They need to find a substitute for alcohol to help them deal with the biological cravings caused by their fluctuating blood sugar. I advise my patients to use a hypoglycemic diet with six meals a day to avoid wide swings of their blood sugar. In addition to a good healthy diet, I emphasize B complex vitamins. Thiamine, in particular, helps prevent delirium and tremors in alcoholics. It has a unique function in the brain and is said to offer a natural way to help the body fight off cravings.
Exercise also is very important in preventing relapse.
A Relapse among alcoholics may be more common simply because there are more alcoholics and because alcohol is so readily available as a social lubricant. The recovering alcoholic in particular faces enormous social pressure to drink. Think about it. When you go to a party, more often than not, you'll be offered a drink before anything else. When you're socializing with friends or co-workers, bars are common places to meet.