Power Up Recovery with Nutrition Podcast · Academy for Addiction and Mental Health Nutrition

Inside a Methadone Clinic: Using Nutrition to Support Addiction Recovery with Patrick Zerwas S02E28

·48 min·3 clips

Patrick argues methadone can be a “stepping stone to total abstinence” or a long-term support.

1. Power Up Recovery with Nutrition follows Patrick Zerwas and Christina Veselak as they connect nutrition with addiction recovery and methadone treatment. 2. Christina Veselak hosts the show, and Patrick Zerwas joins as a telehealth counselor in a methadone clinic because he uses amino acid and diet therapy with clients. 3. The episode asks whether food, protein, and targeted nutrients can support brain chemistry, reduce cravings, and improve recovery outcomes. 4. Patrick says he has been in long-term recovery for about 26 years after treatment, a spiritual awakening, and a 28-day Minnesota-model program that stretched to 42 days. 5. He describes a halfway house stay in St. Cloud, Minnesota, where roommates overdosed, returned drunk, and one roommate named Bob died. 6. After treatment, Patrick says repeated layoffs pushed him to enroll in community college and become a counselor. 7. He completed an associate degree at Central Lakes College and then double majored at St. Cloud State University in alcohol and chemical dependency counseling and psychology. 8. Patrick describes doing internships at the same treatment center where he had been a client, including a moment when a nurse told him she never wanted to see him again and then cried when he returned as an intern. 9. He later worked for the State of Minnesota in residential adult treatment, a Native culture-specific program, and a locked adolescent ward with court-ordered teenage boys. 10. Patrick also worked in a 16-bed psychiatric unit, where he says clients were civilly committed and the food included mozzarella sticks, eggs, yogurts, and other snacks. 11. He says the food he received in treatment mattered to his recovery, recalling meals like half a rack of ribs and a baked potato at the institution. 12. Patrick describes managing a halfway house on the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation for three and a half years, where he says diabetes and obesity were common and traditional diets had been displaced. 13. He says fry bread was treated as ceremonial food, and staff taught residents how to cook eggs, egg bake, and quiche while modeling a habilitation program. 14. Patrick explains that he prefers “habilitation” over “rehab” because he thinks people are being taught life skills rather than restored to something they never had. 15. He recalls working in Kodiak, Alaska from 1996 to 1998, where the program was sugar-free and staff found hidden candy in closets and under mattresses. 16. He links sugar cravings, addiction, and neurotransmitter repair, saying some clients were probably seeking sugar because they were trying to stay sober. 17. In the methadone clinic, Patrick says many clients live in the inner city of Minneapolis and St. Paul, lack access to grocery stores, and still need concrete nutrition plans. 18. Christina describes the amino acid therapy chart from Julia Ross’s The Mood Cure and Dr. Charles Gant’s End Your Addiction Now, and says symptom ratings can guide dosing. 19. The conversation feels practical, collaborative, and case-based, with Christina adding clinical context while Patrick talks through real clients, telehealth barriers, and faxed handouts at the welcome desk. 20. People working in addiction treatment, telehealth, or recovery nutrition will get the most from this episode, while listeners wanting a purely abstract discussion may skip it.

As heard by us

A recovery conversation that links sugar cravings, nutrition, and relapse prevention.

Christina Veselak and Patrick Zerwas frame nutrition as part of recovery, tying mental health, relapse, and the idea that the brain needs to be fed well.

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Why you'd press play

A recovery-and-nutrition talk where sugar cravings, supplements, and protein all end up in the same room.

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