This is the fifth and final entry in our series about making quality decisions about what you eat when you are in recovery from a substance use disorder. Leaning into nutritious options helps to support your physical health, your mental health, and your ongoing recovery. Previous entries (start here) have explored morning, midday, and evening meals and snacks as well as the ways in which gardening and cooking can support good choices.
In this entry, we are going to do a more general survey of the kinds of foods that support your health. Think of it as a quick list you can refer to when you are making your grocery list or when you are trying to decide between two options for a snack or a meal.
Before we dive in, here is our standard disclaimer: We are not nutritionists. If you are considering making significant changes in your diet, we suggest you have a conversation with your doctor.
Choose Fruits, Vegetables, and Leafy Greens
Let’s start with some undeniably healthy foods. Fresh fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens can be an essential part of a healthy diet. They can be delicious, too.
Now, some readers might be shaking their head at the idea that vegetables can be delicious, but they really can be—especially if you shop for fresh options rather than getting your veggies out of cans or from the freezer section. As we suggested in the fourth blog in this series, when you cook your own food, you can experiment until you find the vegetable options and recipes that most appeal to you.
Most people like at least some fruits, and those fruits offer both convenience and health benefits. After all, an apple is ready to go after a quick washing, a banana and oranges just need to be peeled, and berries and grapes are small but mighty bites. Because fruit tends to be fairly sweet, switching out sugary snacks for your favorite natural treat is a great way to get more fruit into your diet.
Leafy greens—kale, Bok choy, cabbage, spinach, collard and mustard greens, and dark green lettuces like arugula, romaine, and butterhead—can be prepared all kinds of ways that are both healthy and yummy.
Adding more of these foods into your diet increases the amount of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants you take in—and all of those things support your physical health, your mental wellbeing, and your recovery.
Get All the Benefits from Whole Grains
Whole grains offer far more healthy benefits than refined grains (like white flour, white rice, and white pasta). As a result, experts recommend that you try to make at least half of the grains you eat whole grains.
You may reflexively be reaching for refined grains when you go grocery shopping, but you can find whole-grain options for most anything you are eating including breads, pasta, flour, cereals, brown rice, barley, oatmeal, and quinoa. Making the switch is good for your health and good for your ongoing recovery efforts.
Look for Lean Proteins
The benefits of lean proteins are many. These foods provide energy to the body and help it produce key hormones. They strengthen your immune system, help repair damaged cells and tissues, and support the building and maintenance of lean muscle mass in your body.
Lean proteins are often associated with meat, but there are plenty of options for vegetarians and vegans, too. Options include chicken, fish, turkey, and lean cuts of beef or pork as well as eggs, dairy products, beans, seeds, nuts, and soy.
An additional bonus of making lean proteins a central part of your diet is that they tend to help you feel full faster, which in turn can help you maintain healthier portion sizes.
Do Not Fear the Healthy Fats
You may think of fat as one of the least healthy things you can find in food. But it turns out that our bodies actually need healthy fats—which is not a contradiction in terms.
Healthy fats provide omega fatty acids, which promote tissue repair and healing, and support brain function. But not just any fat is a healthy fat. You can find healthy fats in foods including fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, avocados, olives and olive oil, edamame, tofu, and even dark chocolate.
You can seek out these healthy fats without feeling one bit of guilt about your food choices.
We Can Help You Get Your Recovery Underway
At The Farley Center—located in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania—we serve up a menu of personalized care that will help you leave drugs and alcohol in the past. We provide a range of treatment options, including drugs and alcohol detoxification, residential treatment, a partial hospitalization program, an intensive outpatient program (IOP), and a telehealth virtual version of the IOP. We have specific programs for families, veterans, public safety workers, and professionals who need help with a substance use disorder and its aftermath. And we provide an alumni program and aftercare support so that you can begin your recovery journey with confidence.
Do not let drugs or alcohol continue to eat away at your life. Instead, let us help you make a lasting change.
