Nutrition education involves a combination of activities aimed at increasing knowledge of foods and behaviors, influencing attitudes and beliefs, developing personal skills and motivation to adopt healthy eating practices.

A related area of recovery to emphasize is good nutrition. Addicts often fail to eat properly either because the bulk of their time is spent in getting, using, and recovering from their use or because after supporting their drug habit, they do not have the money to buy food. Additionally, many drugs temporarily suppress one's appetite, so if the addicted person does not consciously try to eat well, he or she will tend to skip meals because of not feeling hungry. Good nutrition helps the recovering person feel better physically by lessening the experience of post-acute withdrawal symptoms and rebuilds the body ravaged by addiction.