Whole Food and Holistic Recovery: How Important Are They?

People suffering from alcohol or drug addiction may not realize how important their diet can be especially in the early stages of recovery. The people struggling with addiction are used to abusing their bodies. They also have fallen into an unhealthy lifestyle based around their addiction of choice. While there is a lot of emotional work involved in rehab, physical health can be equally important and diet is one of the many ways to improve overall well-being. Most alcoholics or drug addicts are used to having very poor diets as a result of their addiction and many end up with serious nutritional deficiencies. Focusing on eating healthy foods can be a positive move toward better wellness and health, as well as lead to more stable moods as well.

While in recovery an addict can learn the basics of good nutrition and continue to apply it to their eating habits after they return home from rehab. So the healthy lifestyle is very important after recovery from addiction, which is very useful for the person to becomes strong enough not to relapse into old and potentially life-threatening habits.

How Nutrition Helps the Healing Process

Proper nutrition helps recovering addicts (and everyone else) feel better because nutrients give the body energy, help build and repair organ tissue, and strengthen the immune system. Because recovering addicts have usually damaged vital organs during the course of their drug or alcohol abuse, good nutrition provides them with the nutritional building blocks they need to begin restoring these damaged tissues.

Nutrition also plays an important role in mood. Research suggests that changes in your diet can alter brain structure both chemically and physiologically, and influence your behavior. Furthermore, the consumption of certain foods has been tied to increased production of key neurotransmitters like serotonin, which enhances mood.

Holistic Health and Healing

A holistic approach treats addiction from all angles. For example, instead of exclusively focusing on physical symptoms, treatment emphasizes each individual patient’s unique complexities. Lasting recovery is more likely when using a holistic approach to drug addiction treatment.

Often, people equate holistic care with non-medical care. However, this doesn’t have to be the case. Holistic care includes non-medical approaches but can include clinical care as well.

Additionally, holistic, by definition, means taking the whole person into account. While a holistic approach doesn’t ignore physical symptoms, these aren’t the center of treatment. By treating the entire person, not just certain aspects of their health, patients have an opportunity to reach lasting recovery.

 

Crystal Hampton, 37 years old.
I work for Recovery Local, a digital marketing company that advocates spreading awareness on the disease of addiction. Our company was founded by and staffed with recovering addicts cultivating recovery resources through sharing our own experience, strength, and hope.
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