I took it for multiple years, and I experienced gradual cognitive decline during that time. And Dr. Charles Gant worked as the physician and psychiatric consultant for the New York State prison system, and dealt with hundreds of drug users and traffickers. Perhaps that’s alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis or harder substances like cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines. When my brain wasn’t working and I struggled with mental illness, it simply made sense to find immediate relief.

Alcohol use continues to skyrocket, prompting young people to need liver transplants — especially young women

One option is high doses of oral vitamin B supplementation, which can help correct deficiencies without causing adverse effects. However, these supplements may not provide enough vitamin B1, which is essential for preventing a condition called Wernicke’s encephalopathy (WE), a medical emergency. Therefore, doctors treating individuals detoxing from alcohol might prescribe additional treatments with vitamin B1. Keep in mind that there is no perfectly safe level of alcohol consumption. Research points to health risks, including cancer and cardiovascular risks, even at low levels of alcohol intake, regardless of the type of beverage.

Effects on digestion

This is why individuals often experience unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when undergoing a detox. Instead of restricting food, the best thing you can do is give the body what it needs to function. Detoxing isn’t just about removing the bad stuff — it’s also about replacing it with good. Although evidence is still limited, omega-3 fatty acids show promise best vitamins for recovering alcoholics as an excellent alcohol recovery supplement. Because those who struggle with alcohol often have nutritional deficiencies, a zinc deficiency is possible, and supplementation can be helpful. Zinc may also help reset some of the glutamate brain pathways that are overly active during alcohol withdrawal, thus possibly helping alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Individualized, evidence based treatment, to fit your needs.

Since many alcoholics are in denial about their problem, doctors may ask the patient’s permission to speak with family and friends as well. At Gateway Foundation, we understand the importance of nutrition for recovering addicts, and we incorporate it into our many recovery programs and services. Every individual has different nutritional needs that can impact their experience in treatment, which is why we work hard to provide customized treatment plans that address nutrition. Macronutrients are those your body needs in large amounts each day to function. Micronutrients are just as important, but you don’t need to consume as much of them to stay healthy. Vitamins and minerals are micronutrients, while the macronutrients you need are protein, fat, carbohydrates and water.

Many treatment protocols for AWS involve supportive care as the person withdraws to ease the discomfort of the symptoms. Long-term alcohol use can cause vitamin A levels to fall in the liver, the primary organ that breaks down alcohol and stores vitamin A. This occurs as both substances use similar pathways in the body to metabolize them.

If you are vitamin A deficient, it is important that you take a supplement under the care of a physician, as high doses can lead to liver disease. It can be an especially good alcohol recovery supplement for people with liver damage. Studies show that glycine is useful in treating both alcoholic hepatitis and carcinoma caused by alcoholic cirrhosis. Even if you are not suffering from these conditions, taking glycine may help protect your liver if you have a history of heavy drinking. In recent years, the word “detox” has come to mean cleansing the body from everyday “toxins” by sticking to a special diet and even avoiding food altogether. But in the true medical sense, detoxification is a process that the body undergoes naturally when removing harmful substances like drugs and alcohol from your system.

• DL-phenylalanine can also be a useful supplement for alcohol withdrawal.
• People with kidney disease have a higher risk of toxicity because their kidneys are not working properly and cannot flush out extra magnesium.
• You may have a strong urge to eat sweets because they set off dopamine, the same chemical messenger triggered by some drugs.
• Lack of vitamin B1 can cause a life-threatening condition called Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.
• This is because theanine increases alpha brain waves, and I found out that very high alpha brain waves can actually cause anxiety as well.
• The majority of people who try to quit drinking by themselves will fall back into old habits.

It’s difficult to identify definitively the benefits of the treatment, but for Shiling the “probable consequences” of thiamine deficiency have been on display during his seven years as a CeDAR nurse. “We frequently see patients after detox, inpatient care, counseling and multiple modalities of treatment who still have cognitive deficits, but we can’t figure out what they are,” he said. Ethanol is harmful to the human body and can cause toxicity and death when ingested in excessive amounts. Ethanol metabolism produces an alcoholic fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, or cirrhosis [13,14].

Many believe white Americans suffer higher rates of premature death from addiction, overdoses and mental health. “But for all of those people, it’s essentially a part of their daily life, not a part of their social or recreational life,” Caulkins said. Severe deficiency occurs with a long-term low magnesium diet, malabsorption, https://ecosoberhouse.com/ and large losses from alcohol abuse or use of medications that deplete magnesium (some diuretics, proton pump inhibitors, and antibiotics). People may need more of the substance or action to feel the same level of pleasure over time as their brain adjusts to these abnormally high quantities of neurotransmitters.

• They are often a necessary part of detox for people who have been drinking very heavily for months or years.
• Neurotransmitters like dopamine are released through the brain’s reward system, and they are essential for reinforcing enjoyable experiences.