When it comes to recovering from substance use and mental health conditions, nutrition plays a significant role. Patients often arrive in treatment with bodies and minds that have endured the toxicity of drug and alcohol use. Unhealthy or irregular eating habits have likely contributed to and even perpetuated a person’s level of impairment. Eating healthy meals — and learning how to care for your body — is instrumental in achieving long-term wellness. 

Emphasizing Nutrition and Wellness in Recovery

Food is so much more than food. It’s energy, it’s nutrients, it helps you replenish your body. What we put into our body is what we’re going to get out of our body, so it’s important to put very energizing and nourishing items into our system — especially during the treatment process.

For most of our patients, this requires a perspective shift: Instead of seeing the body as a thing to be used or simply to medicate, a person begins to see the body as a vessel to respect, nourish, and care for. You can’t neglect the body and expect to function successfully. This is one reason why we make nutrition and wellness a focal point The Meadows Malibu.

Chef Marissa Ayala

Marissa Ayala
Head Chef

Going Beyond the Kitchen

It’s more than just serving healthy, delicious food and having a private chef on-site every day. It’s about taking patients to the farmers’ market, it’s about having a garden right outside, it’s about a weekly Creative Cooking class that teaches patients how to prepare healthful meals for themselves once they return home. 

Our chef takes into consideration not only our patients’ dietary needs and restrictions, but also their personal preferences and requests. She cooks with organic, non-GMO foods and utilizes the yield from the garden as much as possible.

The Meadows Malibu - kitchen

“I love working in teams of people to support and help the patient grow in a safe and nurturing way.”

Michele LeWinter, LMFT
Executive Director
Detoxing

A Positive Cycle of Feeling Better

As patients detox and begins eating healthy, regular meals, they experience the replenishing and restorative properties of food. Their bodies will begin to balance, regulate, and heal themselves. While this process takes time — and may still require assistance from certain non-habit-forming medications or supplements — patients can start to enjoy greater function and clarity. 

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Finding Wellness Through Treatment at The Meadows Malibu

If you or a loved one needs treatment for substance abuse or co-occurring mental health conditions, please get in touch with our team today. We take a very customized approach to each patient’s recovery, even creating individual schedules for every person, every day. Our treatment protocol is backed by extensive research and proven practices that offer patients the best chance at long-term health and wellness. We treat patients with the dignity and respect they deserve, helping them to form healthy habits and take ownership of their recovery process. We would love to speak with you about our program and how to get started. 

 

Call 833-757-5696