The Surest Path To Complete Recovery
I’ve been at this addiction recovery thing for a while. First there was my own recovery. Then there was the searching for the ultimate addiction recovery formula.
What I’ve found is that we can increase our chances of success a great deal with a nutritional approach. I guess we could call it a nutritional therapy.
Since Alcoholics Anonymous, co founder, Bill Wilson treating his depression with Niacin to me using foods to treat my liver – it’s been working. What it’s not – is widely known, talked about and understood. This is no accident. Therapy is profitable. Telling you how to treat yourself, is not.
Video, Dr.Abram Hoffer, Bill Wilson, depression, Niacin
There are millions of dollars being spent to keep people in ignorance about nutrition and addiction. That doesn’t mean you can’t learn what you’ll need to know. It doesn’t keep you from using nutritional therapy for your addictions. It just means you’ll have to be proactive. But, if you’re going to recover from an addiction that’s a requirement anyway.
Get Started Feeling Better….Now
I believe in learning what works and applying it to the addiction recovery process. I can’t over emphasize how crucial this nutritional aspect of recovery is. The obvious example is that people who feel good are less likely to, make the choice, to do drugs. Why would someone (not actively addicted), who wakes up in the morning feeling great, in harmony with the universe, put a toxic substance into there body?
The main reason people find it so hard to stay off drugs for any substantial period of time is because they don’t feel good. Almost all suicides committed by alcoholics are committed when sober. I know exactly why this is. I’m alcoholic. I’ve been there and I’ve felt it and I understand how someone could come to the conclusion that suffering like that just isn’t worth it.
How much of that suffering could be eliminated through a nutritional approach to addiction? I would say – most if not all. In a genetically normal person I think it’s close to – all.
It’s my conclusion that in the “feeling better department” there is no other more important aspect than nutrition – Period. Finding out if I’m right is completely safe and completely painless – it’s the ultimate no-brainer.
Get Better Information
Every person, at least in the U.S. suffers from bad information. What was once common knowledge has now become esoteric. Nutritional medicine is looked at as a type of fringe medicine. This type of ignorance can be quickly remedied with better information.
In this video, Dr Russell Blaylock explains the relationship between nutrition and behavior: Nutrition And Behavior Video
Many people these days are getting addicted at school with the blessing of the government and the Pharmaceutical Industry. The common lack of nutrition in the U.S. is causing ADHD like symptoms. What we call ADHD is looked at in the following video: Nutrition And ADHD Video.
You can watch some more good video on nutrition at www.whale.to | Videos On Nutrients
Intravenous Nutritional (Micronutrient) Therapy
Intravenous Nutritional Therapy (I.V.) is a method of delivering Vitamins, Minerals, and other natural substances directly into the patient’s bloodstream. I.V. nutrition bypasses the digestive tract where many nutrients may be partially or fully lost due to poor absorption. I.V. Nutrition also creates higher than normal blood levels of specified nutrients, which have been shown in the scientific literature to be effective in the treatment of certain conditions. By directly administering nutrients to the body, the increased nutrient levels can provide an immediate therapeutic response by correcting deficiencies that may arise from a disease state.
from Dr. Friedman’s website, www.antiaging-specialist.com
Why Intravenous Therapy?
Addiction to drugs means we have been poisoning our bodies. One result of this is the problem of malabsorbtion.
From, Erin McClelland, MS
When a person takes large quantities of toxins into the body, the GI system stops absorption of many complex substances in an effort to inhibit absorption of the toxins. However, this also prevents absorption of many important nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and amino acids. When this process of malabsorbtion occurs, the body stops absorbing its necessary fuels in order to prevent being poisoned any further.
This is where the process of toxin intake begins to transform into an addiction. As the body continues to ingest toxins, malabsorbtion continues and can worsen, further depleting the body’s nutrient supplies. As the body becomes less and less nourished, body systems begin to malfunction or fail. As the body’s systems slow and operate improperly, it can often be less reactive to chemicals like drugs, facilitating a phenomenon called tolerance, or the need for more of the substance to induce the same effect that was achieved prior to malabsorbtion.
One of the most important systems to be affected by malnutrition is the brain. Neurotransmitters, the chemicals that interact in the brain, are synthesized from amino acids. Serotonin, an important neurotransmitter in mood, anger, aggression, depression, anxiety, metabolism and sexual functioning is synthesized from the amino acid L-tryptophan by two enzymes 1) tryptophan hydroxylase and 2) amino acid decarboxylase. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that cannot be synthesized by the body. Therefore it must be received in the diet in order to produce adequate levels of serotonin.
When the body is in a state of malabsorbtion it cannot absorb this and other amino acids effectively, even if they are present in the diet. This prevents serotonin production and negatively effects mood and the other body systems that require serotonin to function properly. This can cause depression. However, taking all the L-tryptophan in the world will not relieve depression if the GI tract is malfunctioning and preventing absorption.
