How to kick the alcohol habit naturally

Monday, March 11, 2013 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: alcohol, addiction, remedies

(NaturalNews) There are many unique factors such as life experience, social status, and family history that can drive a person towards a life of excess alcohol consumption and alcohol abuse. But one area that is almost never addressed as it pertains to alcohol abuse is malnutrition, and particularly a lack of proper nutrients for maintaining a healthy physical, mental, and emotional state. For many people, traditional rehabilitation techniques and weekly meetings with other alcohol abusers is not enough to kick the habit for good, as these methods typically address the symptoms rather than the root cause.

Though there is no one-size-fits-all regimen for curing alcohol abuse, there are a number of natural approaches that can help bring about true recovery and healing that will last. Here are six ways to help naturally kick the alcohol habit and never look back:

1) Transactional analysis. The problem with modern medicine's approach to alcohol abuse is that the addiction is often classified as a disease known as "alcoholism," and treated accordingly. By attaching a formal name to this addiction and categorizing those who suffer from it as diseased, the tendency is for those who abuse alcohol to actually take ownership of their addiction and make it a core component of who they are as a person, which actually makes it more difficult for them to kick the habit.

This is why many physicians who take a more naturopathic and holistic approach to health prefer Transactional Analysis (TA), a system of analyzing behaviors that avoids turning every addiction into a disease. TA, as explained by Dr. Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D., encourages patients to take charge of their own healing, and recognize that their addiction is not a disease, but rather a symptom of some other underlying problem, which is typically emotional or physical in nature. And part of addressing such a problem includes kicking other bad habits such as poor diet.

"Establishing a good diet to improve and maintain better health would certainly be a major part of such a health-promoting plan of action," explains Dr. Dean about the TA approach to curing alcohol abuse in a 2005 piece for NewsWithViews.com entitled Curing Alcoholism Naturally. "In addition, it can improve a person's state of mind, as malnourishment can lead to depression and other emotional imbalances, not to mention muddled thinking."

A great book on the subject of treating alcohol abuse with TA is Healing Alcoholism, which you can access for free online: http://www.emotional-literacy.com/healing.htm

2) Niacin. Part of this nutrition-based healing process includes loading up on vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients in order to balance and maintain proper brain chemistry. And one of the most important nutrients for achieving this is niacin, also known as vitamin B3, according to one prominent expert on the subject.

"Niacin is the most important single treatment for alcoholism, and it is one of the most reliable treatments," says orthomolecular medicine expert Dr. Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D., about his Treatment Protocol for Alcoholism.

You can read Dr. Hoffer's full paper on the subject here: http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v01n06.shtml

3) Mega-doses of vitamin C. In the same orthomolecular vein, vitamin C is critical for chemically neutralizing the toxic byproducts of alcohol metabolism. As reported by The Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University (OSU), numerous studies have shown that vitamin C in high doses reduces oxidative stress as a result of alcohol consumption, and prevents alcohol-induced hyperlipidemia and lipid perodixation. The nutrient can also help eliminate alcohol addiction (http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/f-w99/newresearch.html).

"To titrate to saturation, take 1000 mg (milligrams) of vitamin C every hour," explains Dr. Hoffer about how to effectively stop drinking alcohol and return to normal body function. "When saturation is reached, there will be a single episode of diarrhea; then reduce the dosage to 1000 mg every four hours."

4) Whole food-based B vitamin complex, sunflower lecithin. This same protocol also includes supplementing with a B vitamin complex six times daily that includes at least 50 mg each of the major B vitamins. Since many popular B vitamin complexes contain synthetic vitamins derived from petroleum sources, it is recommended that you supplement with a whole food-based B vitamin complex.

Dr. Hoffer also suggests supplementing with two to four tablespoons of lecithin daily, as this relative of the B vitamin complex will fortify your body with necessary inositol and choline, as well as help mobilize fats out of the liver, which can become congested from alcohol abuse. We suggest using non-GMO sunflower lecithin rather than traditional soy lecithin.

5) L-glutamine. Part of kicking the alcohol habit involves eliminating alcohol cravings, which can be achieved through supplementation with the non-essential amino acid L-glutamine. According to Dr. Hoffer, L-glutamine decreases physiological cravings for alcohol, while also replacing what has been lost of the nutrients in the liver and kidneys as a result of alcohol abuse. The entire process will help reduce your cravings for both sugar and alcohol.

6) Chromium. Since many alcoholics are also hypoglycemic, it may be important to supplement with the mineral chromium as well. By taking between 200 to 400 mcg (micrograms) of chromium daily, alcohol abusers can help stabilize their blood sugar levels and balance out the body's metabolism of carbohydrates.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.newswithviews.com/Dean/carolyn20.htm

http://www.brighteyecounselling.co.uk

http://www.pioneerthinking.com/ta_alcoholism.html