Bill Asenjo, PhD, CRC, Freelance Writer and Consultant

 

Alive Magazine November 2002

Staying Sober

Nutritional Help for Recovering Alcoholics

by Bill Asenjo PhD, CRC

Some alcoholics, in spite of how much they want to stay sober, fail. Repeatedly. The explanation often is: They haven't hit bottom yet. In other words, they haven't hurt enough; they're not ready to quit. Maybe. Maybe not.

Aside from alcoholism's well-known physical consequences, alcoholics know that the emotional and mental repercussions — depression, paranoia, anxiety — can be temporarily alleviated by alcohol. Yet this only perpetuates the cycle because alcohol destroys nutrients needed for mental, emotional and physical well-being.

Struggling with Recovery

When alcoholics stop drinking they expect to feel better. For many that doesn't happen. A ten-year study conducted at Johns Hopkins University10 demonstrated that the typical alcoholic experiences most of the following symptoms for years into recovery:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Hostility
  • Feelings of inadequacy and inferiority
  • Paranoia
  • Psychosis (lack of contact with reality)

Given the grim outlook it isn't surprising many alcoholics resume drinking — it's human nature to seek relief from stress. A four-year study of 922 alcoholic men treated in seven hospitals revealed the extent of the relapse problem.1

  • Six months after treatment only 28 percent refrained from drinking
  • One year after treatment only 21 percent remained abstinent
  • Four years after treatment only 7 percent remained abstinent

Research has established that many of the substances the brain uses to generate emotions -- amino acids, enzymes, essential fatty acids, and neurotransmitters, are diminished or destroyed by heavy alcohol (or other drug) use.4 To round out this bleak picture, consider this: among treated alcoholics one of every four deaths is a suicide.3

But it doesn't have to be this way. The Health Recovery Center, a nutrition-based treatment program that addresses underlying biochemical abnormalities such as hypoglycemia, repeatedly demonstrates success rates of 74 percent or more. Results from a 3-½-year study of 100 patients appeared in the International Journal of Biosocial and Medical Research.4 Subsequent studies show a success rate of more than 80 percent.

Yet in spite of conventional treatment's discouraging track record, employing nutrition in alcoholism treatment has only recently been accepted by some. Reasons for the resistance are typical: greed, ignorance, pride or ego.2

A Better Way

Joan Matthews Larson's son, Rob Matthews, was a well-adjusted teen — he earned good grades, acted in school plays, played on the football team and volunteer tutored. But after his father died, Rob's drinking and pot smoking became addiction. Chemical-dependency counselors theorized Rob's habit was rooted in grief. Rob completed treatment and returned to school.

But Rob still experienced huge emotional peaks and valleys. Larson had him tested for hypoglycemia. The results: Rob's blood sugar was severely imbalanced.

"Rob's mood swings were incredible," Larson recalled. "Rob talked about how bad he felt that his dad was dead and how sorry he was that his drinking had caused so much trouble." A few hours later Rob was found lying dead in the garage under the car's exhaust pipe.

Believing her son's depression had been linked to his hypoglycemia — a condition the chemical-dependency unit was not designed to address — Larson began searching for answers.

After confirming the alcoholism-hypoglycemia link she designed a nutrition-based treatment program. In 1981, Larson launched the Health Recovery Center, one of the first such holistic treatment programs in the United States. Larson earned her doctorate in nutrition in 1985. With facilities in Minneapolis, Denver, and Dallas, Larson's fourth facility recently opened in Stamford, Connecticut.

Based on the success of the Health Recovery Center (HRC), Larson wrote Seven Weeks to Sobriety, published by Random House in 1992 and revised in 1997. The book explains the biochemical restoration protocols developed at HRC.

For more information contact the Health Recovery Center:

1-800-554-9155
http://www.HealthRecovery.com
3255 Hennepin Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55408 USA

Excerpted from HRC protocols described in Larson's book:

Potential Biochemical Causes of Depression & Anxiety

Diminished Omega 6 essential fatty acid availability
Supplying gamma linolenic acid can dramatically reverse depression in certain alcoholics — especially those of Scotch, Scandanavian, Welsh, and North American Indian heritage.

