Certain health habits are more important than others for almost all patients. Individuals who smoke may have multiple unhealthy habits, but they should usually still focus on quitting smoking first.

Smoking cigarettes is more dangerous than most other unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. Heavy drinking is similarly unhealthy. Alcohol use disorder patients may also find it much more difficult to maintain a comparatively healthy lifestyle in general. 

Unhealthy Diets

Alcohol use disorder patients frequently have daily diets that aren’t nutritious enough. Some of these individuals might not eat very much food in general. They won’t get the nutrients that they need each day when that happens. 

Alcoholic beverages themselves have calories, but few nutrients. The antioxidant content of red wine has received lots of discussion, but red wine contains very few vitamins or minerals. It has very small amounts of riboflavin, thiamin, and niacin.

Patients could have very small servings of certain vegetables, and they’d be able to get larger quantities of all these nutrients in the process. It’s also possible to get the antioxidants in red wine from many very healthy and non-alcoholic sources, including berries and other types of fresh fruit. 

Some alcohol use disorder patients may try to eat relatively healthy diets. However, alcohol may suppress a person’s appetite when it’s consumed heavily enough. Even finishing a meal can be challenging.

Patients also may have more difficulties with food preparation under these circumstances. People don’t absolutely have to cook food at home to eat nutritiously. However, eating a healthy diet while relying on other prepared foods sometimes takes careful planning. Many alcohol use disorder patients can have memory problems, making that strategy less feasible. 

Alcohol use disorder patients are also prone to zinc deficiencies, which can negatively affect a patient’s sense of smell or taste. These patients might lose interest in some healthy foods at that point. Some people might also have a harder time motivating themselves to eat as much food as they need every day when this happens. 

The people who are essentially consuming alcoholic beverages instead of food for a good portion of their days may become very malnourished as a result. Long-term nutritional deficiencies can actually cause many health problems of their own.

Alcohol use disorder patients might eventually develop these health issues, which may only worsen their other medical problems. The patients who seek treatment can get blood tests and find out more about how they can become healthier as they recover. They may need to change their exercise habits as well. 

Inadequate Exercise

Alcohol use disorder patients sometimes struggle with getting enough exercise each week. It’s physically difficult for many people to exercise when they have severe headaches. Individuals who drink heavily often have problems with headaches throughout the week. 

Patients may also be too tired to exercise at all most of the time. Alcohol is a powerful depressant drug, and its effects can last for a while. Some alcohol use disorder patients experience severe depression. Patients who have depression for almost any reason often have a difficult time getting the exercise that they need.

Alcohol can interfere with an exercise schedule in multiple ways. Even moderate exercise requires a certain amount of focus. Heavy alcohol use can have a negative effect on a person’s ability to make decisions.

Patients may decide to drink and not exercise several days in a row. If they have habits like that over the course of a year or more, they may suffer from the effects of a sedentary lifestyle. When combined with the health effects of very heavy alcohol use, the medical consequences may be particularly serious for these patients.