Heavy drinking commonly leads to poor nutrition, so be sure to give your body the nourishment it needs when you stop. Consult your physician for specific recommendations regarding nutrition and supplements to support your withdrawal from alcohol; also discuss the need for medically managed withdrawal, especially if you drink heavily.
Eat a Balanced Diet
During alcohol withdrawal, eat a healthy, balanced diet to make up for general malnutrition. Heavy drinking may leave you nutritionally depleted because most drinkers eat less as they drink more, replacing nutrient-containing calories from food with empty calories from alcohol. At the same time, alcohol renders your body less able to absorb and use what nutrients you do get from your diet. During alcohol withdrawal, nourish yourself with a balanced diet that contains nutrient-dense foods like whole grains, lean meats, fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, beans, and foods that contain healthy unsaturated fats, like nuts, seeds, avocado, salmon, sardines and olive oil.
Correct Mineral Deficiencies
A heavy drinker going through withdrawal may have a serious or even life-threatening deficiency of electrolytes, a group of minerals including magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium. Electrolytes have a vital role in metabolism; they make muscle contraction possible, regulate your heartbeat and play a part in nerve transmission. Magnesium deficiency is a suspected cause of the delirium or seizures that sometimes occur during withdrawal from alcohol, and a supplement may help prevent them. Eat foods rich in magnesium, such as seafood, green leafy vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans and chocolate. Consult your doctor before taking any mineral supplement.
Boost Thiamine
By the time you're ready to stop drinking, you may be low on thiamine, also known as vitamin B-1. Your body requires thiamine to turn carbohydrates, fat and protein into energy; it's also vital for the normal function of your nervous system. Heavy drinkers who are lacking thiamine can develop Wernicke syndrome, a disorder that causes mental confusion, eye muscle paralysis and the inability to walk normally, and that can progress to permanent dementia. Foods high in thiamine include pork, beans, and whole or enriched grains. Ask your doctor if you need to take a thiamine supplement.
Focus on Folic Acid
People going through alcohol withdrawal should take a multivitamin that contains folic acid, according to Hugh Myrick, M.D., and Raymond F. Anton, M.D., psychiatrists at the Medical University of South Carolina's Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs. Folic acid is necessary for the formation of new blood cells, and anemia can result if you're deficient. You can get folic acid from beans, orange juice, green leafy vegetables and fortified grain foods.
References
- Harvard School of Public Health: Food Pyramids: What Should You Really Eat?
- "Alcohol Health and Research World"; Treatment of Alcohol Withdrawal; Hugh Myrick, M.D., and Raymond F. Anton, M.D.; 1998
- "Alcohol Research and Health"; Relationships Between Nutrition, Alcohol Use, and Liver Disease; Charles S. Lieber, M.D.; 2003
- College of the Canyons Student Health and Wellness Center; From A to Zinc; Sheri Barke, M.P.H., R.D., C.S.S.D.
