FOOD
How Healthy Eating Can Help Your Recovery
Our buffet lunch includes an impressive mix of salad, vegetables, fish, and meats – all of it prepared from scratch with fresh ingredients. Clients regularly rave about the delicious food.
Our breakfast includes lots of fruit, a selection of yogurts, and eggs (boiled, scrambled, or sunny-side up) for protein.
Our clients get to enjoy 100% natural juice smoothies that are made on-site and contain no added sugar.
Our menu includes a good Indian Dishes – all of it made using fresh ingredients by our wonderful kitchen crew.
We encourage clients to consume our electrolyte drinks throughout the day, so they stay hydrated and energized.
We discourage excessive caffeine usage, and we don’t allow energy drinks.
We limit ‘naughty food’ to Saturday nights when clients get to relax with a Sandwich (we make up for it by having plenty of salad available as well).
Healthy snacks are available throughout the day for clients who are feeling a bit puckish.
Why is a Healthy & Balanced Nutrition Important in Recovery?
The reason for this is simple: What we eat impacts our physical as well as our mental health. Consuming too much of the wrong kinds of food can leave us feeling anxious, depressed, tired, or irritable. We don’t give up drugs to feel bad. We might also be tempted to use it as an excuse to relapse if we continue to experience negative emotions due to poor diet.
Healthy eating, on the other hand, can increase our energy levels, improve our mood, and makes it easier for us to feel good about ourselves. If our overall well-being improves, it strengthens our commitment to change. Therefore, nutrition can play a crucial role in recovery.
It is sometimes argued that ending an addiction is challenging enough without adding in extra demands such as healthy eating (pun alert – you already have enough on your plate)
The Dangers of Poor Diet vs. the Benefits of a Good Diet in Early Recovery
What you eat impacts your physical & mental health. Eating junk food can result in feeling down.
It is common for people in early recovery to be dealing with nutritional deficiencies (e.g. alcoholics can have deficiencies in B1 and B6 vitamins).
A poor diet leads to low energy. This can mean you are unable to do the things you need to do to maintain your recovery.
Comfort eating can lead to obesity which can then be used as an excuse for self-loathing and low confidence.
Electrolyte imbalances can arise due to poor diet, and these can quickly become life threatening.
Good nutrition increases energy levels.
It makes it easier for the body to repair the damage caused by addiction.
It improves mood.
It lowers the risk of relapse.
It can mean we begin to feel better about ourselves.
It helps the immune system function, so we are less likely to get sick.
It can ease the ‘mental fog’ that many of us experience in early recovery.
Complex carbohydrates and fiber can reduce cravings.