Making a lifestyle shift away from toxic behavior and poisonous substances is usually a daunting task for most people. And the deeper entrenched your are in those substances or the more intense the behavior, the more difficult the change. One of the biggest hurdles I’ve witnessed a handful of my clients having to overcome on their journey to wellness, is drug and alcohol use. Even after having successfully completed an intense rehab treatment, many addicts find it difficult to adapt to their “new life”. One of the biggest facilitators in their continued success after treatment consistently goes unaddressed because of the lack of resource and education, and that is recovery through fitness and optimal nutrition. Which is understandable, who can realistically continue to monitor everything that someone eats day in and out, prepare meals for them, and spend countless hours a day educating them on their nutrition choices? Let alone finding a recovering addict who’s interested in dedicating the time to learn those things.

We are all exposed to highly toxic elements each and every day. In the air we breath, in the chair your sitting on, the mattress you sleep on, the lotion your wearing; these toxins are everywhere. Those toxins need to be filtered out of our bodies daily. Addicts have exposed their bodies to extremely high levels of toxins which have over taxed their bodies natural filtration and detoxification system, namely the liver and kidneys. In addition to this overt exposure to harmful chemicals, a recovering addict is likely following a similar food practice as the rest of society: eating cheap, fast, and easy. Meaning, they are consuming high calorie foods with virtually zero nutritional value. Which in turn, riddles their body with more toxins, and leaves them lacking the fuel and nutrients needed to help the body not only recover but to preform basic functions. Now the road to long term recovery is looking bleak through malnourished eyes as the uphill battle begins through the nutrient deficient mental fog. Its no wonder 60% of addicts go right back to using after treatment; their bodies are unprepared and beat up.

Recovering addicts bodies are severely depleted of essential vitamins and minerals, and in most cases even macro nutrients. Not only are their cells attempting to survive but their bodies are needing to rebuild. By providing the building blocks to help them cope with the drained energy and detox “fog”, addicts could then stand a fighting chance to transition into managing everyday life, which is already an intense experience for most anyone.

We must all recognize what a huge role nutrition and exercise plays in the success of life, especially if your body has been mistreated or neglected. Everyone’s body needs to detox in order to function at optimal capacity, even more so for an addict. Feed the gut to feed the mind so you can get your body back, get your mind back, get your life back. Here are some points to jot down when looking for help if you or a loved one is on a journey out of addiction:

• Look for a large variety of nutrient dense foods.
• Supplement your vitamins and minerals where needed to assure your body has something to build on.
• Over saturate your system with as much clean food as possible as often as possible.
• Implement cleansing type foods such as lemons, green tea, beets, and other kidney and liver supporting foods.
• Assist in eliminating free radicals by ingesting several different types of antioxidants daily.
• Make sure you are getting enough amino acids to aid in the dopamine response in the body.
• And above all else, remember to love your body, its the only one you have.