By Vijay Kumar MalesuReviewed by Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc.Feb 4 2026. A sweeping review shows that while calorie intake and BMI often appear normal in people with alcohol use disorder, poor diet quality, hidden deficiencies, and flawed assessment tools may be undermining recovery and long-term health. Study: Dietary intake, quality, and assessment tools in individuals with problematic alcohol use: a scoping review and meta-analysis. Image Credit: Ingrid Balabanova / Shutterstock.com In a recent study published in the Translational Psychiatry, researchers compare dietary intake, diet quality, and dietary assessment methods among individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and related problematic alcohol use. The critical role of nutrition in AUD Nutrition plays an important role in proper functioning of the brain and immune system, and in recovery from chronic diseases. However, its role has not been widely studied in relation to AUD progression, treatment responses, and recovery outcomes. Excessive alcohol intake interferes with appropriate nutrient consumption and absorption, impairs metabolism, and increases the excretion of essential nutrients, all of which increase the risk of malnutrition. Many patients with AUD are diagnosed with comorbid liver, cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases, with these symptoms often worsened by nutrient malabsorption and metabolic dysfunction. Medical nutrition therapy, which involves the development of a personalized diet and lifestyle plan based on specific medical conditions and symptoms, has the potential to support health improvements in AUD patients. Due to the limitations associated with conventional methods used to assess diet quality and behavior, the relationship between nutritional status, dietary behaviors, and AUD and how these factors interact with each other to impact patient outcomes remainsinsufficiently characterized. A multi-database review of diet in AUD The researchers performed a comprehensive search on databases like PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science using combinations of keywords and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) related to alcohol use, diet, nutrition, and dietary assessment. Studies were included in the analysis if they provided quantitative dietary data of adults diagnosed with AUD or alcohol-related disorders, as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Both active drinking and abstinent phases were included. Title and abstract screening, followed by full-text review and structured data extraction, were performed by multiple reviewers. Dietary intake data were aligned with studies and separated on the basis of drinking status.. . Alchohol calories dominate intake, but without replacing food A total of 41 studies published between 1968 and 2022 across 16 countries were included in the analysis, which comprised 2,727 individuals with AUD. Most of the study participants were men between the ages of 38 and 54 with an average body mass Read More