Opiate addiction wreaks havoc on your body: your brain is permanently changed, you can become more sensitive to pain, your lungs/heart are weakened, and withdrawal leads to intense (sometimes deadly) symptoms.
What’s more, almost all addicts (around 94%!) are underweight and almost 20% are severely malnourished. Ensuring you have proper nutrition and vitamin supplements can help your recovery and ease withdrawal symptoms.
Keep reading to learn about the four best supplements and vitamins for opiate withdrawal to give you a better chance at recovery success.
Table of Contents
1. B Vitamins
B vitamins, including B-6 and B-12, have been shown to reduce stress and anxiety. Stress and anxiety are common feelings during withdrawal that can trigger a relapse; taking B vitamin supplements can reduce these feelings.
There is also evidence that vitamin B-12 aids in neural generation and health. Opiate addicts often have neurological changes and issues, so supplementing with B-12 could potentially aid in the healing of the brain and other affected neural pathways.
2. Melatonin
Melatonin is actually a hormone, not a vitamin. However, it’s a great supplement for opiate withdrawal since many recovering addicts find they’re unable to sleep due to pain and/or withdrawal symptoms.
Melatonin is a sleep aid produced by the body naturally instead of powerful (and dangerous) pharmaceutical sleep aids that can themselves be addictive. Proper rest is a key part of successful recovery as well.
Discover more about sleep and other tops on successful recovery to go along with these vitamins/supplements.
3. Probiotics
Multiple scientific studies show that the gut and our digestive microbiome is severely impacted by opiate and narcotic use. There’s even a specific syndrome known as narcotic bowel syndrome that affects a good amount of opiate addicts.
In order to repair your gut health and restore the healthy bacteria found in your digestive tract, you should take probiotic supplements. This can come in the form of pills or probiotic foods (kombucha, sauerkraut, yogurt, etc).
4. Omega-3s
Opiate withdrawal is known as one of the worst types of drug withdrawal particularly because of the almost complete depletion of naturally produced dopamine in the brain. This leads to anxiety, depression, and the intense desire to relapse.
Low amounts of omega-3s have also been linked to decreased dopamine levels. Naturally, boost your dopamine during withdrawal by adding healthy omega-3 rich foods to your diet. This could include:
- Eggs
- Fish oil/fatty fish
- Spinach
- Walnuts
- Tofu
- Hemp seeds
You can also take omega-3 supplement pills and vitamins.
Try These Vitamins for Opiate Withdrawal
Recovery is a long road that essentially never ends. You’ll always be an addict in recovery, even after months or years sober.
But why not make it easier for yourself by adding these vitamins for opiate withdrawal to your diet? Whatever you can do to help improve your chance of success is worth it.
If you want to learn more about how nutrition and diet can affect your health, check out the nutrition section of our blog.
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