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I have been helping my dad restore himself from heavy drinking/ constant alcohol and at one point alcoholism.
I read an article about conquering it Nutritionally and with supplements.
I was surprised to realize that L-GLUTAMINE (1-3 grams daily) , an amino acid , has been shown to improve brain function in alcoholics, resulting in improved sleep, decreased anxiety and a reduced craving for alcohol. Wow and great news.
I'll take some for brain health myself!
-Sara
I have the same problem with my dad. That's a terrible dilemma for all family. When we first faced this problem, nobody knew what to do. We've tried everything. That's hard to understand how you have to act in such cases. I love him, but his addiction made us suffer for too long. I found a lot of information about rehabilitation on the internet. There're many bits of advice on AddictionResource.com. Now we want to send him to one of the men's rehabs. Maybe it'll help.
Hello I like this forum. My wife had the same issues, headaches consantly. She started taking HEMP OIL. Since then she has not had as much pain. I believe its called cbd oil, anyways you can go look it up on youtube. They started using it to help cancer as well.
l really dislike people posting about supplements and making statements as: "...I'll take some for brain health myself!...".
From an article:
".....An excess of glutamic acid from supplements may cause overstimulation of nerve receptors and contribute to neurological disorders such as epilepsy and Lou Gehrig’s disease. High doses of glutamic acid or glutamine may interfere with anti-epileptic medications. People with any type of neurological disorder, kidney or liver disease should consult their health-care provider before taking glutamic acid supplements.
Dose
Daily requirements have not been determined for glutamic acid. A typical therapeutic dose of glutamine is 3 to 30 g daily, but it is safe at levels up to 14 g per day, according to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. In addition to supplements, glutamic acid is found in high-protein foods, such as milk products, fish, meat, poultry and eggs.....".
Although I agree that we must learn to do the research ourselves and take control of our own health, I also trust several sources, who are researchers with intelligence and integrity.
I would recommend considering the following, based on the many works of Roger J. Williams, Ph.D.
Dr. Roger Williams knows nutrition and alcoholism the way Charles Schultz knows Charlie Brown: through a lifetime of careful study, hard work and a lot of writing. Begin with him.
Here is what he concludes :
1. Vitamin C may be taken to the point of daily saturation, which is just below the amount causing diarrhea. Vitamin C improves the metabolism of the toxic by-products of alcohol and, in large quantities, is a powerful antitoxin. It has also been shown to be effective against hepatitis. (Smith, L. H., ed. Clinical Guide To The Use of Vitamin C, Life Sciences Press, Tacoma, WA, 1988)
2. B-COMPLEX (50 milligrams [mg], 8 times daily) Beverage alcohol (ethanol, C2 H5 OH) is a simple carbohydrate supplying lots of energy and no nutrition. In this way it is a lot like sugar. Excess consumption of either sugar or alcohol is well known to increase our need for the vitamins necessary for their metabolism, specifically the B-complex vitamins. It is safest, easiest and cheapest to take the whole B-vitamin team together.
The B-vitamins, including much-needed thiamin, help correct a bad diet and also help level out low blood sugar problems. Hypoglycemia is often a factor in alcohol cravings. The body wants simple, quick carbohydrate and we erroneously satisfy that craving with sugar... or booze. Niacin or niacinamide (vitamin B-3) helps the body to calm down. The B-vitamins have been successfully used for decades by orthomolecular psychiatrists to relieve depression and psychoses. Watch what they can do to relieve the D.T.'s. Incidentally, you can create the symptoms of delirium tremens in laboratory animals without alcohol just by inducing B-vitamin deficiency.
3. CHROMIUM (200 to 400 mcg chromium polynicotinate or chromium picolinate daily) Chromium, deficient in 90% of all healthy people, is almost certainly wanting in the alcoholic's diet. Chromium improves your body's sensitivity to insulin, so you can do more with less of it. Remember that alcoholics consume huge amounts of simple carbohydrates. The last thing an alcoholic's body needs would be insulin-resistant cells.
4. L-Glutamine (probably two or three grams daily) This amino acid has been shown to improve brain function in alcoholics, resulting in improved sleep, decreased anxiety and a reduced craving for alcohol.
5. LECITHIN (2 to 5 tablespoons daily) Lecithin makes up one third of your brain by dry weight. Lecithin also provides choline, which your body can make into the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. As with L-Glutamine above, this produces a feeling of well being and self-control so wanting in most alcoholics.
Additionally, lecithin is lipotrophic, which means it can help move fats about in the body. The fatty liver condition so common with alcoholics is likely to improve with lecithin supplementation.
6. Controlled VEGETABLE JUICE FASTING has been successfully used to clear out fatty livers, too. Juice fasting, along with large amounts of the B-vitamins and vitamin C, may be a real long-term help with cirrhosis of the liver. The liver can regenerate to a considerable extent; Max Gerson, M.D. says that it takes about 18 months to do so. It is no surprise, then, that the Gerson Therapy focuses on the liver and on raw vegetable juice therapy for it.
7. A HIGH POTENCY DAILY MULTIVITAMIN AND MULTIMINERALsupplement is needed as well. It should carotene, an antioxidant and safe form of vitamin A. 400 to 800 IU of vitamin E, 50 mcg of selenium, and 50 to 100 mg of zinc gluconate or zinc monomethionine would also be desirable.
8. A DIET OF GOOD VEGETARIAN FOOD and plenty of fresh vegetable juices is important. A mostly vegetarian diet effortlessly ensures better health. More fiber and complex carbohydrates; less fat and sugar. No junk food!
REFERENCES:
(If a book listed below is out of print, as the older R. J. Williams books are likely to be, check online booksellers for used copies. You can also ask your librarian for interlibrary loan assistance.
Gerson, Max A Cancer Therapy: Results of 50 Cases, Totality Books, Del Mar, CA (Don't let the title limit you: this is the complete instruction manual for the liver-restoring Gerson Therapy. A really outstanding work.)
Ray, O. and Ksir, C. Drugs, Society and Human Behavior, Mosby, 1990, chapter 9
Werbach, M. R. Nutritional Influences on Illness, Keats, 1988, pp 11-22 and 241-242. (An excellent review of the scientific literature.)
Williams, R. J. Biochemistry of B Vitamins, 1950
Williams, R. J. Nutrition and Alcoholism, 1951
Williams, R. J. Alcoholism: The Nutritional Approach, 1959
Williams, R. J. Nutrition Against Disease, New York: Pitman, 1971
Williams, R. J. Physician's Handbook of Nutritional Science, 1975
Williams, R. J., ed. A Physician's Handbook on Orthomolecular Medicine Keats, 1977 (This is an inexpensive collection of terrific nutritional papers on orthomolecular [more commonly known as "megavitamin"] therapy.)
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