What Benefits Will I Gain From Working With Nutritionists at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab?

Arguably one of the most influential forefathers of modern Western medicine, Hippocrates, once famously advised, “Let thy food be thy medicine.” While much has changed since his impact on medicine over 2,000 years ago, the belief in the healing nature of nutrition has not. This is why working with nutritionists remains an integral part of any effective recovery plan.

One of our maxims here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab is “food is medicine,” which is why we focus on nutrition and diet for interconnected mind-body healing. Ultimately, the human body is made up of over 37.2 trillion cells, so healing down to that cellular level becomes a crucial aspect of recovery. We ensure that this deep healing occurs via a nutrient-rich diet that focuses on the gut-brain axis and the essential vitamins and minerals that are often depleted in individuals in need of recovery. 

However, here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we don’t focus on nutrition as its own solitary modality. Our professional nutritionists and dietician ensure that their nutritional therapy works in the context of a comprehensive recovery plan. Nutritional therapy can work to supplement and make all other treatment modalities significantly more effective. After all, if the body remains “broken,” then the mind will be unable to focus on the deeper root/core causes of addiction and other issues of mental health.

What Does Working With Nutritionists Have to Do With Recovery?

Many people may be under the impression that working with nutritionists only applies to those individuals that are struggling with an eating disorder or issues of disordered eating. While yes, working with nutritionists is integral to these individuals, it can also be highly beneficial to people struggling with all issues of mental health (including addiction).

It is also important to note that we here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab are the only recovery center in Hawaii that is licensed to treat individuals struggling with eating disorders. Due to our already intensified focus on nutrition and whole-body healing, we are an ideal place for individuals that need help with an eating disorder or disordered eating.

Mental health care is most effective when it addresses the core causes of the issues and focuses on treating them with a whole mind-body (holistic) approach. This interconnected holistic approach must include a focus on nutrition. Remember, food is medicine. Just as we rely on doctors and clinicians to prescribe our “traditional” medicines, why then should we not rely on nutritionists to do the same with food? After all, food is what fuels us and makes us whole. Choosing the best foods can be just as important as choosing the right therapies or the right medication. Some of the best foods focus on the gut microbiome.

Nutrition That Focuses on Creating a Healthy Gut Microbiome

Doctors and scientists continue to learn more and more about the interconnectedness of the human body. Some of the most fascinating discoveries of this interconnectedness have come recently with the realization of how the brain interacts with the gut. These interactions are influenced by how healthy the gut microbiota is in an individual. This is known as the “gut-brain axis,” and it is actually less confusing than it sounds. Ultimately, healthy foods equals a healthy gut, and a healthy gut equals a healthy mind.

According to the article Gut Microbiota’s Effect on Mental Health: The Gut-Brain Axis in the peer-reviewed journal Clinics and Practice, “Healthy gut function has been linked to normal central nervous system (CNS) function. Hormones, neurotransmitters, and immunological factors released from the gut are known to send signals to the brain either directly or via autonomic neurons.” When the diet is lacking in nutrients such as antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, these “signals” can become jumbled, interrupted, or not fully received. So, it is not a stretch to see how these interruptions can correlate to issues of mental health.

According to the aforementioned clinical journal, “Dysbiosis [negative microbiota] and inflammation of the gut have been linked to causing several mental illnesses including anxiety and depression, which are prevalent in society today.” Because there is such a direct link between a negative formulation of gut microbiota to mental health, there is also a direct link between the foods that combat that bad microbiota to improve issues of mental health.

This is just some of the intricate information our nutritionists and dieticians use at our luxury recovery center. They utilize a gut-healthy diet, which has a focus on leafy greens, healthy fibers, and colorful fruits and vegetables, to help heal our clients from the inside out. Also, they have the benefit of presenting this diet with the help of our onsite five-star chef that can also cater to individual clients’ needs.

What Are the Benefits of Working With Nutritionists?

