Cooking Classes Aim to Restore Health After Addiction

Cooking Classes Aim to Restore Health After Addiction¹

At Boston Medical Center, patients recovering from drug dependencies are getting healthier one meal at a time.

For years, the hospital has offered cooking classes for patients with medical conditions such as heart disease. It also runs a food store for poor patients who receive fresh food as part of their treatments.

The newest class is “Cooking for Recovery.” It is connected to the spreading belief that many forms of treatment are needed to recover from drug and alcohol dependency, also called addiction.

Michael Botticelli is the head of the medical center’s Grayken Center for Addiction and former director of the government’s Office of National Drug Control Policy. He says, “recovery is not just about stopping the use of alcohol and drugs, it’s about how do we return people to a sense of wellness and a sense of well-being².”

On a recent Thursday, cook Tracy Burg taught patients how to make a meal of chicken and vegetables.

“Mood enhancers” — vegetables and whole grains — sat on the side on one side of the table. “Mood depressors” — foods with a lot of sugar — sat on the other side.

Good healthy eating is often forgotten during recovery, Burg said. And many addicts⁴ desire sugary foods that affect the same areas of the brain as drugs, she said. This can lead to rising and falling blood sugar levels, depression and possible return to drug use.

Burg said many addicts have serious stomach problems because much of the organ’s healthy bacteria have been destroyed. She teaches that eating fiber⁵ can improve bacteria health.

Felicha Young has been in recovery for about a year and a half. She heard about the cooking class from her doctor.

She knows how to cook a little, but wanted more information. She added that she likes the activity that takes place in the class.

Young said the hospital’s addiction treatment program has helped her return to normal life. But she said she had not considered how healthy eating could affect her until she attended the class.

“I didn’t even know that it could be part of recovery,” she said.

Some other addiction treatment centers have experts that run healthy eating programs for patients. But, officials at Boston Medical Center said they did not know of any that include cooking classes.

That may change. New Hampshire’s Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center has taken note of the cooking classes. Its addiction treatment program for pregnant⁶ women and mothers includes a food store. Patients can take home fresh fruits and vegetables after recovery group meetings.

Upper Valley Haven⁷ runs the store. The non-profit organization in Vermont offers food, housing and other support to poor people. Organization officials there visited the Boston medical center kitchen and food store seeking new ideas.

Daisy Goodman works at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. She said patients often show up at the recovery program with very sugary foods or drinks.

“They’re not eating a lot of nutritious⁸ food.” She also said the women often arrive hungry and will eat the fruits and vegetables that are available.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock is working with patients to write a cookbook of healthy recipes, Goodman said.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

mood – n. one’s feeling or sense

enhance³ – v. to make better

recipe – n. instruction for cooking

nutritious – adj. having substances that a person or animal needs to be healthy and grow properly?

fiber – n. plant material that cannot be digested but that helps you to digest other food

1 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

2 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

3 enhance   

vt.提高（强度、力量、数量等），增加（进）

参考例句：

• BBC backing for the scheme will enhance its credibility.英国广播公司对这一计划的支持将提高其可信度。
• Good secretarial skills should enhance your chances of getting a job.出色的秘书工作技能会增加你找工作的机会。

4 addicts   

有…瘾的人( addict的名词复数 )； 入迷的人

参考例句：

• a unit for rehabilitating drug addicts 帮助吸毒者恢复正常生活的机构
• There is counseling to help Internet addicts?even online. 有咨询机构帮助网络沉迷者。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

5 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

6 pregnant   

adj.怀孕的，怀胎的

参考例句：

• She is a pregnant woman.她是一名孕妇。
• She is pregnant with her first child.她怀了第一胎。

7 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

8 nutritious   

adj.有营养的，营养价值高的

参考例句：

• Fresh vegetables are very nutritious.新鲜蔬菜富于营养。
• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。