Alcohol Abuse Causes Malnutrition: Diet Can Improve Long Term Sobriety

Alcohol Abuse Causes Malnutrition: Diet Can Improve Long Term Sobriety
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How Does Alcohol Impact Nutrition?

Whether we sip a glass of wine over dinner, drink a beer after work or binge drink for an entire weekend, alcohol still enters into our body as a poison. Luckily, our bodies have been equipped with fighting agents that allow us to enjoy alcohol on a social basis. These agents help reduce the toxic impact that alcohol has on our body. However, these agents are only able to fight off the harmful effects within a certain measure of volume and frequency. Once we choose to increase the volume and/or frequency of alcohol, we begin to stress these systems out and hinder their ability to perform their jobs adequately. Our bodies endure consequences beyond simply feeling hung over.

As alcohol enters into our system the muscles of our intestinal track respond by moving at a much more rapid pace. This increases the rate of urination and causes diarrhea. Diarrhea works as a passage for not only waste deposits but also removes important vitamins and minerals from the body. Individuals that abuse alcohol also tend to fill their caloric needs with drinks, as opposed to food. When they do eat meals they tend to be unhealthy. This is because alcohol is an addictive carbohydrate. Consuming large amounts of this type of carbohydrate increases cravings for more unhealthy carbohydrates, as well as salts and sugars. Let’s face it, after a night of drinking how many of us crave fruits and vegetables or a serving of lean protein? We tend to lean towards pizza, French fries and sugary soft drinks. With all this in mind the cycle becomes clearer. Those who abuse alcohol, tend to eat low nutrient foods. The few nutrients that their body is receiving have trouble absorbing into the body due to the frequent episodes of diarrhea. This leads to malnutrition. Malnutrition causes significant short and long term consequences to a person’s immune system, the ability for numerous organs to function properly as well as their physical appearance. Because of these factors, clinicians have found that a person entering into a treatment facility for alcohol tends to be significantly more malnourished than most drug abusers.

On a national level, a person has less than a 15% chance at remaining sober for two years or longer after completing only a substance abuse treatment program. Despite this low success rate and understandings of malnutrition, little attention is brought to implementing a nutritional approach into existing treatment programs. Alcoholics in early recovery experience poor digestion, fatigue, mood swings, excessive sweating, anxiety and frequent illnesses and head colds that are directly related to malnutrition. There is a belief that once they decide to stay sober these symptoms will soon pass. Unfortunately this is far from the truth. Many alcoholics with years of sobriety behind them still experience many of these symptoms on a daily basis because they tend to neglect the needs of their body. However, alcoholics that address their nutritional behaviors by making small changes to their diet drastically improve their chances of sobriety as well as their sober existence. They feel good and more comfortable in sobriety. The behavioral changes and nutritional steps have been reviewed in the next article. Learn what you can do that can make all the difference.

This post is part of the series: The Role of Nutrition in Substance Abuse, Addiction and Alcoholism

This article series addresses how dietary behaviors expressed during drug and alcohol abuse/addiction causes significant problems that lead to relapse. The series discusses these specific problems as well as offers dietary tips that have proven to improve the chances of long term sobriety.

  1. The Nutritional Impact the Body Endures During Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism
  2. Nutritional Impact and its Consequences During Drug Addiction
  3. Relapse and Recovery - Success by Changing Your Diet
  4. 5 Tips on How to Eat When Recovering from Substance Abuse