have often encountered with those who drink. Another major trigger is your hormones that will call for the needs of drugs and alcohol as you start to quit this bad habit and come back to life. When you need to depict a high level of self-control, dedication, consistency and motivation, you may also need to adopt and sustain good eating habits.
According to studies, good eating habits can appear trivial in the face of a disorder like alcoholism. Simultaneously, poor nutritional habits associated with drugs or alcohol will place a considerable level of physical stress. Suppose you are not focusing on your diet during the rehabilitation process. In that case, you might face issues like limited body capacity to operate, lower electrolytes, essential vitamins and minerals that later cause life-threatening situations. Therefore, as you plan to enrol for rehabilitation in your local service centre, you must start working on a healthy diet.
The impact of addiction on your diet
Dugs harm the natural demands, desires and growth rate of the human body. With time, the addicts will lose their senses and not feel the need to eat or drink water. With lesser food intake, they start losing all the essential minerals, vitamins and proteins in the body, which leads to weight loss, dizziness, nausea and other basic health conditions. Even if they feel hungry, they will eat unhealthy meals and wither longer time intervals. Such situations lead to serious damage to digestive tracks and malfunctioning of the kidneys. In the end, there will be limited energy transfer, hence limited functioning of the brain. At such times, the person will experience anger, nervousness, nausea, inability to concentrate, anxiety, sleep deprivation and frustration.
An ideal diet during rehabilitation
As by now, you know what a drug addict has been doing to his body by not providing energy boosters through diet. Now the question is what you should eat to compensate for all the losses. The baseline is that you should eat a diet that will balance the serotonin level (a special hormone that helps to calm your mind) in the brain. You can do that by eating foods with carbohydrates and starchy foods like beans, lentils, pea, or root vegetables like carrots and potatoes. In the meantime, you will also need to add foods rich in vitamins, minerals, zinc, magnesium, and calcium to compensate for their loss in the body.
Although organizations like American Addiction Centers can provide you with detailed instruction on that, you may need to look for such services on your own if you do not comply with the Florida Marchman Act. If you are dealing with the process on your own, make sure you regularly follow the diet. At early stages of detoxification and recovery, prefer introducing meal slowly. It will take the body to get used to digestion once again.
Food to avoid during the process
First of all, you should know that fast food is not your friend during the rehab process. And the entire range of fast food is followed by a variety of other food items that you usually eat otherwise. You should also avoid additive and preservatives as they will disrupt your digestive system and create intestinal changes that will permit oversized molecules in the bloodstream. Such overwork will put a burden on the already damaged liver. Therefore, it is better to let the liver and stomach in peace with soft and raw food items.
You should also avoid using caffeinated products and refined sugar. Also, avoid replacing sugar with any artificial sweeteners. Avoid white flour as it is highly processed, and the body will break it down as process sugar. So, try to replace it with whole grains. Fats are another major item on the list to cut down during the rehab process. It would help if you avoided hydrogenated and refined fats. They usually come on hydrogenated and refined oils, margarine, butter, olive oil, coconut oil, flax seeds, corn and sunflower oils. Say them goodbye until you are completely recovered and done with the rehab process.
Support services must be part of the process
Institutions like the American Addiction Center offer a wide range of services with a list of service providers. For each state, they have their dedicated legislative process of helping drugs and alcohol addicts. Florida’s Marchman Act, for instance, clearly dictates how and who is eligible for certain services. It also explains how and when you can take benefit of the services. It is mandatory to seek such expert institutions and get expert consultations to ensure proper, secure recovery from any addiction or substance abuse.
Expert’s tips during rehabilitation
Start from the ABC diet and opt for healthy choices for fast food. These may include grilled chicken burgers, salads, and smoothies. But ensure using a variety of foods from all food groups. Hence your weekly diet will include variations of vegetables, fruits, dairy, grains, and meats. Also, make sure you are using foods that are high in fibre. Some to name are oat and bran cereals, muffins, or legumes. With that, breakfast should be a must also try not to skip other meals. Also, slowly cut the caffeinated drinks from your life with a limited intake of sweets and sugar.
With all these add-ons to your diet, you should drink plenty of water and take multivitamins, as recommended by the experts. Keeping yourself involved in healthy physical and mental activities is also important. Remember, with diet, consultation, or traditional rehabilitation, getting rid of substance abuse is a time-consuming process. Therefore, you need to be consistent in whatever you are planning to do.
