Winter Maladies: Natural Approaches
June Russell's Health Facts
Alcohol - Addiction
More than 13 million Americans use illegal drugs, more than 2 million are known to abuse prescription drugs, 60 million are hooked on cigarettes, 33 million binge on alcohol, and 12 million are heavy drinkers. There are some 450,000 compulsive gamblers, and about 41 million Americans are physically dependent on caffeine. If we are anxious, we want tranquility drugs (sugar, alcohol, marijuana, heroin) that mimic the natural sedatives we are missing. The cure will be easiest and most permanent when we stop masking the problem with drugs, legal or illegal, and correct the biochemical imbalance through nature’s pharmacy.
The three most important neurotransmitters involved with addiction are; endorphins, serotonin and dopamine. Endorphins are in charge of self-esteem and high tolerance to pain - serotonin is the body’s calming chemical and antidepressant - dopamine makes you alert. Serotonin and endorphins are part of a biochemical cascade that results in the release of dopamine, so boosting these two neurotransmitters can also boost the production of dopamine and reduce cravings.
A harmful physiological affects of addictions are well known, excessive caffeine can damage neurotransmitters in the brain; alcohol damages the liver and kidneys and can cause high blood pressure; nicotine raises blood pressure and the risk of cancer and cataracts; and too much sugar can lead to insulin resistance and diabetes.
Amino acids are critical nutritional components for addressing the biochemical cause of addiction. The neurological building blocks can quickly change an inner landscape from clouds to rainbows, and it’s common for people with addictions to be deficient. Julia Ross, Director of Recovery Systems, in Mill Valley, Calf., says there are only 4-6 amino acids needed to enhance people’s vital mood function. Giving them the feeling they can go on without the drugs or alcohol and tolerate life. So which ones do you need? According to Ross, in her book, “The Diet Cure,”(Viking 1999) the kind of amino acid you need depends on your deficiency symptoms. A craving for alcohol, for example, may mean you need glutamine, while a lack of energy may signal that your body needs tyrosine (for more info. see book). Also be sure you are getting enough water which helps the body to detoxify and carry nutrients to the brain.
Nutrition isn't everything but it is a crucial start. Changing one’s diet is essential to healing addictions.
(“Heal Your Addictions Naturally,” Letsliveonline.com, July 2000)
One in 9 who drink will be an alcoholic. Alcohol increases the concentration of dopamine and serotonin, feel-good chemicals, it disturbs levels of glutamate, which can make people feel high, and it interferes with other chemicals that can make people tired. Enoch Gordis, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, calls alcohol "the most widespread and damaging substance we have in society."
("Alcohol and the Brain," U.S. News & World Report, May 7, 2001)
Alcohol is a psychoactive drug that can cause irreversible physiological changes that make one susceptible to alcoholism.
(Alcoholmd.com - October 2001)