The first step to recovery from addiction is to admit you have a problem. For many, that recognition comes with a whole new understanding of just how much the addiction has harmed them and those close to them. Addiction can take years of self-neglect and indulgence, so if you want to know why proper nutrition and supplementation is important, keep on reading.

1. Proper Nutrition Increases Energy and Helps Fight Addiction

Proper nutrition is critical for addiction recovery because it can increase your energy levels. When you’re tired, your body craves unhealthy foods during recovery. It can be difficult to resist, but you’ll find that if you’re eating healthy and taking the right vitamins, the cravings will pass more quickly. You may not like vegetables or proteins, but both are necessary for proper nutrition and supplementation during addiction recovery. Vegetables boost your immune system which helps fight off addiction, while protein builds muscle mass and increases willpower, this combination makes them powerful tools in fighting against whatever triggers might come up throughout recovery. If you increase your intake of these two items over time as you recover, you’ll notice a significant difference in how long it takes to resist temptation. You can also do a detox like the one at VeritasDetox.com and feel the difference it makes in your energy levels. It can also help you get rid of the toxins that may be interfering with your recovery process.

2. Proper Nutrition and Supplements Help Relieve Symptoms of Withdrawal

Many addicts experience a variety of withdrawal symptoms after they stop using their addictive substance. Symptoms like nausea, stress, depression, cravings and more can make it difficult to live life normally during addiction recovery if not dealt with properly through supplementation. For example, B vitamins are important for regulating your moods and stress levels during recovery. They can also ease the pain of stomach cramps which come from quitting alcohol or medications like opiates. While you may never want to eat healthy again once you start detoxing because you’ll feel terrible (especially without drugs), don’t stay stuck in this mindset, the longer you put off healthy eating habits forever, the longer it will take to recover from addiction. You can check out supplements that are specifically designed for addiction recovery. They have options for people who are quitting various drugs, so find the right one to help you with your withdrawal symptoms.

3. Supplements Can Improve Mental Functions

When you’re coping with addiction withdrawal and other mental health issues because of it, you really want to do what you can to help yourself feel better. Proper nutrition and supplementation during addiction recovery can help with this because it helps improve your mental function rather than simply relieving symptoms. Things like Omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, choline supplements, 5-HTP and magnesium are all helpful for improving your moods. Addiction recovery is hard work, regardless of whether you’re working a 12-step program or trying to quit cold turkey through sheer willpower. Anything that can make the process of recovery easier is helpful, so supplements are great for this. For example, some ginseng supplements can help you fight stress and cravings while boosting your immune system, which makes relapse less likely. When it comes to addiction, there are no days off, but being healthy will always help you recover faster than being unhealthy ever could.

4.  Nutrition can Improve your Physical Health

While it’s easy to focus on the mental aspects of addiction recovery, it’s also important to take care of your body as well. Nutrition and supplementation can help you recover physically from addiction more quickly by improving insulin resistance, protecting the liver and increasing the production of enzymes involved in fighting toxins. While people might not always think about their physical health during recovery because it’s a very mental process, there is no way around the fact that how healthy you are also affects how fast you’ll recover from addiction. Since addicts have abused their bodies with drugs or alcohol for so long, they often have several harmful effects on their bodies from things like malnutrition and drug-related organ damage, which will slow down recovery time if not dealt with through proper nutrition. At least 50% of how well you’ll recover from addiction is dependent upon your physical health, but all too often people ignore this factor during addiction recovery, leading to a longer, more difficult time getting sober. Without proper nutrition and supplementation,  recovery is harder and slower than it could be.

It goes without saying that proper nutrition and supplementation can make the recovery process not only easier, but faster as well. The longer you put off eating healthy foods and taking supplements while recovering from addiction, the harder it will be to get sober. So make sure that you eat right and take care of yourself in all stages of addiction recovery for the best possible results.