Recommended Reading

Addiction Nutrition

Alcohol and the Addictive Brain. Ken Blum, PhD. The Free Press, 1991. Blum may be one of the first scientists who understood the genetic precedents to addiction, but he couches his science in cloaks of common language so non-scientists can understand. He explains brain physiology in the disease of alcoholism as clearly as you would give directions to a welcome guest.

Breaking Your Rx Addiction Habit. Billie J. Sahley, PhD, Katherine M. Birkner, CRNA, PhD. Pain & Stress Publications, 1996. Sahley, a pain management specialist, and her co-author produce a variety of booklets on addiction treatment via nutrition that need proofreading but are useful for their brevity.

Cleansing the Body, Brain and Spirit. Carolyn Reuben. 1998, Berkley, CA. 1998. (Out of print, but available on the Internet.) On the myriad ways one can detoxify the body. Check out Chapter 14 starting p.275 on “Addiction and Substance Abuse Detox.”

Depression-Free, Naturally.
Joan Mathews-Larson, PhD, Random House, 2001. Originally titled Seven Weeks to Emotional Health as a hard cover, Larson's publisher chose one popular problem to highlight in the title of the paperback but it's truly encyclopedic in covering all manner of emotional disturbances, including addiction, aggression, and ADD. An excellent guidebook for self-care or for designing a professional treatment program, by the ‘Mother of Addiction Nutrition.’

End Your Addiction Now: The Proven Nutritional Supplement Program That Can Set You Free. Charles Gant, MD, PhD, and Greg Lewis, PhD. Warner, 2002.
An excellent self-guide down the path of nutritional supplementation for addiction relief. It includes one of the few nutrition-oriented protocols to stop smoking.
The author is planning to re-publish the book, but if you don't find it in stores order it online.

The Healing Nutrients Within.
Eric R. Braverman, MD, with Carl C. Pfeiffer, MD, PhD, Ken Blum, PhD, & Richard Smayda, DO. Keats Publishing, 1997.
An important overview of amino acids for the non-scientist.
Lead author Eric Braverman, MD, has experience applying amino acids to addiction. 

How to Defeat Alcoholism: Nutritional Guidelines for Getting Sober.
Joseph D. Beasley, MD. Times Books, 1989.
Beasley has written so many books on the subject of successful treatment for alcoholism over so many years it's amazing he isn't better known. You can order the book online.

The Mood Cure: The 4-Step Program to Take Charge of Your Emotions—Today. Julia Ross, MA. Penguin, 2002.
If every doctor read and learned from this book, there would be fewer patients addicted to pharmaceuticals, fewer women with undiagnosed thyroid or adrenal insufficiency, and fewer miserable insomniacs on this planet. Ross, a pioneer in the field of addiction nutrition, gently covers technical ground while sharing her experience with using food and nutrients as healing agents. Using her handy questionnaires and advice you will quickly figure out the nutrients and dietary changes that will bring back clearheaded focus and a joyful mood without drugs.

Natural Highs: Nutrition and Brain-Body Techniques to Feel Good All the Time.
 Hyla Cass, MD, and Patrick Holford. Penguin Putnam,  2002. A Los Angeles holistic psychiatrist, author, and frequent presenter at conferences on spirituality, holistic health, and addiction, Cass and her co-author, English nutritionist Patrick Holford, cover the terrain of feeling good from every imaginable viewpoint, with diet, nutrients, and other natural methods for optimizing brain chemistry, and enhancing brain, mood, memory, and energy.


Potatoes Not Prozac.
Kathleen DesMaisons, PhD. Fireside, 1998.
Chapter Five “Brain Chemistry 101” is a treasure in explaining simply and usefully the neurotransmitter connection to addiction. DesMaisons is also an expert on the potent healing power of a pro-recovery diet.

Seven Weeks to Sobriety, Joan Mathews-Larson, PhD. Fawcett Columbine, 1997. Personal grief was transformed into public welfare after her teenage son's suicide in recovery led her to research the nutritional link to alcoholism. Her effort to connect the research dots has led to this extraordinary “bible of self-care” for alcoholics, explaining the four types of alcoholics and how to recover feeling better than ever.

Staying Clean & Sober: Complementary and Natural Strategies for Healing the Addicted Brain.
 Merlene Miller and David Miller, PhD. Woodland, 2005.
Aminos and food, acupuncture and ear pressure, chiropractic and brainwave biofeedback, exercise and aromatics, and more. The Millers reveal what's going on in the world of drug-free drug treatment and leave the reader with a smile of relief that recovery can include what's comfortable, do-able, and fun.


Under the Influence: A Guide to the Myths and Realities of Alcoholism. 
Dr. James R. Milam and Katherine Ketcham. Bantam, 1983.
One of the classics that opened many professionals' eyes to the nutrition link to addiction.

Acupuncture for Detoxification and Recovery

Fighting Drug Abuse with Acupuncture: The Treatment That Works.
Ellinor R. Mitchell, Pacific View Press, 1995.
Mitchell took the time to interview the key players in acudetox and tell their story.

Transformation & Recovery: A Guide for the Design and Development of Acupuncture-Based Chemical Dependency Treatment Programs. 
Alex G. Brumbaugh, Stillpoint Press, 1994.
Still the bible of acudetox, covering everything from the practicalities of opening an acupuncture treatment program to the spiritual dimensions of addiction work.