Dr. Larson's son died of alcoholism related effects, and it has been her life's work to help other alcoholics. In this book, she lays out her biochemical approach to treating alcohol addiction.

While this book is not "new", in our clinic, I am using this book as a template for working with my alcoholic clients. It is a wonderful resource, is well written, and has many great tools, such as quizzes, formulas, menus etc, that make it a great how-to manual. So it is a great guidebook for nutritionists working with alcoholics as well. I strongly recommend it.

This is an excerpt from her book and website.

"Biochemical Repair

Our biochemical repair program is built around two premises

1.Addressing the substances that must be kept out of the alcoholic's body (including alcohol and other drugs, such as nicotine, caffeine, and refined sugars)

2.Addressing the substances that must be restored to the brain and body (chemicals depleted by alcohol.)

We begin with a physical exam and laboratory testing to identify where damage has occurred. Clients are also screened for vulnerability to substances that can cause cravings for alcohol

At the outset we explain why it's so important that clients avoid caffeine, nicotine, and refined sugars in addition to alcohol. We were amazed at how much coffee our clients had been drinking; some were up to forty cups a day. Caffeine is a drug. Although it recently received a clean bill of health for those concerned about heart disease and cancer, it can complicate or retard recovery from alcohol. Caffeine pumps a lot of adrenaline into the bloodstream. This temporarily provides energy-the morning lift so many people get from their first cup of coffee. Adrenaline also dumps stored glycogen (sugar) into the bloodstream, which triggers an outpouring of insulin. This caffeine-triggered rush of sugar and insulin is no help for alcoholics attempting to stabilize their glucose metabolism.

Foods containing refined sugars are also off-limits because they intensify hypoglycemic symptoms (often described as "dry-drunk" behaviors).

Smoking and using snuff or chewing tobacco is bad for everyone, but many alcoholics already have a lower than normal resistance to disease and do not need any more health hazards than they have already accumulated.

Few treatment programs require clients to avoid these substances on the theory that patients should not have to give up anything more than alcohol. It is a sympathetic attitude we don't think our clients can afford.

From the start, our treatment results were dramatic. Even clients who had failed to recover repeatedly in the past did very well. After two years, we knew we were on the right track. Most clients recovered both their sobriety and their health. The time had come to collect scientific data to confirm (or disprove) what we thought was happening. The research became the basis of my Ph.D. dissertation. I collected data on one hundred alcoholic clients chosen at random. Each was followed for up to three and a half years after treatment. Briefly, this is what I found:

Ninety-eight percent had either an alcoholic parent or close relative. (The other two were adopted, so their genetic heritage was unknown.)

There were ninety-eight previous treatment experiences among the one hundred patients (some had been treated more than once; others, not at all). Of those previously treated, more than half had relapsed by the third month following their last treatment

After one year, only 24 percent had remained sober.

Of the one hundred clients, eighty-eight had abnormal glucose metabolism (hypoglycemia or diabetes).

• Many were deficient in a number of essential nutrients.
• Seventy-three percent tested positive for allergies to various foods; the most common allergies were to wheat and dairy products.
• Fifty-five percent were sensitive to some environmental chemical, principally to products containing hydrocarbons, including ethanols and gasoline.
• Twenty-five percent suffered from candida-related complex, a condition stemming from an over colonization of opportunistic yeast, Candida albicans, in the body. CRC can underlie depression, acute fatigue, indigestion, migraine headaches vaginal and sinus infections, premenstrual syndrome, and impaired immune system functioning. Alcoholics are particularly susceptible because their high intake of sugar (in the form of alcohol) provides a receptive environment for the growth of these intestinal fungi. Poor nutrition can also set the stage far CRC, as can frequent use of antibiotics to treat the infections to which alcoholics in poor health are prone (antibiotics can upset the natural balance of protective bacteria in the intestinal tract that holds Candida albicans in check).

We tabulated symptoms rated by clients as serious to severe upon their entry into the program and again at discharge; mild symptoms were omitted. At entry, a total of 84 percent of the clients reported cravings for alcohol. This figure had dropped to 9 percent by discharge."

Michael S.