The benefits of working with nutritionists are vast and are both quantifiable and personal. Now, the following are just a few of the evidence-based benefits of working with nutritionists:

• Creates a balanced physicality, which can include increasing or reducing body mass, establishing core strength, and improving balance and flexibility
• Reduces blood pressure and cholesterol
• Improves the gut microbiome, which helps in mind-body communication and functioning
• Reduces and lowers the risks for chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and even certain cancers
• Improves sleep patterns

While those previous benefits can be read on a chart and quantified through tests, the following benefits exist on a more personal, and some would argue spiritual, level:

• A newfound joy for food and how positive it can make one feel while engaging in eating
• An improvement in outlook; the way one views themself and the world around them
• Increased physical, mental, and spiritual energy
• An increase in self-confidence
• Boost in mood and positive energy
• A newfound respect for nature and the sustenance it provides
• Closely working with nutritionists helps with the communication of difficult emotions and the core causes of mental health issues; trust

These are just a few of the benefits that can be immediately experienced. Utilizing the nutritional practices that are presented at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab can also aid in disease mitigation, and even prolonging life expectancy. Of course, these are outcomes that are based on other conditions, but nutrition is an essential aspect of core/root health. Also, the nutrition that may not be immediately acquired via diet can be obtained through many of our unique and effective vitamin and hydration infusions.

Utilizing Concierge IV Infusions for Successful Long-Term Recovery

Because vitamin and mineral deficiency is more common than one might think upon arriving at a recovery center, it can be essential to replace those vital elements as soon as possible. One of the best ways of accomplishing this is via nutrient-rich infusions. This is a relatively unique option at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab because most traditional treatment facilities do not have the type of licensed naturopathic doctors (NDs) necessary to ensure that they are administered safely and successfully. We have an ND onsite at all times.

There are many types of vitamin and hydration infusions that can help get individuals back to the healthy levels of nutrients that the human body requires. The key is finding the right combination that works on an individualized basis. One ideal type of these treatments for recovery is the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) IV infusion

The NAD is particularly effective for those individuals that are in recovery for alcohol or substance misuse or abuse. This is because these infusions restore the energy levels necessary to fight cravings and, thus, potential relapse. NADs also have many other benefits. These include reducing fatigue and helping with sleeplessness, managing stress, increasing self-confidence, helping with focus, and increasing physical well-being. The injections are also antioxidant-rich, which can help to fight off free radicals in the body.

Another effective type of these naturopathic treatments is glutathione infusions. These infusions are particularly effective in ridding the body of many of the toxins that substance and alcohol abuse and misuse generate. Glutathione is a natural antioxidant that is produced in the body, which helps it to detoxify, but for those individuals struggling with active addiction, this nutrient is lacking. This infusion not only jumpstarts that detoxification process back up, but it also has many other benefits. These include improved mental acuity and brain health, heightened energy levels, reduced stress, and help to regulate disordered sleep patterns.

There is one more exceptional infusion that we offer at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab that has been highly effective in helping our clients move on to the next stage of their recovery. Remember, we take care of the body, so we can then address the root/core causes of pain in the mind. These infusions are known as Myers cocktails.

Myers cocktails are like a one-two punch to many of the nutrient-derived ailments that addiction and other issues of mental health can manifest. These infusions are rich in vitamins and minerals and, since the 1980s, have traditionally been utilized to treat chronic conditions such as fibromyalgia, asthma, and migraines. However, these infusions have also been shown to have specific benefits for those in recovery. Myers cocktails can help rebuild essential immunity, reduce stress-causing inflammation, increase focus and mental performance, and raise energy levels. These infusions have even been shown to have physical benefits such as improving skin quality and hair and nail growth.

Working With Nutritionists to Get to the Core Issues of Mental Health

Just as that last benefit eluded to, working with NDs, nutritionists, and dieticians offers the ability to work through core issues with someone on a fundamental and foundational level. After all, what is more fundamental to life than food, and its live-enriching properties therein? Nutritionists do much more than prescribe a regimen of diet and exercise. They work on an individualized basis to create the type of nutrition plan that will address the root issues of what an individual is struggling with.

For example, suppose an individual is working with an anxiety disorder. In that case, an effective nutritionist will be able to explain how certain foods can aid in stress reduction and how that reduction can correlate to anxiety issues. Another example: if an individual is struggling with substance use disorder (SUD), a nutritionist can prescribe a meal plan and exercise schedule that can help with both physical and emotional cravings.

