Alcoholism and raw food

[anyalynn]

Help!!

I am trying to end a 5 year alcohol addiction that started when I was recovering from major back surgery to prevent my becoming a parapalegic. (I had crushed several vertebrea that were beginning to disintigrate and I needed the surgery to keep my spinal cord from becoming damaged). I was given major, major doses of narcotic pain killers: delodid(sp?), morphine, oxycontin and percocet, and unfortunately the addictive behavior runs in my family on both sides and I quickly became hooked on alcohol to "take me away" from my everyday life and stress once I got back on my feet.

A few years later a bicycling accident that resulted in both a broken foot and ankle only added more fuel to the fire and now I have found myself entrenched in alcohol. I am a vegan and want desperately to transition to a raw vegan lifestyle to once and for all get this addiction monkey off my back.

Can someone please tell me the best way to cleanse the liver and even the whole body of the traumatic affects of alcohol. What are the best cleansing and healing foods that I should incorporate into my diet? I am currently on a steady diet of Kudzu and L-Glutamine which seems to help somewhat to keep the cravings at bay. But other than that does anyone else have any advice or any stories similar to my own that they can share with me so that I don't feel like I am the only one out there struggeling with so many issues.

I am very sincere about wanting to change my lifestyle and look forward to being in a totally raw vegan lifestyle because I know that, that is truely the only path to complete health.

If anyone has any stories or advice, please share!!!! I need all the help I can get!!!!:eek:

[NYbutterfly]

Hi, Anyalynn

First, let me congratulate you on your decision to get help with your alcoholism. Reaching out for support is such an important step in turning your life around.

Next, I can certainly assure you that you are not alone in the dark world of addiction. I know that there are several members of the board here who are recovering from addictions to drugs, alcohol and eating disorders. Personally, I have a very addictive personality and it got the best and worst of me in the form of food. I developed a very serious eating disorder that started as bulimia and developed into anorexia. During this time I also fell into heavy drinking, a dependency on pain killers, and a brief fling with cutting myself. I was in and out of treatment centers that just didn't work for me. Finally I entered a partial hospitalization program that treated all addictions and was based on the 12 steps. We attended AA meetings, practiced yoga, art therapy, and had intense group therapy every day for 8 hours. These were the most difficult days of my life. Coming out of an addiction was soooo much harder than just staying in it. It took me 8 months to finish a 2 month program due to several relapses, but I finally did it. I still struggle, but now I have the tools and the knowledge that I need to remain clean, healthy, and happy.

I will say that raw has helped me with this journey. Life has completely turned around for me since switching from a vegan diet to 100% raw. I no longer crave alcohol, cigarettes, or starvation... nothing "numbing". My mood is AMAZING as is my energy. I no longer want to isolate from the world. I am at peace with myself. Sometimes words just can't explain it. I just look at what my life used to be and cannot imagine going back down that path.

As for detoxing the liver, Alissa has a big post on here about how to do that. However I would allow your body to detox on its own for a little while first... just stay clean and sober. You might get really ill by going from one extreme of drinking in excess to a new extreme by doing a liver cleanse. I would transition first. Just my opinion. I have not done the liver cleanse, but I plan to. My liver was not in good condition, same for my kidneys. I have been 100% raw since november and have completed a few juice fasts, and I feel that those help with cravings.

If you need more support, I definitely recommend AA (or any 12 step) meetings. You realize that you are not alone. I've made some wonderful connections and friends through meetings and group therapy. In the meantime, keep in touch with us, stay raw if that is your desire (I highly recommend it), and do whatever it takes to stay sober. Eventually you will be ready for a nice detox and liver cleanse... your body and mind will certainly thank you!

Best of luck. I know you can get through this!

[Froggy]

i don't know but i do know that i went to a metaphysical discussion yesterday and the psychic told me that i had sludge all thru me, that i was pretty sick physically and that leads to my eating imbalance disorder. i attribute the sludge to a lotta stuff including alcohol. i'd say to cleanse eat nothing but raw produce and raw nuts for one year straight, without exception, and you'll be fine, physically and mentally. of course if you get too thin then i probably have something wrong mentally and i'm not ready to eat just produce.


Can someone please tell me the best way to cleanse the liver and even the whole body of the traumatic affects of alcohol. What are the best cleansing and healing foods that I should incorporate into my diet?

[anyalynn]

Interesting posts, thank you for the kind words. It never ceases to amaze me how many people here truely feel there lives have transformed for the better by going raw. It's awesome to think that something as theoretically simple as only eating living foods can totally alter your mentally, your body, your spirit...everything. I guess my biggest drawback right now is dealing with the cravings for cooked food. Nothing makes it harder then when I'm at work and I have to smell someone elses cooked meals and sandwiches. I need to get past that.

As for the addiction, I know I can and have to beat it. I'm tired of feeling fuzzy and sluggish all the time. I'm tired of waking up in the morning with a hangover and often forgetting some of the things I did the night before. I don't want that anymore, I'm sick of it, and I know that transitioning to raw is going to be the best thing for me.

