Substance abuse destroys your mind and body. Addiction treatments offer healing and hope for recovery. Numerous therapeutic interventions help you to overcome the dependency as well as the physiological problems. Here’s what you need to know about the importance of nutrition education.
How Drug Use and Nutritional Concerns Connect
Proper nutrition keeps you healthy. You eat foods rich in vitamins and minerals that the body needs. In contrast, substance abuse results in poor nutritional choices. For example, when smoking marijuana, you might choose junk food to deal with the munchies.
When you abuse stimulants, they frequently kill your appetite. You don’t eat sufficient portions of healthy foods. In fact, you might reach for some processed food choices when you’re hungry. Gradually, foods no longer meet your nutritional needs.
In the case of an alcohol use disorder, the chemicals actually prevent the absorption of some vitamins. You develop a vitamin B deficiency, which results in physiological problems. During your collaboration with addiction care experts at Steps to Recovery, nutrition education is an essential aspect of healing.
What Happens in Nutrition Education Sessions?
Group sessions are often ideally suited for nutrition education. You learn about macro and micronutrients. You also learn that low energy, feeling blue, or struggling with feelings of being anxious can have nutritional solutions. Most importantly, you discover how improper nutrition after treatment can contribute to a relapse.
The goal of addiction therapy services is the development of a set of coping skills and tools for relapse prevention. Many program participants are not aware of the powerful role that food plays in their everyday lives. They know it stops hunger feelings. Besides that, it can affect mood and cravings.
When you learn how to harness this knowledge, you support your physical and emotional health. You also understand risk factors that may help you with managing secondary conditions. Examples include diabetes and heart disease.
Nutrition Counseling Becomes Part of Evidence-Based Addiction Treatment
No matter how vital nutrition education is during rehab, it can’t stand alone. Therefore, therapists combine it with other interventions that include:
- Psychotherapy for addiction recovery
- Dual diagnosis treatment that benefits program participants with co-occurring mental health conditions
- Behavioral therapies, which help you to implement coping skills for healthy pattern development
- One-on-one and group therapy sessions that promote individual and communal recovery efforts
- Relapse prevention training and goal-setting that combines with life skills training
Who Needs Nutrition Therapy?
Program participants with prolonged times of substance abuse can benefit from medical nutrition therapy. It’s a holistic modality. You work with therapists who customize a diet to meet your current and evolving dietary needs. If you’re overcoming an alcohol use disorder, doing so is a necessary step for healing.
For people with unhealthy weight loss due to drug abuse, this treatment helps to counteract the condition. Rather than bringing up the weight by letting individuals eat what they want, this process is more gradual. It prevents the development of unhealthy eating habits that might include junk food in excess. Therefore, you’re less likely to experience rapid weight gain as you recover.
What Happens If You Do Nothing?
If you don’t reach out for help, you won’t benefit from our Pennsylvania addiction recovery services. Substance abuse rarely resolves itself. It’s a condition that responds well to clinical treatment. Without it, dependency worsens and may eventually kill you.
But this doesn’t have to be you. Learn more about nutrition education and other modalities by contacting Steps to Recovery. Compassionate therapists want to partner with you in your recovery. Call 267.719.8528 today.