A Missing Link: Nutritional Healing in Recovery

Abstract

The journey of students in a Collegiate Recovery Program (CRP) begins with early recovery and continues towards a well-developed mental, spiritual, emotional, and physical state. Much emphasis is placed on mental, emotional, and spiritual healing through traditional recovery programs. Though all of these aspects are vital to flourishing in recovery, nourishing the physical state is often overlooked. The “missing link” within CRPs, the role of nutrition, can significantly impact physical well-being in recovery and a student’s reconnection with their body. Delivering information to CRP staff and students on the many aspects impacted from nutritional deficiencies and imbalances (neurobiological, gastrointestinal, emotional, mental), particularly in early recovery, will provide a means to evaluate  inclusion of nutritional and physical health emphasis at their CRP.  Appropriate implementation, not only knowledge, of resources to support this “missing link” is also crucial  in a student’s journey to flourishing in recovery