Exercise is also an important aspect of nutrition that can sometimes be overlooked or considered a separate issue. This is not the case at all. Exercise is not just supplemental to nutrition; it is essential. Here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we offer many exceptional exercise options. One of which is the low-impact, often spiritual, practice of yoga. 

Yoga and Its Recovery Benefits

Now, yoga has been in existence for over 3,000 years. For much of this time, it was utilized solely as a religious or spiritual practice. However, it is only in the past 65 years or so that yoga has been utilized in the West as a means of holistic recovery and healing.

According to the International Journal of Yoga, “Yoga therapy involves instruction in yogic practices and teachings to prevent reduce or alleviate structural, physiological, emotional and spiritual pain, suffering or limitations.” Also, “Yogic practices enhance muscular strength and body flexibility, promote and improve respiratory and cardiovascular function, promote recovery from and treatment of addiction, reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, improve sleep patterns, and enhance overall well-being and quality of life.” Now, these aren’t even all of the benefits that one can achieve from practicing yoga.

There is also a spiritual component that many people often either gain or incorporate into their yoga practice. Though, it should be noted that this is not a requirement to receive any of the aforementioned benefits. Especially for those individuals in addiction recovery, engaging in a spiritual or connected way of life can be an exemplary component of their recovery plan. Also, what better place to do yoga than on the beaches of Hawaii located just outside the front door of our 30-acre property? With the incredible mountains towering in the background, looking out over the ocean, we can’t think of many.

The Benefits of Having an Onsite Nutritionist at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab

As previously mentioned, a premier benefit offered at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab is that we have two nutritionists and a dietician onsite. That means that our clients have unimpeded access whenever an issue of nutritional health and wellness comes up. Recovery does not keep regular business hours, so neither do our dedicated professionals and staff.

While Exclusive Hawaii Rehab offers tailor-made nutrition plans and meals to each of our clients during their stay, our licensed professionals also help our clients learn to cook and prepare healthy meals for themselves once they leave our healing center. Also, because the often overlooked deficiency for individuals struggling with issues of addiction and mental health is that of vitamins and minerals, clients also receive pharmaceutical-grade supplements specifically formulated for their needs. Like the infusions, these supplements help speed up the process of reversing nutrient deficiency.

Having nutritionists onsite also ensures full communication with the other professionals on the recovery staff. Also, this includes working with our always-onsite ND, which is wholly unique to Exclusive Hawaii Rehab. This way, they can adjust and amend their nutrition therapy based on how it is working alongside the work of our ND and our other holistic modalities. Having a comprehensive and cohesive multi-tiered recovery plan is crucial, and that includes the vital nutrition component. There is no one way to recover, and having a diverse professional staff with unique capabilities and offerings can help ensure that all of a client’s specific needs are met.

The Root Cause Recovery Mission at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab

Hippocrates also said, “It’s far more important to know what person the disease has than what disease the person has.” We don’t treat symptoms; we treat people. Here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we understand the individualized needs of our clients. No one has the same root causes that constructed their mental health issues. Even with the same diagnosis, the details always differ.

While we hold no monopoly on recovery, Exclusive Hawaii Rehab offers a unique holistic experience that extends the traditional treatment realm, which doesn’t work for everyone. Here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we encourage our clients to experience true healing from the inside out by resolving the root causes of mental health disorders and addiction and helping them rediscover their life’s purpose with clarity, joy, and fulfillment. 

The proverbial saying, “You are what you eat,” is more than just a clever anecdote; it’s the truth! However, it’s also complex and often requires the help of a nutritionist to educate individuals about which foods can benefit their overall well-being. Exclusive Hawaii Rehab focuses on the importance of nutrition, what kinds of foods can benefit overall health, and has a licensed nutritionist on site that can help individuals find deficiencies in their daily diet and ultimately seek a healthy balance. For more information on why working with a nutritionist can be one of the most important and beneficial things that one can do for long-term recovery, reach out to Exclusive Hawaii Rehab today at (808) 775-0200.