Natural Medicine's Ability to Fight Drug and Alcohol Addiction
In today’s society, drug and alcohol addiction has become an increasingly prevalent problem. Addiction does not just destroy and hurt the lives of addicts but also damages the lives of the family and friends close to the addicts. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, millions of Americans currently suffer from drug addictions, and the US Department of Health and Human Services reports that 1/2 of all Americans over the age of 12 are alcohol consumers. In a world where prescription medication addiction rates are skyrocketing, with 7 million Americans using prescription medications non-medically every year, natural medicine therapies have risen as a popular way to battle the high rates of medication, drug, and alcohol addiction in today’s society. While conventional addiction treatment program’s substitute one drug for another, providing heroin users with methadone to wean them off of their addiction, natural medicine techniques try to offer a more inclusively supportive program for the patient that incorporates mental, emotional and spiritual practices into standard addiction programs.
Natural medicine techniques for dealing with addiction can range from specific techniques to overall therapies designed to help the addict deal with withdrawal symptoms. One of the most popular and well-known forms of alternative treatment is acupuncture. Chinese medical practitioners perfected acupuncture thousands of years ago. Tiny needles are inserted at specific points along the meridian points in the body, which is believed to redirect the flow of energy in the body to help drug abuse patients manage their withdrawal symptoms. A 2009 study published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse suggested that acupuncture was an effective treatment for opium withdrawal.
Another beneficial way to help recovering addicts is through nutritional therapy, as people with alcohol or drug addiction are usually malnourished and have suffered some amount of physical damage to the body, such as liver damage. This type of therapy attempts to correct any nutritional shortcomings while aiding the body to eliminate toxins.
Supplements like zinc and vitamin C can help the body in the detoxification process. Many alcoholics are severely deficient in many nutrients because alcohol limits the body’s ability to absorb vital nutrients, and alcohol and drug use may increase the body’s load of free radicals, compounds that damage the body’s tissues. Working with a nutritionist and herbalist can help recovering alcoholics and drug addicts get their body working to its full potential again, minimizing the withdrawal symptoms and helping them to feel their best physically and emotionally throughout the recovery process.
by Alex Kerwin
Natural medicine techniques for dealing with addiction can range from specific techniques to overall therapies designed to help the addict deal with withdrawal symptoms. One of the most popular and well-known forms of alternative treatment is acupuncture. Chinese medical practitioners perfected acupuncture thousands of years ago. Tiny needles are inserted at specific points along the meridian points in the body, which is believed to redirect the flow of energy in the body to help drug abuse patients manage their withdrawal symptoms. A 2009 study published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse suggested that acupuncture was an effective treatment for opium withdrawal.
Another beneficial way to help recovering addicts is through nutritional therapy, as people with alcohol or drug addiction are usually malnourished and have suffered some amount of physical damage to the body, such as liver damage. This type of therapy attempts to correct any nutritional shortcomings while aiding the body to eliminate toxins.
Supplements like zinc and vitamin C can help the body in the detoxification process. Many alcoholics are severely deficient in many nutrients because alcohol limits the body’s ability to absorb vital nutrients, and alcohol and drug use may increase the body’s load of free radicals, compounds that damage the body’s tissues. Working with a nutritionist and herbalist can help recovering alcoholics and drug addicts get their body working to its full potential again, minimizing the withdrawal symptoms and helping them to feel their best physically and emotionally throughout the recovery process.
by Alex Kerwin
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