Understanding Alcohol Cravings and Brain Chemistry

My search for better ways to help people struggling with cravings for alcohol and other addictive substances started in the late 1970s when I was a graduate student in clinical psychology and was recruited by the director of a recovery home in a beautiful four-story Victorian on a hill in San Francisco. It was called the Henry Ohlhoff House and it was a nonprofit that offered working men three meals a day, a place to stay, fellowship, and 12-step meetings.

Almost all of the residents were trying to stop using alcohol, and they could stay as long as they needed to. At the time I joined the staff, one resident had been there for six years.

The program had a new director who was anxious to add something more. He told us to bring all the new clinical psychology techniques that we were learning into our work there.

We started by doing something that was revolutionary at the time: Immediately involving family members in the intensive individual, group, and family counseling and education process we had set up.

Our clients loved this wonderful recovery adventure, and we loved it too. It was enlightening, life-changing, and genuinely healing.

Early Lessons from Addiction Treatment

But a few years later, we were stunned to discover that our long-term follow-up rate was not as impressive as we had assumed. At that time, the results of a large follow-up study were revealed. Most of the programs that were followed were 28-day treatment programs, many of them in hospitals. This was the new model for addiction treatment that was spreading quickly all over the country. The results were sobering: At the one-year follow-up, only half of the residents were maintaining abstinence.

Our program was much longer term, provided more intensive counseling, and treated not only those who have difficulties with alcohol use but their family members as well. So, we were certain that our follow-up results would be much better. However, we had to face the fact that at least 30% of our clients were unlikely to maintain long-term abstinence.

Like many professionals in the addiction treatment field at the time, we assumed that those who did not continue with abstinence were just not motivated, were just not trying hard enough…

Then in the 1980s, we began to see the rise in crack cocaine use. Along with many other treatment programs in the country, our residential program suddenly became a complete failure. This time, it didn’t work to blame our clients. We had to admit that our techniques, although more helpful when alcohol was the primary issue, were not at all effective when it came to crack cocaine.

That was the worst and the best thing that has ever happened to me as a professional in this field. It was devastating, but it forced me to look for a new solution.

By 1985, the emerging field of neuroscience had provided that solution. A group of neuroscientists presented a symposium for addiction treatment professionals in our area. At this point, I was the director of outpatient programs, and I was beginning to consider another career.

Six months later, I was directing the only program in the San Francisco Bay Area that could claim 80 percent success treating clients with crack cocaine use in an outpatient setting. Our clients with alcohol use concerns were doing even better.

What Neuroscience Revealed About Alcohol Cravings

From neuroscience, I learned that the brain produces four kinds of neurotransmitters. Each transmits an intensely positive feeling: Of happiness, of pleasure, of tranquility, or of excitement. I also learned that not every brain was genetically programmed or nutritionally fueled to produce adequate amounts of these neurotransmitters.

We already knew that many people who developed dependence on alcohol had a genetic vulnerability. Neuroscience discovered what it was: Alcohol can temporarily raise the levels of any or all of the brain’s four mood-boosting neurotransmitters. (Cocaine targets only one.)

Now I hope you have a sense of why you’re having so much trouble minimizing your alcohol use and why you may feel such a strong pull to continue drinking. The good news is that neuroscience has discovered another thing about neurotransmitters: Which nutrients the brain needs to quickly make more of them!

Nutrition, Neurotransmitters, and Mood

Making our natural antidepressant, serotonin, for example, requires only one of the twenty amino acids that can be found in high-protein foods. It’s called Tryptophan. Fortunately, the nutritional supplement industry was paying attention and began producing tryptophan supplements. They were so effective as antidepressants that even the field of psychiatry began to recommend them. Our clients routinely respond to tryptophan supplementation by quickly losing their depression and anxiety, beginning to sleep well, discovering that they have a sense of humor even without alcohol, and no longer being hyperactive, irritable, negative, or obsessive.

Over time, our clinic discovered how to use the four other amino acids needed to increase production of the other neurotransmitters. We developed a questionnaire that we use to identify potential neurotransmitter deficits, then learned to carefully trial the amino acid supplements that seem indicated. Most clients report feeling the effects of the aminos within minutes. You can see amino trialing on my YouTube channel, if you’d like to learn more.

A Different Way to Understand and Address Alcohol Cravings

A recent client in our virtual clinic, who had been experiencing depression for years but did not want to take the antidepressants, came in to see us. She had discovered that alcohol relieved her depression temporarily, and she had begun going to parties, bars, and wine tastings to experience relief. She did not want our help with her alcohol use, but she did want our help with a number of mood problems that she was experiencing when she wasn’t at a party.

We knew by then that the nutrients that eliminated her particular negative moods would probably also eliminate her interest in alcohol. But we didn’t argue with her; we just assessed her, recommended a high-protein diet, and trialed her on the amino acids indicated by her scores on the neurotransmitter-deficiency questionnaire. When she came back to see us two weeks later, she reported she’d lost interest in attending many parties and wine-tasting events. She didn’t need them anymore to cheer her up. She was feeling cheery all the time on her amino acids.

She did have a family history of alcohol use, so she needed to take the amino acids two to three times a day for almost a year. This is common in our clients with a family history of alcohol use disorders.

Experiences like this have helped me see alcohol cravings in a very different light. The struggle with alcohol isn’t a matter of willpower or motivation. Rather, it exposes underlying biological factors that are having a negative impact on mood, energy, and emotional balance.

Understanding those biological components doesn’t eliminate the need for behavioral change, support, and community. But it offers additional tools for people who are trying to reduce or rethink their relationship with alcohol use.

Resources & Further Reading

In addition to the introductory chapters in my book The Mood Cure and its specific chapter on dealing with addictive substances (including food), I highly recommend 7 Weeks to Sobriety by Joan Mathews Larson, which contains more on the biochemical specifics of alcohol use.

About the Author

Julia Ross, MA, is a pioneer in the field of nutritional psychology and the author of the bestselling book The Mood Cure. For decades, she has directed programs for individuals struggling with addictions, mood disorders, and cravings using nutrition-based approaches that support healthy brain chemistry. Visit her website to learn more: https://www.juliarosscures.com/