Nutrition and Exercise

Active addiction depletes the body in measurable ways. Alcohol burns through B vitamins (especially thiamine, B6, and folate), magnesium, and zinc; opioids slow the gut and drive protein, vitamin D, and iron deficits; stimulants suppress appetite for weeks at a time, leaving patients arriving at RECO Island in Boynton Beach significantly undernourished. Repleting these nutrients is not a wellness add-on — it directly affects how quickly mood, energy, sleep, and cognition recover. Patients who eat consistently in the first 30 days have measurably fewer cravings and better engagement in therapy than patients who do not.

Three structured meals plus scheduled snacks, served at consistent times every day. Early in detox, patients often have poor appetite and unstable GI function, so meals are smaller, blander, and easier to tolerate — broth-based soups, plain proteins, simple starches. As appetite returns over the first week, the menu shifts to a higher-protein, lower-glycemic anti-inflammatory pattern with vegetables at every meal, omega-3-rich proteins (salmon, sardines, eggs) several times a week, and consistent hydration. The structure itself — eating on a schedule rather than skipping meals — is therapeutic, because chaotic eating is one of the strongest predictors of relapse.

The gut takes real damage from chronic substance use, and rebuilding it accelerates recovery. Alcohol disrupts the intestinal barrier and shifts the microbiome toward inflammatory species; opioids slow motility and starve the microbiome through poor nutrient delivery. Our nutrition team incorporates fermented foods, soluble fiber, bone broth, and targeted supplements (probiotics, L-glutamine, digestive enzymes when indicated) into the residential meal plan. Patients with persistent GI symptoms get a more targeted protocol guided by inflammatory and stool-test markers. Repairing the gut directly improves mood and reduces post-acute withdrawal symptoms because so much of the gut-brain axis runs through the vagus nerve.

Gentle and brief in the first days, then ramped as the patient stabilizes. During active detox, when vitals are still volatile, exercise is limited to walking, gentle stretching, and breathwork — nothing that taxes a dehydrated cardiovascular system or interferes with prescribed sleep. As patients move through the residential program, they progress to yoga, pool-based movement, light strength training, and eventually moderate aerobic work. Every patient is medically cleared before increased exertion, and patients with cardiovascular history, electrolyte derangement, or active alcoholic hepatitis follow a more conservative ramp.

Yes, and the evidence is robust. Moderate aerobic exercise — 30 to 45 minutes, three to five days per week — raises endogenous endorphins, improves sleep architecture, reduces depressive symptoms comparable to first-line SSRIs in mild-to-moderate cases, and blunts craving intensity. Patients in post-acute withdrawal who establish a consistent movement routine in the residential phase report fewer cravings and better mood through their first 90 days. RECO Island in Boynton Beach builds movement into the schedule deliberately so it becomes a habit patients carry into aftercare, not just a residential perk.

Included. The chef-prepared meals, on-site fitness programming, yoga, and pool access at RECO Island are all part of the residential program and are bundled into the per-diem covered by all major commercial insurance plans (Aetna, BlueCross BlueShield, Cigna, United, Optum, Magellan, Humana) and managed Medicaid. Patients are not charged separately for nutrition consultations, supplement guidance, or movement programming. The only items that may sit outside coverage are specialty supplements taken home after discharge, and our case management team will quote those costs in advance so there are no billing surprises.