Diminished Serotonin Availability
Serotonin is a key neurotransmitter. Its precursor, tryptophan, is rendered deficient by alcohol abuse. A serotonin deficiency leads to depression.4,5,6

Insufficient Norepinephrine
This neurotransmitter reaches the brain through its precursor amino acid, tyrosine. Tyrosine reverses depression by restoring normal levels of specific neurotransmitters, which must be present in brain receptors to prevent depression.5,6,7

Exposure to substances producing a brain allergic response of depression
Many painters, hairstylists, printers and others constantly exposed to chemical fumes, sprays and dyes experience high rates of alcoholism. Alcoholics also commonly have food sensitivities and allergies.

Hypoglycemia (Low Blood Sugar)
Alcoholism's hypoglycemic trigger has been suspect for decades. One of AA's co-founders, Bill Wilson — a hypoglycemic, contacted AA physicians regarding the risks posed by hypoglycemia.8

Candida
Alcoholism compromises the immune system and can cause Candida yeast overgrowth. Depression often results from the toxins generated by Candida-Related-Complex.4, 9

Recommendations for Recovery

Nutrients for Depression (due to norepinephrine depletion)

  1. L-Tyrosine (amino acid): 500 mgs. (4-10 capsules daily on an empty stomach)

    OR

    L-Phenyalanine (amino acid): 500 mgs. (1-3 capsules daily on an empty stomach)

    Contraindications: These amino acids are contraindicated for those who: are pregnant — unless taken under a physician's supervision; take an MAO inhibitor for depression; have high blood pressure (take low doses of 100 mgs. at first and monitor blood pressure as dosage is increased); have PKU (Phenylketonuria) or schizophrenia — unless taken under a physician's supervision; have severe liver damage, an overactive thyroid, or malignant melanoma.

  2. B Complex: 50 mgs. (3 X daily with meals)

  3. Vitamin C: 1,000 mgs. (3 X daily with meals)

Nutrients for Anxiety

  1. GABA (Gamma Aminobutyric Acid): 100 mgs. (2 capsules, 4 X daily on an empty stomach) GABA has a calming effect — tranquilizers like Valium and Librium work by stimulating the brain's receptors for GABA (4,5,7).

  2. Chromium Picolinate: 200 mcgs. (1 X daily with meals)

  3. Niacinimide or Niacin: 500 mgs. (3 X daily with meals)

  4. Vitamin C: 1,000 mgs. (3 X daily with meals)

  5. B Complex: 50 mgs. (3 X daily with meals)

  6. Vitamin B6: 200 mgs. (3 X daily with meals). Some of this is satisfied in the B Complex capsule.

  7. Vitamin E: 200 IUs (3 X daily with meals)

Nutrients for Shakiness, Tremors

  1. Taurine (amino acid): 500 mgs. (1 capsule on an empty stomach)

  2. Calcium/Magnesium: 300/150 mgs. (2 capsules, 3 X daily with meals)

  3. B Complex: 50 mgs. (3 X daily with meals)

  4. Flaxseed Oil: 1 tablespoon (3 X daily with meals)

Sources

  1. Polich, J., Armor, D., & Bracker, H. (1980). The course of alcoholism: Four years after treatment. Santa Monica: Rand Corporation, 169-170.

  2. Goodwin, L. (1984). The Tomato Effect: Rejection of Highly Effective Therapies. Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 251, pgs. 2387-2390.

  3. Berglund, M. (1984). Suicide in alcoholism. Archives of General Psychiatry, 41, 891.

  4. Larson, J. M., & Parker, R. (1987). Alcoholism treatment with biochemical restoration as a major component. International Journal of Biosocial Research, 9 (1), 92-106.

  5. Larson, J. Mathews. (1992). Alcoholism—the biochemical connection. Villard Books.

  6. Beasley, J. (1988). Wrong diagnosis, wrong treatment. EMIS.

    Beasley, J. (1989). How to defeat alcoholism. New York: Times Books.

  7. Erdmann, R. (1989). The Amino Revolution: The Breakthrough Program That Will Change the Way You Feel. Simon & Schuster.

  8. Wilson, B. (1968). A second communication to AA physicians. Huxley Institute for Biosocial Research.

  9. Trowbridge, J. & Walker, M. (1986). The yeast syndrome. New York: Bantam Books.

  10. DeSoto, C., et al. (1985). Alcoholics at various stages of symptomology in abstinence. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 9, 505-512.

Bill Asenjo, PhD, CRC is a certified rehabilitation counselor, consultant, writer, and university instructor. He can be reached at basenjo@avalon.net.

 

© 2009 Bill Asenjo

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