Fibromyalgia Diet Recommendations

By Mike Leuthen

You may disagree with me, but hear me out...

While there is no commonly agreed upon fibromyalgia diet, there is a great deal of advice out there concerning what constitutes a good diet for people afflicted with fibromyalgia.

This advice can come from both the people who suffer from the fibromyalgia and from doctors. Although dietary guidelines are a good start, the truth of the matter is that you shouldn't expect to find a "miracle cure" for fibromyalgia relief, because people with the syndrome suffer from so many different symptoms.

A proper fibromyalgia diet is also subject to debate because no one knows what causes the disease, although theories abound.

One theory is that oversensitive nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain, possibly due to changes in chemicals that regulate pain, may cause widespread muscle pain and hypersensitivity to pain. Many doctors, therefore, prescribe Cox-2 inhibitors or other anti-inflammatory drugs for fibromyalgia relief since they may help alleviate the pain.

However, prescription Cox-2 inhibitors can have serious side effects, which is why Merck the pharmaceutical company is now mired in the midst of thousands of lawsuits over the deaths caused by VioxxT, which is a Cox-2 inhibitor.

Food allergies have been reported to play a role in a number of inflammatory conditions, so a fibromyalgia diet might exclude certain common allergens.

In a study of rheumatoid arthritis patients, 91% experienced an improvement in symptoms by eliminating grains, dairy, nuts, beef, egg and other foods.

This is similar to the vegan fibromyalgia diet that provided fibromyalgia relief in some studies.

On the other hand, some people have reported alleviation of symptoms after using a diet that increased red meat while reducing wheat and dairy. While this may seem contradictory, it still appears that food allergies are the culprits. People have different allergies and different sensitivities, so the fact that one person's fibromyalgia diet is different from another's makes sense.

In order to determine what food allergies may be causing you problems, you could start by eliminating the most common allergens (grains, dairy, nuts, meats and eggs) following a vegan fibromyalgia diet for ten days. Ten days was the mean time that rheumatoid arthritis patients reported a reduction in symptoms in the study previously mentioned. Then by adding grains, dairy, nuts, meats and eggs back into the diet, one at a time, you might be able to identify the problem foods.

In the rheumatoid arthritis study, 86% of the patients reported that certain foods repeatedly aggravated their symptoms, but not all foods had to be eliminated from their final diet. Most people only had to eliminate two or three.

In the book Foods that Fight Pain, Dr. Neal Barnard adds to the above list of most common allergens. If you are trying to design your own fibromyalgia diet, you may want to exclude these foods as well, at least initially. They are chocolate, caffeine, citrus fruits, tomatoes, onions, corn, apples and bananas. With the exception of corn, apples and bananas, these are all highly acidic foods and he may have included them in an effort to help people with digestive complaints, such as acid reflux.

Another theory is that fibromyalgia relief can be obtained through the use of guaifenesin, an expectorant drug, avoiding salicylic acid (found in aspirin and some fruits), and following a low-carbohydrate fibromyalgia diet, when low blood sugar is also an issue. This fibromyalgia diet was proposed by a medical doctor (R. Paul St. Amand) in the 1990's, when he observed that 40% of his fibromyalgia patients also had low blood sugar.

Dr. Amand believes that fibromyalgia is an inherited disorder that is caused by the accumulation of phosphate in the cells which impedes the production of ATP. ATM provides energy to the cells of the human body. This is all purely theoretically and is only mentioned because of the popularity of this alternative treatment for fibromyalgia relief. Guaifenesin has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for fibromyalgia.

In addition to creating a fibromyalgia diet, some people have obtained fibromyalgia relief by using a product called XangoT made from the mangosteen. The mangosteen is a fruit that grows in the rainforests of Southeast and Central Asia, is sometimes called "Queen of Fruits," and is revered in that region of the world for its health promoting properties.

Do not confuse the mangosteen with the mango, as they are not related.

XangoT made from mangosteen is now available in the United States and is a puree juice blend of both the rind and the mangosteen fruit. The mangosteen rind was used historically throughout India and Asia to treat a wide variety of pain, which is one reason that it now sought after and recommended by some doctors for fibromyalgia relief.

For example, Dr. J Frederic Templeman, M.D., states that: "Although no other intervention has ever helped even 45% of my patients, in my experience, mangosteen can brief relief, either partial or complete, to over 60% of sufferers." By sufferers, Dr. Templeman is referring to those afflicted with fibromyalgia and its symptoms.

Scientific research has shown that the mangosteen rind or fruit contains components which are Cox-2 inhibiting, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergy.

Since its introduction into the health supplements market, it has been used successfully by numerous people who claim it has treated a variety of their conditions, including fibromyalgia relief.

If food allergies are problems, scientific research has shown that mangosteen extracts inhibit histamine release more effectively than some anti-allergy drugs, so it could be incorporated as part of a special fibromyalgia diet.

If oversensitive nerve cells are the problem, scientific research has shown that mangosteen extracts protect nerves from damage and prevent or counteract the effects of age and oxidation. If low blood sugar is a problem, the mangosteen has been shown to help stabilize blood sugar levels.

For fibromyalgia relief from pain, the Cox-2 inhibitor in mangosteen is more powerful than some of the prescription drugs, but seemingly without any of the side effects.

In conclusion, different people have different theories on how to obtain fibromyalgia relief. The ones mentioned here are only a few. There are a number of fibromyalgia diet books on the market, including recipes and cookbooks.

Until the scientific community reaches a consensus on the causes of fibromyalgia, relief may require some trial and error, but according to those who suffer from the condition, alleviation or elimination of symptoms is possible.