A healthy diet is an important and often overlooked, part of the substance use disorder recovery process. There is a fine line between encouraging healthy eating and putting too much pressure on someone with substance use disorder during the difficult early days of abstinence. Those in recovery are at risk for disordered eating, so the focus should be on positive eating habits and small changes, not lots of restrictions.

Healthy eating offers many benefits:

1. Heals your body
2. Calms your mind
3. Reduces cravings
4. Starts healthy habits
5. Makes you feel better

It also helps the person to heal and have a good focus. This show is put together by a registered dietitian and designed by Food and Health Communications. It contains over 33 slides in a PowerPoint file and it has a one page PDF handout that is very simple to read and helpful for someone with substance use disorder and his or her family.

Note: This presentation uses the term “substance abuse” broadly. Unless otherwise noted, we are referring to Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and Substance Use Disorders (SUD). We have chosen the important positive terminology of person first rather than a broad label like an addict, alcoholic, or another negative term. 

By Hollis Bass, MEd, RD, and Food and Health Communications, inc.