Nutrition & Wellness in Addiction Treatment & Recovery
Learning to Properly Nourish the Body is an Important Part of Recovery.
People who suffer from alcohol or drug addiction almost always experience some level of malnutrition. Alcohol is high in empty calories that lead to feeling full but do not support the health of the body. Drug addicts are often so distracted by the cycle of getting high, crashing, and looking for another high that eating and self-care are severely neglected.
Drugs and alcohol also deteriorate the body’s natural chemical processes for creating emotional stability, mental clarity, and pleasurable sensations. Drugs and alcohol prevent the body from properly absorbing two amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). These two amino acids are key components in the body’s production of neurotransmitters (chemicals produced in the brain which transmit messages to the body). These neurotransmitters –norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin – allow the body to experience well-being. When the natural production of these neurotransmitters is disrupted by drug or alcohol abuse, it compounds the addict’s dependence on substances because he loses the ability to feel good naturally.
In addition, alcohol and drugs can prevent the body from properly absorbing and metabolizing nutrients, and can also prevent the body from properly expelling toxins. Drug and alcohol addiction can significantly damage the digestive processes of the body, and many addicts experience digestive problems such as constipation, diarrhea, indigestion, and poor appetite.
Learn more about how Enterhealth integrates nutrition and wellness into its residential addiction recovery program at The Ranch.
Enterhealth creates individualized alcohol addiction treatment and drug addiction rehabilitation plans because we know your unique situation calls for an effective one-of-a-kind solution.
Contact Enterhealth today at 800.388.4601 to schedule an admission or for more information, email us using the contact form on the left-hand side of this page.