In 2006, Erin McClelland conceived and developed Arche Wellness, www.archewellness.com/ the first licensed orthomolecular addiction treatment program in Pennsylvania. Together with Dr. Ralph A. Miranda, they have created an intense biochemical recovery approach that begins with the body’s fuel system, the gastrointestinal tract. By starting repair in the GI tract, they are able to quickly and efficiently help their patient’s overcome the severe physical damage caused by years of addiction. The GI concentration in the Arche Wellness model is now one of the most advanced and intensive addiction treatment processes in the world.
Knowing what we need is only the first step to getting it. I really wish I’d known then, when I was detoxing from heroin, what I know now. On the other hand I might not be so adamant in getting this information to others – who knows. One thing for sure – I don’t want you to have to go through what I went through. If I’d have known about nutritional therapy I might not have stayed addicted for thirty five, plus, years.
In fact there is a chance I wouldn’t have got hooked in the first place. Maybe I wouldn’t felt so bad, maybe I wouldn’t have been so – out of whack. Use the venues provided below to add your thoughts and experiences.
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From Mike Adams,
You see, a lot of people try to eat their way to happiness by eating the “instant joy” foods like ice cream, donuts, cookies and yes, even twinkies. Sugar can, indeed, make us momentarily uplifted because this refined molecule temporarily boosts blood sugar and actively alters brain chemistry. But like any drug, the depression after it wears off is far worse than the brief happiness it appeared to give us. And in the worst cases, we sometimes fall into a pattern of treating that mental rut with yet another hit of sugar to try to keep the happiness going.
This downward cycle of sugar dependence leads us to long-term obesity, diabetes and depression.
Foods for Long-Term Happiness
Fortunately, there are a huge number of other foods that promote long-term happiness.
And I have to say that list starts with omega-3 oils. High-quality omega-3s provide one of the most powerful and sustainable boosts to healthy moods of any commonly-available food.
You can get omega-3 oils from fish, quality marine oil supplements like Moxxor, chia seeds, flax seeds and other quality nutritional supplements.
Beware of grocery store foods that claim to be “made with omega-3s” because the actual quantity of omega-3 oils in those foods is usually so tiny that it hardly matters to your daily nutritional intake.
Healthy & Nuts
Pecans are extremely beneficial to supporting not just healthy moods but healthy brain function as well. It’s the oils in the nuts that do the trick.
Other nuts can also be strongly supportive of healthy moods in the long term: Almonds, pistachios, macadamia nuts and walnuts all have powerful health-supporting properties that affect brain function and therefore mood experiences, too. Raw nuts create better brain balance for the long term!
Eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies
In addition to the omega-3 oils, nuts and herbs mentioned here, focus on consuming large quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables. You simply cannot over-eat fresh fruits and vegetables, so eat all you want. They’re loaded with mood-lifting nutrients that can also help prevent cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
Be sure to buy organic produce wherever possible!
What to avoid
This section can be summed up in just two words: Sugar, Caffeine.
Seriously. If you want to maintain healthy moods, it’s crucial to avoid refined sugar and caffeine from all sources. That means no caffeinated coffee, no donuts, no cookies, no Pepsi, etc.
These two chemicals do more to destroy healthy moods in the long term than probably any other chemicals in the food supply. And yet, ironically, they are precisely the two chemicals that people reach for to try to get short-term mood lifts.
They do provide short-term boosts, much like a drug. Heroin might make you feel good in the short term, too, but it’s highly addictive and causes huge health problems over the long haul. Sugar and caffeine are similarly addictive and problematic; except they’re legal and you don’t inject them with a syringe.
If you suffer from mood swings or depression right now, the first and most important change you need to make in your addiction recovery diet is to eliminate refined sugars and caffeine. The second change to make is to start bringing in mood-enhancing health foods such as omega-3s, raw nuts and lots of fresh produce.
Stay happy with healthy foods
Focus on consuming health-enhancing foods that are natural, non-refined and packed with nutrients. Don’t compromise your mental experience of life by turning to sugar, caffeine and other short-term stimulants.
Healthy foods = healthy moods.
If you were a long term addict like I was you might think that food is not a factor in mood. It is but you may not feel anything for quite some time. For those of you who were using drugs long term eating for health is more of a decision based on evidence. That’s fine, we’re building a foundation for a better life.
For the rest of you, it may take 30 days of eating right before you really feel the full effects with improved mood. Foods are not isolated chemicals that kick in right away. Transitioning to a healthier body and brain with healthy food takes some time. But it’s time well spent. After all, you get to eat your way to a more positive outlook on life. Thats kinda fun anyway…..
