Eating healthy is a great way to improve your health and also help you feel good during recovery. By eating well, you can reduce the amount of discomfort that comes with detox and withdrawal from drugs or alcohol. It’s important to eat well so that you have the energy and good mood needed to focus on addiction recovery. Additionally, drugs and alcohol deplete a lot of nutrients from your body, and eating well can help you overcome these deficiencies.
Address Nutritional Needs
It’s vital to address nutritional needs during recovery. Your body is most vulnerable when you’re withdrawing from the substance of abuse, and it’s important to help your body get back on track as soon as possible. When you choose a diet that supports the body’s natural healing process, you can recover faster. Places like Restore Detox Center understand that recovery is multifaceted. There is the physical addiction to contend with, along with the emotional as well. But healthcare professionals have only recently begun learning about the value of nutrition in recovery as well. These needs could require vitamin infusions, supplements, or even a nutrient-dense diet to help overcome. Working with a treatment center can help you discover if you have any unique nutritional needs.
Nutritional Deficiencies Make Recovery Harder
Your body is an amazing machine that can heal itself, but it needs the right fuel to do so. If you’re not getting enough nutrients, your body won’t be able to recover from illness or injury as easily and you’ll have a harder time fighting off infections. When you’re in recovery from addiction, it’s essential that you eat well so that your body has enough energy for healing and fighting off cravings. Nutritional deficiencies can also make it harder to focus on recovery tasks such as therapy sessions, doctor appointments, and meetings with family members who support your sobriety.
Good Nutrition Helps the Body Heal
While the body is in recovery, it has to go through many different processes. The body’s physical healing process can take a long time and it’s important that you give your body the nutrition it needs to repair itself. Nutrition is also important during addiction recovery because it helps with the immune system and fighting infections. No one wants to be sick and recover from addiction at the same time. The damage done to your body after years of addiction can be in part repaired with good nutrition.
During recovery from addiction, people often experience stress-related illnesses such as anxiety or depression which means it’s essential for them to have proper nutrition in order for their bodies defense mechanisms to function properly.
Don’t Crash Diet
Too many addicts tend to fall into extremes of behavior. When dieting, they may be more likely to crash diet. When exercising, they may take it into an obsession. It’s important not to crash diet when you are in recovery. His behavior can not only lead to other addictive tendencies, but it can also wreak havoc on your body. Crash dieting can lead to nutritional deficiencies and eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia.
Crash dieting can also cause depression and anxiety in people who are prone to those conditions. This may be particularly true when the person has had some experience with cutting off food or otherwise restricting themselves from what they need in order to lose weight quickly.
Choose Healthy Options Within Your Budget
While it’s certainly possible to eat healthy on a budget, it is important to remember that you are living with an addiction. You may have trouble managing your money and making healthy choices when it comes to food. It can be difficult for those in recovery from substance use disorders to manage their finances, so it is important that you set up some sort of budgeting system before going shopping for groceries. It is also important that you have realistic expectations about the amount of time and effort involved in preparing your meals at home—especially if you don’t cook often or are new at cooking entirely. Find some simple Crock Pot or Instant Pot recipes to ensure you can make healthy meals quickly and easily.
Best Foods to Eat During Recovery
When you’re in recovery, you want to focus on nutrient-dense foods. Eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. This is because they’re high in fiber, which helps keep you feeling full. They also contain a wide range of vitamins and minerals that are good for your health. Vitamin C can also help the detoxification process because it helps to remove toxins and free radicals.
You’ll also need to ensure you’re getting enough protein in your diet. Proteins play an important role in building muscle mass and helping your essential cellular functions. It’s best to get your protein from lean meats like chicken or turkey, fish such as salmon, and dairy products such as cottage cheese or Greek yogurt. You can also enjoy some nuts such as almonds or cashews. Red meat can be beneficial as well because it contains a lot of iron which is essential for your health.
Herbal Supplements to Improve Mental Health
In addition to eating nutritious foods, you may also want to consider using herbal supplements. Herbs can have a number of benefits for people in recovery and can help with insomnia, anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns. For example, ginseng root has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years as an anti-inflammatory agent that helps with stress.
Valerian root is another herb commonly used by patients attempting to cope with anxiety or insomnia. It works to relieve anxiety and even induce sleep. Chamomile tea is another great option and has been found beneficial both before bedtime and throughout the day as a way to deal with mild depression or anxiety symptoms. Chamomile tea contains chamazulene which has been shown effective at reducing stress hormones like cortisol in humans but also plays a vital role in regulating moods. These can be extremely helpful when you are in addiction recovery.