ALCOHOL ABUSE – TREAT IT WITH NATUROPATHY

                                                                                                  DR. SATISH BAJAJ

                                                            NIRAMAYA® NATUROPATHY

Alcoholism is a social menace. One starts with an occasional party drink & is often pushed by the social circle once one begins. It is encouraged just for enjoyment & unknowingly one gets habitual to it. Anxiety & depression further support it. Some times mere prosperity leads to alcoholism.

To nip the bud well in time, best way is the advice of a Psychiatrist but in the later stage, medical help becomes a necessity. This help very often fails. Moreover chances are that the patient may get addicted to the drugs itself which are tranquilizers  & / or Sedatives. A very careful supervision of the patient is required.

The basis of the article is to treat an Alcoholic with Naturopathy in a scientific way. We are not only to treat the reasons behind a person turning an alcoholic but also the present problems being faced by the patient.

The person usually starts drinking in the evening but the treatment starts from the next morning. In the morning, there is hangover due to low levels of alcohol in the blood stream. An alcoholic goes for another drink in the morning that replenishes those low levels of alcohol & he starts feeling better. The alternative is to detoxify the body as fast as possible so that the symptoms of hangover disappear quickly & the person feels active & better. So he requires such helping treatments & diet that act as fast eliminators of toxins from the body.

The second phase starts at the time when withdrawal symptoms start appearing. It is Anxiety & craving to take alcohol at the daily routine time. Now an Anxiolytic & Tranquilizing treatment & diet is required. Both these phases are well treated with Naturopathy as is being mentioned below.

The process of Detoxification depends upon Lungs, Kidneys, and Skin & Faeces. Normal stools are passed while on prescribed diet. If the patient is active enough, he is advised vigorous exercise for fast breathing & sweating. Bhastrika Pranayaam is advised for forced Exhalation. Naturopathy Wet Sheet pack around the waist is given to increase Diuresis. And for the passive one, Dry Friction of the whole body is done for at least 20 mnts followed by a Steam Bath.

In the evening, the patient requires to be tranquilized. He needs a good sleep. Prescription is a Full Body Massage from head towards toes for 20-30 minutes, either by the attendant or by the patient himself followed by a bath of body temperature ( Neutral Bath ) for 20-30 mnts.While he goes to bed, Cold Mud Packs are kept on the Forehead & Eyes. All these treatments induce a natural & sound sleep when the patient is in a state of Anxiety. For how many days to continue the treatment depends upon the severity of the alcoholism. But the treatment surely starts working from the very first day.

Along with these treatments, some additional treatments are required for depressive or agitated patients that are given only in the morning.

Incase of Depression, a Cold Spinal Bath of 5 mnts, &/OR a cold Mehan Bath for 10 mnts after defecation are very effective measures. A cold Mud Pack on the Sacrum region is also very effective.

In case of agitated ones, a 10 mnts Head Bath with fresh water (mind that the rest of the body must not get wet) followed by a Mudpack on the Eyebrows’ center ( Agya Chakra ) for 10 mnts & a gentle massage with Desi Ghee on the temples & eyebrows is sufficient enough to calm them down.

An ideal diet schedule is advised which is never changed. Vegetables & fruits keep on changing with the season, so the patient is given general guidelines for selection of fruits & veggies. The diet schedule recommended is also designed in such a way so as to help Detoxification, Nourishment & for the induction of sound sleep during the night. It is also a Hepato-protective diet to safeguard the Liver.

MOST IMPORTANT: is the water intake. Advice is for 4-5 glasses of lukewarm water just after leaving the bed to facilitate the Excretion of Toxic waste end products of Alcohol through excessive Urination & Perspiration. It also helps in softening the stools & cleansing the bowels. To further support this process, 10-15 glasses of water are advised during the whole day.

SALADS: second is the importance of Salads. They act as strong “RECHAKAS’  (eliminators of toxic materials). They are not only rich in vitamins & minerals but are also a good source of roughage causing softening of stools for easy evacuation. Salad should be taken without pouring extra salt on it, because salad without salt creates a sense of aversion to alcohol. They are a must with both the principal meals.

A schedule is set for an alcoholic in the following manner:

BED TEA: is replaced by Aamla Juice (Indian gooseberry—Emblica officinalis) 2 tbsp + 1   tbsp of Honey + a pinch of rock salt + a glass of fresh water or Lemon juice with honey & water. It is refreshing & energizing.

BREAKFAST: should be of Sprouted Wheat Porridge / Sprouts with salad / whey or a cold milk shake of banana / guava / mango / sapota in summers & hot milk in winters with figs / raisins / dates – fresh or dried etc.

MID MORNING: is the time for vegetable soup OR vegetable juice OR fresh fruits juice to raise the appetite.

LUNCH: should be with added bran to the chapatis with green vegetables, unpolished rice, pulses with skin, curd Raita etc. but salad is a must.

EVENING: comes & it’s time for fresh seasonal fruits. Particularly the sweet fruits are preferred for the alcoholics e.g. bananas, apples, mangoes, litchi, muskmelon, watermelon, peaches etc. Sweet fruits are preferred over sour & less sweet ones because they are supposed to sedate the brain. Sweet fruit juices are of more value as the quantity of nutrients increases a lot due to the extraction from more fruits.

DINNER: is actually more important. It must be with bran, plenty of Fibrous vegetables & salad. Pulses, rice, cheese, tubers like potatoes, arbi, kachaloo, rataloo & all non-veg food must be stopped. They all lack in fiber & cause constipation & thus retain the toxins in the body.

POST DINNER: It is believed that before retiring, sweet things induce a good sleep but the things should always be natural ones. The raised glucose levels in the brain cells are supposed to sedate the brain. Gurh, jaggery, figs & raisins soaked in water, fresh or dried dates, murabba of Aamla, apple or carrot, honey, gulkand (a preparation of rose petals in sugar), sesame mixed with jaggery are the things which serve the purpose. A glass of milk is another sleep booster. Scientists link the amino acid Tryptophan found in good quantity in milk to a good sleep.

AVOID: The things to be avoided are tea, coffee, fine wheat flour, hydrogenated ghee, chemically treated butter, market made things, preserved & processed foods etc.

A CERTAIN NO TO: Pickles, paapar, namkeen, non-veg foods etc. Precisely talking, a diet rich in condiments & spices is a perfect combination with Alcohol & thus increases the demand for alcohol. So it should be a never to an alcoholic.

SUMMARY: At the end, a whole day’s treatment schedule is summarized as follows: -

1.      4-5 glasses of lukewarm water.

2.      Defecation.

3.      Antidepressant / Anxiolytic treatment.

4.      Dry Rubbing of the whole body.

5.      Steam Bath followed by cold shower.

6.      Break Fast

7.      Mid morning veggie soup / veggie juice.

8.      Lunch.

9.      Seasonal Sweet fruits / Sweet fruits juice

10.  Reverse Massage of the whole body.

11.  Neutral Bath.

12.  Dinner.

13.  Post dinner eatables.

14.  Mudpack o eyes & forehead.

15.  Shavaasn on a clean bed with some soothing colored bed sheet & coverings & some mild fragrance to sedate.

Once the cycle of taking alcohol is broken for 3 – 4 consecutive days, the aversion to alcohol starts automatically.

Lastly, to consider is that the pattern of treatment advised above is for a normal alcoholic only. If a person is suffering from some other disease also along with alcoholism, the treatments & diet plans will be required to change accordingly.

Dr. Satish Bajaj

NIRAMAYA® NATUROPATHY

                           7, A.G.C.R. Enclave, Delhi-110092

                           Ph. 22374713, Mob; 9868569986