What are the Benefits of Clean Eating for Recovery?

People who struggle with addiction often report that they want to eat healthier and change their diet. Healthy eating can have a positive impact on both physical and mental health. Clean eating can also help improve mood and mental clarity. In order to overcome addiction, it’s important to take care of your mind and body.

Why is it Important to Maintain Good Nutrition?

Diet plays a significant role in one’s overall health and well-being. The focus on eating well doesn’t pertain to controlling one’s physical appearance or following a diet fad. Often that desire to control one’s physical appearance or follow a diet fad leads to deprivation of vital nutrients or binging on food. Instead, the key to a healthy diet is to make beneficial choices for one’s total well-being and set realistic goals. Choosing nutritious food keeps a person’s body healthy and prevents several chronic diseases that affect so many Americans. In fact, eating nutritious meals leave most people feeling energized and mentally clear. Our bodies and minds constantly use up nutrients and energy to complete tasks, think clearly, fight off diseases and illness, etc. Therefore, a lack of proper nutrition leaves an individual vulnerable to illnesses, stress, anxiety, and other disorders. A person with a SUD, more than anyone, cannot afford all these conditions. Such conditions exacerbate their risks of relapsing.

A report from the U.S. National Library of Medicine that nutrition can improve a person’s cognition and behavior. Nourishing your body with essential nutrients will make it less likely to suffer from several mental health disorders and help your brain perform at its peak. At its peak, a person increases the likelihood of long-term recovery.

Substance Use Disorder and Nutrition

The initial phase of the recovery process from substance use disorder often reveals the extent of SUD’s negative impact on a person’s “metabolism, organ function, and mental well-being.” Such impact includes major health problems like irregular eating habits, chronic illnesses, issues with memory and the mind. Conditions like alcoholism and substance use disorder harm the body in the following ways:

• High blood pressure
• Nerve damage
• Damage to the liver or pancreas
• Shortened life expectancy
• Nausea, seizures, diarrhea, and vomiting
• Severe nutritional deficiencies, especially B-vitamins
• Diabetes or other issues with the blood sugar
• Damage to the gut that prevents the absorption of nutrients properly
• Significant decreases or increases of the appetite
• Severe or continuous dehydration

Proper nutrition can help the healing process. Nutrients supply your body with energy so that you can build and maintain healthy organs, fight off infection, and feel great overall. If a person follows a balanced meal, most often they will notice the following positive impact:

• Improved mood
• Increased energy
• Better memory
• Stronger immune system
• Reduced risk of disease

As the recovery process continues, pay attention to the bodies’ cravings for more nutrients to support the continued healing process and bodily functions performing at full capacity. Eating balanced meals may improve illnesses caused by SUD like diabetes, seizures, liver damage, mental illnesses, etc. Though this task may seem complex, there are resources to assist the process.

How to Maintain Good Nutrition in Recovery

When you follow a clean diet, you’re better able to cope with stress and focus on a positive lifestyle. In addition to improving your body’s physical health, a clean diet will help keep you on track with mental and emotional well-being as well. The following tips can help you get started with nutrition:

• Whole foods are the healthiest. Limit junk food and overly processed food since it causes diabetes and heart disease. Unlike whole foods, junk food deprives a person of essential vitamins and minerals. So consider eating more complex carbohydrates like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables; calcium-rich foods like dairy products, tofu, and kale; proteins like meat, fish, tofu; and good fats such as canola, olive, flaxseed, and fish oil.
• Consider creating a weekly meal plan. It isn’t easy to stay on track when you’re out of the house, doing everyday tasks, and trying to manage a career. A meal plan can help you stay on track and regulate your eating habits.
• Balance your consumption of different food groups. The food groups entail five components: fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, oils, other calories, and dairy. They all play a vital role in good health. But balance matters. A nutritionist or your primary care provider can help you determine the most suitable balanced plan for you.
• Look at the nutritional information on the food labels. Most foods have labels of nutritional facts. For example, the label will display the calorie count, grams of fat, dietary fiber, cholesterol, etc., per serving. Label reading is a great way to learn more about the food you eat.

Restoration Recovery Promotes Healthy Living Among Participants

Exceptional rehab programs, like Restoration Recovery, are a great way to help individuals with a SUD adopt healthy behaviors. Restoration Recovery helps individuals address the roadblocks impeding them from adopting healthful habits that support their recovery. At their disposal, they will find nutritious meals, evidenced-based therapies, and holistic services to support their long-term recovery at our facility. In addition, our team of qualified therapists will inform you about the most suitable coping tools, structured aftercare plans, and life skills that support your healthy living. Set at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, we encourage our participants to join our facility’s stress-relieving activities like hiking, yoga, nature walks, and so on. Many of our participants feel better after engaging in such activities and eating our nutritious meals.

 A clean diet will help you feel better overall and be more productive during your recovery journey. Clean eating means eating naturally, in moderation, and balanced. A person can achieve clean eating in several ways. Maintaining good nutrition also means limiting foods with low nutritional value. The balanced combination of fruit, complex carbohydrates, clean proteins, healthy fats, and vegetables make up most of a healthy daily diet. It is perfectly ok to consume your favorite treat occasionally. Eating a well-balanced diet is crucial to improving your energy levels, mood, and focus. It will help in the long run with your recovery. At Restoration Recovery, we will assist you in adopting a holistic approach to your total wellbeing. Our team of experienced and licensed professionals will teach you the methods to adopt healthy-living habits like eating balanced meals for recovery. To learn more about our comprehensive services, contact us at (888) 290-0925.