The Best Vitamins for a Person With Alcohol Use Disorder

Possible mechanisms of alcohol-induced liver injury include direct ethanol hepatotoxicity, lipid peroxidation, oxidative stress, changes in the intestinal microbiota, and immune response activation. These nutritional disorders can affect any stage of alcoholic hepatitis, alcoholic fatty liver or steatosis, and alcoholic cirrhosis. In addition, the pathogenesis of liver damage, especially cirrhosis, further exacerbates nutritional disorders.

Understanding and Preventing Related Health Issues

• Malnutrition due to impaired digestion and nutrient absorption from alcohol and organ damage are common complications in patients with conventional ALD.
• Even in small amounts, drinking alcohol raises stomach acidity levels and reduces the ability to absorb nutrients through the stomach mucosa and small intestine[4].
• Remember to consult a healthcare professional for personalized advice on nutritional supplementation.
• This study cited biliary stasis as one of the causes of the elevated manganese levels.
• Chronic alcohol use can deplete your body of vitamins and minerals by reducing your appetite, interfering with nutrient absorption, and impairing your body’s ability to use nutrients effectively.
• Alcohol misuse can deplete essential vitamins, such as thiamine (vitamin B1), folate (vitamin B9), and pyridoxine (vitamin B6).

Though rare, liver cancer can develop from the damage that occurs with cirrhosis. The prognosis for liver failure is poor and requires immediate treatment, often in the intensive care unit. Symptoms include fever, jaundice (yellowing of the skin), malnourishment, swelling, and accumulation of fluid around the liver. Deficiency or surplus of vitamins, major minerals, and trace elements in ALD. James Lake, M.D., a clinical assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, works to transform mental health care through the evidence-based uses of alternative therapies.

• In addition, ethanol metabolic pathways produce toxic metabolites (acetaldehyde and free radicals) that lead to cell damage as a result of oxidative stress [6,7].
• Given the frequency of deficiencies in B vitamins, zinc, and vitamin D, supplementation may be beneficial.
• Someone with decompensated cirrhosis may develop ascites (or fluid in the abdomen), gastrointestinal bleeding, and hepatic encephalopathy, in which the brain is affected.
• Alcohol-induced changes in the gut microbiota may contribute to alcohol-induced oxidative stress and intestinal hyperpermeability [9].

When to Contact Your Healthcare Provider

Doctors can identify the physiologic signs of long-term alcohol abuse through a physical examination and blood tests. They may also ask the patient questions about his or her drinking habits, using a standardized questionnaire, to identify psychological signs. Since many alcoholics are in denial about their problem, doctors may ask the patient’s permission to speak with family and friends as well. You may also consider taking multivitamin supplements containing B1, B2, B3, B6, and vitamin C to alleviate alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

When should I avoid Kisunla?

Using a multivitamin or B-complex vitamin during alcohol withdrawal is helpful for preventing malnourishment of nutrients. Most combination supplements have a higher standard dose for the individual vitamin. However, each vitamin serves a specific function in your body and should be adjusted to your specific symptoms. Under physician supervision, vitamin doses are adjusted to treat alcohol withdrawal symptoms, while also taking into account any existing health problems requiring management. Medications and lifestyle modifications may also be prescribed depending on the stage. Fatty liver disease can also develop after binge drinking, which is defined as drinking four to five drinks in two hours or less.

They can also evaluate the person’s drinking patterns and overall health and work together to craft a treatment plan. The timeline of detoxification varies between individuals and depends on the duration and extent of their drinking behavior. It may also depend on any other physical and mental health issues an individual has.

How Many Days to Detox from Alcohol: A Concise Guide for Recovery

• Combined with poor nutrition, this may increase your risk of alcohol-induced injury to your liver, intestines, lungs, and brain.
• Over time, the liver of a person who drinks heavily can become damaged and cause alcoholic liver disease.
• Fat should comprise 30–35% of the total calories, be high in unsaturated fatty acids, and contain sufficient amounts of essential fatty acids [54].
• Remember to consult a healthcare professional before starting any new supplement regimen, and always prioritize a balanced and nutrient-dense diet to aid in your recovery journey.
• Niacin deficiency may also result from alcohol use disorder because alcohol dependence may lead to malnutrition or issues with the digestion and absorption of nutrients.

The upper limit for daily vitamin C is 2,000 mg, however, medically supervised dose increase is advised before taking vitamin C exceeding the daily recommendation of 90 mg. Vitamin A, or beta-carotene supplements help to correct deficiencies during withdrawal, but due to potential liver damage from alcoholism, should only be taken under physician supervision. There is evidence that not only alcoholic cirrhosis is correlated with lower levels of serum vitamin D, but also that adequate vitamin D supplementation seems to improve the prognosis, as determined in the Child-Pugh score [32].

Herbal Remedies and Antioxidants

Of course, these are only 12 helpful options—there are many vitamins and supplements for alcoholics you can take to aid your system in recovery. We recommend speaking with your doctor about how heavy drinking has impacted your body, and which supplements will be the most safe and useful for you as an individual. Other new habits, such as regular exercise, mindfulness practice, and a healthier diet, can all contribute to boosting your health in recovery. Vitamins can only provide some protection against oxidative stress caused by alcohol. However, they cannot entirely prevent the adverse effects of chronic alcohol abuse on the brain. Alcohol depletes and inhibits the absorption of vital nutrients, including vitamins.

Similarly, a deficiency of Zn in lung epithelium and alveolar macrophages reduces the function of the pulmonary barrier, causing respiratory distress syndrome. Finally, impaired bowel and liver function causes the accumulation of neurotoxic metabolites, which can play a vitamins for alcoholics significant role in alcoholic brain damage. There is also a hypothesis that ethanol-induced Zn deficiency may interfere with neurotransmission. Research suggests certain B vitamins can help treat alcoholic liver disease by alleviating alcohol-induced oxidative stress8.

By impairing absorption, metabolism, and utilization of vitamins, chronic heavy drinking can cause vitamin deficiencies. Eating a healthy diet, getting regular exercise, and avoiding liver-damaging foods such as fried foods, can also help the liver heal during treatment. However, in advanced alcoholic liver disease, liver regeneration is impaired, resulting in permanent damage to the liver. Alcoholic fatty liver disease appears early on as fat deposits accumulate in the liver.

• The alcohol effects in the liver can be prevented by antioxidant mechanisms, which induces enzymatic as well as other nonenzymatic pathways.
• Thus, management during hospitalization should focus on nutritional support in addition to alcohol withdrawal, treatment of infection and sepsis and complications of cirrhosis and portal hypertension, and specific treatment of AH [16,17].
• Vitamins and their possible mechanisms of action against the liver injury caused by al-cohol consumption.