The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) are great places to start. The NIAAA offers guidance and advice, such as tips on what to know about alcohol treatment and how to locate quality treatment. AUD throws this homeostasis out of whack, decreasing GABA receptors until you need increasingly greater amounts of alcohol to attain the desired euphoria. All minerals are water soluble, so you lose quite a bit of them from alcohol’s side effects. Things can get pretty rough as constant aches and tiredness set in.
The Pathophysiology of Alcohol Drinking
The best source of vitamin C in the United States is orange juice from frozen concentrate (more of the vitamin is preserved when the oranges are frozen). There’s no way around it—when you drink heavily for a long period, your body takes a hit. Overcoming alcohol use disorder can be a long and difficult process, and different people have different needs. But one often-overlooked aspect of beating addiction is nutrition in recovery.
What vitamins do you need when you quit drinking?
BCAAs are normally metabolized in peripheral tissues such as muscle and adipose tissue. However, in cirrhosis, they are used as an energy source and for ammonia metabolism, and thus, their blood levels are reduced. Even in conditions considered to be compensated cirrhosis (e.g., Child–Pugh grade A), BCAAs are deficient. In contrast, tyrosine concentrations increase with progression of cirrhosis, resulting in a decrease in BTR [75].
Other Beneficial Supplements for Drinkers
Over time, too much alcohol can make your body less able to absorb some of the important nutrients you need, even if you’re eating a healthy diet. Combined with poor nutrition, this may increase your risk of alcohol-induced injury to your liver, intestines, lungs, and brain. Although evidence is still limited, omega-3 fatty acids show promise as an excellent alcohol recovery supplement. Read on to learn more about alcohol withdrawal syndrome, including the signs, symptoms, and detoxification process. People who drink alcohol are at higher risk of calcium deficiency, since alcohol interferes with your body’s ability to properly absorb this vital nutrient. This can increase the chances of developing osteoporosis, especially for women.5 If you’re currently drinking, trying to cut back, or in recovery, taking calcium supplements is another great way to protect your overall health.
Can I stop drinking by myself?
- Many holistic healers believe there is a link between sugar and alcoholism.
- Glutamine can also modulate cognitive processes affected by alcohol use.
- Millions before you have beaten AUD and gone on to live happy and sober lives.
- However, these supplements may not provide enough vitamin B1, which is essential for preventing a condition called Wernicke’s encephalopathy (WE), a medical emergency.
- I found relief over time, gradually, and I tried many that did not work.
- The health consequences of alcohol intake vary depending on the amount and pattern of consumption.
Additionally, low selenium may cause ballooning of hepatocytes [116]. Notably, selenium supplementation may be as effective as antioxidant therapy [153]. While taking vitamins can help manage symptoms caused by chronic alcohol use, they are most effective alongside detoxification and rehabilitation. Keep in mind that taking supplements while continuing to consume alcohol can overwork your liver and lead to other medical complications.
More on Vitamins & Supplements
Unbeknownst to many people, treatment during detox and/or rehab often entails vitamin/mineral infusions. Your body needs these depleted nutrients to function, detox, and heal properly. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that helps protect cells from damage.
- The alcohol effects in the liver can be prevented by antioxidant mechanisms, which induces enzymatic as well as other nonenzymatic pathways.
- These deficits can cause low energy, skin issues, and oxygen insufficiency, among other health consequences.
- In effect, ethanol or its derivatives impairs several of these defensive mechanisms, which could change the redox status, causing the antioxidant cell defenses to be compromised [107].
- The addition of LES without intervention may exacerbate glucose intolerance [81].
- Most people use a combination of vitamins to help stabilize the brain and body while quitting drinking.
- This post is offered as a concise review of the evidence for certain B-vitamins, vitamin C, magnesium, and zinc for reducing alcohol craving.
The only way to protect the liver long-term is to eliminate or drastically reduce drinking. I discuss the benefits of these 7 fatty acids and amino acids for alcohol detox in much more detail in a related article. Alcohol use disorder affects about 7.2% of people older than 12 years old, including 6.9% of males and 7.8% of females [8]. It has been described that excessive alcohol drinking multivitamin for alcoholics promotes the pathogenesis of many diseases, such as cancer, liver cirrhosis, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and neuropsychiatric disorders [9,10,11,12]. Vitamin C helps to keep the skin healthy, and plays an equally important role in the health of bones, teeth and blood vessels. Deficiencies in vitamin C can cause symptoms that include irritability, weakness and muscle fatigue.
Some Vitamins and Minerals May Reduce Alcohol Toxicity
Are there specific vitamins that can help with alcohol withdrawal syndrome?
- Nutrient deficiencies can contribute to developing or exacerbating depression and other mood disorders, as the body produces less serotonin7.
- In the management of patients with alcohol dependence, physicians should have a high index of suspicion for thiamine-deficient states, especially Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.
- Heavy drinkers are prone to nutrient deficiencies that can cause fatigue and weakness, skin and hair issues, metabolism problems, bone fractures, bruising, bleeding, and depression.
- They may also experience vitamin deficiencies, as alcohol impairs the body’s ability to absorb vitamins and nutrients.