[miaculpa]

the Master Cleanse and raw foods ended my 20 yr addiction to smoking. I have barely touched a drink since Jan (and only in moderation a couple times). Basically, the fast followed by raw has taught me to listen to my body and deal with stress ON MY OWN.

You can do it.

[gingincal]

I'm new to raw and not yet knowledgeable enough to steer you, but I do wish you the very best in your journey. I encourage you to use the journaling aspect of this site to get your experiences and feelings out of your head and help you move forward.

[pamparred]

I want to wish you the best on your journey. You are courageous and strong. While I don't have an addiction to alcohol, I do have an addiction to food. Just know that we are here for you and will do all we can to support you on your journey. You are in my prayers. :)

[Eva]

Green smoothies
Lemon water (I do 1-2 lemons for one 16 oz. glass) once a day
Oil pulling
Dry skin brushing

These all help with detox in general.

I have a close relative that has battled with alcoholism (not heavy drinking, just 1-2 drinks EVERY time something painful would come up) and has gone raw. She has had to battle some demons. Everything is so RAW with the emotions not having something external to stuff them down. My GAWD, I feel like I'm seeing a caterpillar turn into a butterfly!!!

I wish you the best of luck. I think it's a wonderful thing that you are making the commitment to be on this journey. :)

[hawaiigal]

I truly believe you are on the right path now! I have been off and on raw for the last few years and always fall off again when I allow myself to think I can live like others and drink socially etc. Eating raw I start to feel so good I feel like celebrating...another excuse. One drink leads to 3 and before long I am back to drinking every night. My weight has ballooned due to this.

I truly feel to get a handle initially you need to detox - I have done 3 master cleanses and 4 liver cleanses. These helped for a while but nothing like I have found with doing a 5 day colon cleanse - I eliminated so much gunk! (www.blessedherbs.com) lots of mucoid plaque - from years of eating SAD - and afterwards I felt so light and refreshed it was amazing...the other wonderful aspect of these aftereffects was that I completely lost the desire for alcohol!! Since then I have had two glasses of wine in a social situation and was able to walk away not wanting the remainder of the second glass - which for me was HUGE.

I have so much energy now and fill in the time that I would normally sit around watching tv at night and drinking my wine with yoga - house cleaning - talking with my kids or playing board games. Life has taken on a new meaning.

Good Luck - you will find lots of support here.

[commoncents]

My prayers are with you. I know how difficult it is to deal with addictions. I've battled addictions from alcohol, marijuna, pain meds after a hysterectomy and lastly sleeping pills.

What helped me was doing a long Master Cleanse and this took away the desires and then becoming 100% Raw. I have given up all of the addictions, except the marijuna and I can see that ending soon. Never thought I would give it up.

Be patient and kind with yourself. Your desire to change will signal the Universe to send you the assistance you need to remain alcohol free.

[VeggieMel]

Fenugreek sprouts are fantastic for the liver!! I'd stay away from too much oil because it's hard on the liver.

[Blazin'Jane]

Call me old fashioned, but I need to keep things simple. I absolutely could not stop drinking on my own until I admitted I need help and went to AA, a true act of humility for me. I think it's the best way, especially in the beginning, and I recommend it.
The next thing I recommend is to go RAW, which is a vey big change thing, but I very much appreciate Alissa's approach, so I hope you have her book to guide you through the process. Her basic attitude is, eat raw, don't worry too much in the beginning about what foods exactly, but eat plenty and then you'll know. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables both chewed and smoothed. If you do that and start atttending an AA mtg. or two a week, you'll be fine. My sense is, though, that alcoholism is a complex, multi-layered situation and needs special attention. My guess is that if you look to special raw foods to cleanse, etc. right off, it will make you nuts, and you'll be drinking again.
I so would love to hear how you're doing along the way, and I do wish you the very best on your journey.

[NYbutterfly]

Call me old fashioned, but I need to keep things simple. I absolutely could not stop drinking on my own until I admitted I need help and went to AA, a true act of humility for me. I think it's the best way, especially in the beginning, and I recommend it.
The next thing I recommend is to go RAW, which is a vey big change thing, but I very much appreciate Alissa's approach, so I hope you have her book to guide you through the process. Her basic attitude is, eat raw, don't worry too much in the beginning about what foods exactly, but eat plenty and then you'll know. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables both chewed and smoothed. If you do that and start atttending an AA mtg. or two a week, you'll be fine. My sense is, though, that alcoholism is a complex, multi-layered situation and needs special attention. My guess is that if you look to special raw foods to cleanse, etc. right off, it will make you nuts, and you'll be drinking again.
I so would love to hear how you're doing along the way, and I do wish you the very best on your journey.

I definitely second this. Addiction is hard to kick on your own... AA is great. Don't think that you have to be a fall down drunk to attend, either! If you drink to numb yourself from real life... whether it is one drink or 10... you need to be there. I find the 12 steps so helpful that I've also attended codependents anonymous, narcotics anonymous, eating disorders anonymous... addiction is addiction, and the support in 12 step meetings is amazing.

[belleadonna]

MILK THISTLE

[RawHeaven]

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