I was watching a show called Drugs Inc recently. A well intentioned police officer was going to visit a group of women who were incarcerated due to prescription drug-related convictions. The women themselves were users, and he was conducting informal recovery meetings in jail.

He showed up with a bag full of cookies, chocolate and sodas as offerings for the inmates, before settling in to lead the meeting.

Now, this man’s intentions were good. He was trying to help these women get their lives back on track and these treats were certainly greeted with a lot of enthusiasm by the women he was visiting. It struck me how misguided and misinformed most people are when it comes to the connection between nutrition, detox from alcohol and drugs, and healing.

All too often, we look for quick fixes, replacing one substance with another so we don’t have to deal with deeper pain.

Full disclosure here – when I started going to 12-step meetings, I felt incomplete without a cup of coffee in hand. Often, I ate something sweet before the meeting too – but if I didn’t, I knew that without a doubt there would be something on hand once I got into “the rooms.”

I actually felt stronger – more able to face the potentially difficult and emotional topics that might come up –  if I was slightly high on caffeine and sugar. Reflecting back, there are a few layers to this. First, I was replacing one substance with another, stuck in perpetual cycles of chasing the ‘lows’ with food or caffeine-related highs. Second, I wasn’t ready to be completely with myself – needing an emotional crutch to keep me from feeling too deeply.

These two topics are deep – and there’s no way I do them both justice in one blog post. So today I’ll write about the physical relationship between nutrition and healing from alcohol, which is usually the first we need to attend to anyways, and next week I’ll dive deeper into the emotional connection between nutrition/food and healing from alcohol.

There is A LOT to learn about when it comes to nutrition for healing from alcohol – my goal here is to get you started with the basics. I should also say, the info here is just as relevant to detoxing from sugar, because alcohol and sugar essentially do the same thing in your body.

This approach is important whether you are simply recovering from a “big night out,” taking a break for awhile, doing a cleanse or detox, or deciding to eliminate alcohol for good. One very important caveat though – if you are dependant on alcohol – ie, you can’t get through a day without alcohol without experiencing physical withdrawal symptoms, it is very important that you consult with your doctor for medical assistance.

The first important step to heal from alcohol (or sugar) overuse is to return your body to a more alkaline state, rather than the “acidic” state that most of us are living in these days. How do you know if you are overly acidic? If you suffer from any kind of inflammatory disease, if you have an addiction or dependency, if you crave sugar, if you have low energy (fatigue or tiredness), if you eat meat and dairy products and fatty, fried and/or cooked foods and drink alcohol… you are likely acidic.

Since one of the first symptoms of being overly acidic is low energy… it’s really important to get out of this state to aid in our healing. Why? Because if we don’t, we’re much more likely to keep reaching for what we think might get us feeling better (even temporarily) be it sugar, alcohol, snack foods, etc.

The absolute fastest way to restore the bodies natural ph balance is to overload on alkalizing foods (in addition to limiting the acidic foods listed above). The biggest and easiest category of alkalizing foods is… green foods!! Preferably consumed first thing in the morning, when you body is thirsting for goodness and ready to absorb every last mineral and vitamin you send its way.

This is why, when working with my clients, one of the first steps I recommend is a healthy morning ritual, focused on alkalizing the body. Here are a few easy steps to take:

  1. Start with a glass of water and lemon juice, or water and organic apple cider vinegar, both of which immediately are put to work balancing the ph in your body.

  2. Next up, green juice! This is a veggie based juice – ie NOT SWEET, and loaded up with cucumber, celery and leafy greens, all chock full of nutrients, and, you guessed it – super alkalizing… (check out my favourite recipe below – I drink this daily)

  3. Superfood smoothies. Now, I realize it’s not everyone’s fav thing to be drinking sour and “earthy” drinks first thing in the morning, nor will this satisfy your cravings right away or fill you up. Superfoods are alkalizing and combined in a delicious smoothie, can give you flavour and fulfillment. Superfoods are essentially calorie sparse and nutrient dense, meaning you get a lot of nutrition without making your body work hard to get it (and foods that make your body work hard to digest cause, yup – acidity). Superfood smoothie ingredients can include chia, raw cacao, gogi berries, blueberries and other berries, avocado, coconut water and young coconut meat, ground flax, maca, kale and/or spinach, spirulina and almond milk.

    Then for later in the day:

  4. Eat nutrient dense root vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, yams, carrots and beetroot. These vegetables help ground your energy during the potential high and lows you might be experiencing while healing from alcohol. Juicing beetroot (great with carrot and apple added it) also helps deliver methyl to the liver, which helps detoxify and heal.

  5. Add more salads and veggies and healthy fats (nuts and avocado) whenever possible. Keep lots of healthy snacks on hand for when cravings happen.

  6. Take supplements. Milk thistle and garlic help the liver detox. L-glutamine (an amino acid) powder can be to smoothies or taken in pill form. L-glutamine has been shown to regulate blood sugar levels and help to reduce alcohol and sugar cravings.

  7. REST!! Super important. Have you noticed that when you are tired or stressed out, you are more likely to reach for comfort foods or succumb to cravings? It is always important to give your body enough rest, and especially important when there is some serious healing going on. Treat yourself gently. Lavish self-love and self-care, and make sure you are getting enough sleep.

I’d love to know if this information is useful to you – so please let me know in the comments. It’s also always great to share recipes – what’s your favourite green juice or superfood smoothies? Questions? Let me know!

To your health and healing,

xoxo

Here’s my recipe for my daily morning green juice:

Makes about 32 ounces

2 cucumbers (peeled if not organic)

4-5 celery

handful kale, spinach, collard greens, romaine or other dark leafy green

1/2 cup cilantro or parsley

1 apple

1 broccoli stalk

1 inch piece of ginger (optional)