Eating Your Way to Alcohol Addiction Recovery

While in the midst of alcohol addiction, the body is deprived of tons of vital vitamins, minerals and other nutrients it needs to remain healthy. When these necessities are replaced with high amounts of alcohol, the body begins to fail simply because it isn’t being given what it needs to survive. 

Therefore, during alcohol addiction recovery, one of the best things you can do for your body is to provide it with all the nutrients it has hitherto been deprived of. Superfoods for your immune system, ones that help detox your liver and others that increase brain functioning can be wonderfully supportive to your recovery overall. 

Recovery superfoods 

Mother Nature has gifted us with an abundance of body-boosting foods, but there are some in particular to focus on incorporating into your diet when recovering from alcohol addiction. 

Water 

Not a food, but one of the most important things your body needs during recovery. While detoxing from alcohol, the body can experience dehydration, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. While drinking plenty of water doesn’t banish these symptoms entirely, it can significantly decrease their severity and simply help you feel better. 

Plus, water helps flush the body of toxins; since alcohol is, essentially, a toxin (especially in large quantities), drinking tons of water during recovery can help move these toxins out and replace them, instead, with plenty of healthy hydration. 

Proteins

Proteins are the building blocks of pretty much every function in the body. Alcohol addiction often leads to a protein deficiency, which, in turn, leads to poor functioning of one’s muscles, joints and energy levels. In order to begin rebuilding your protein supply, certain foods to focus on eating include: 

• Chicken
• Eggs
• Fish (especially salmon)
• Cottage cheese
• Lentils
• Ezekiel bread 

These foods are also high in vitamins and minerals like vitamin E and zinc, which help reverse deficiencies caused by alcoholism. 

Liver detoxers 

The liver takes a serious hit during alcohol addiction, but a number of superfoods can naturally help detox the liver and restore it to a healthy state. 

These foods include: 

• Green tea, as it’s high in antioxidants 
• Dark leafy greens, like kale and spinach— in addition to high vitamin and mineral count, the chlorophyll content works to absorb toxins in the blood
• Turmeric (the ingredient that gives mustard its yellow color) works to repair liver cells and flush out toxins
• Coffee, because of its high antioxidant count, helps reduce inflammation in the liver
• Grapefruit also reduces inflammation because of its antioxidant richness 

When it comes to healing the liver, the main focus should be antioxidants as these help to lower inflammation caused by alcohol consumption, and help restore overall wellness to the liver’s damaged cells. 

Fruits and vegetables 

An alcohol addiction is one sure way to strip the body of crucial nutrients. However, this can easily be remedied with the consumption of many vitamins and minerals often found in your daily fruits and vegetables. 

Additionally, many who detox from alcohol find themselves with sugar cravings. This is often because the same part of the brain wired to crave alcohol might redirect and instead begin craving sugar. In order to avoid replacing one addiction with another, it’s helpful to consume fruit, a natural source of sugar. 

Some healthy options to add to your detox diet can include: 

• Blueberries
• Grapes
• Cucumbers 
• Prickly pear
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Spinach

Whether you just snack on fruits and veggies, or you incorporate them into a soup or salad meal, your body will thank you. 

Good gut foods 

Undoubtedly, your GI tract took a hit during addiction. Thankfully, there are a number of foods which can help restore your gut and reintroduce a lot of the healthy bacteria it was previously lacking. 

Good gut foods include: 

• Yogurt
• Bananas
• Sourdough
• Ginger
• Garlic 
• Whole grains
• Avocados

If you begin incorporating a balance of these foods into your daily meal prep, you’ll quickly find yourself feeling better throughout the entirety of the detox and recovery process. 

Benefitting your detox with your diet 

It’s really true that what you choose to eat during alcohol addiction recovery will significantly impact the speed and success with which you recover. While some aspects of recovery need to be completed under the care of a medical professional, implementing a healthy diet is something you can independently do at home. 

If you’re curious to learn more about the benefits of healthy eating during addiction recovery, or simply want to speak with someone about recovering from alcohol addiction, reach out to Freedom Detox anytime by visiting our website or calling our offices at 800-475-2312.