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In many cases, muscle pain and fatigue may be the most disturbing symptoms of fibromyalgia. This kind of chronic condition is also familiar referred as FMS (fibromyalgia syndrome). If you are diagnosed with FMS, you have probably wondered if there is an effective way to modify your diet so thus will be helpful to improve the symptoms of your FMS. Read also the top misconception about “Is fibromyalgia real or fake?”
Unfortunately, there is still no clearly answer and adequate scientifically evidence to confirm what kind of best diet (specific foods) to effectively help patients with FMS. The best option you should do is by taking a closer look at how far away foods that you eat to affect the symptoms. This means, you may need to take some trial & error to find the best approach in modifying your diet.
The following are some facts and pieces of helpful information about best diet for fibromyalgia patients!
What is your goal?
While currently there is no cure for FMS and also there is no magic diet that can work wonder for people with this chronic condition, but eating right can help patient feel better, get more energy, and can boost her/his body’s immune system.
Though eating right is also helpful to keep your healthy weight, but always remember that your priority is to be feeling better from the symptoms of your fibromyalgia at more manageable level. And when you have felt better, there is a better condition for you to do your daily activities.
One thing you need to concern is ‘it’s much better to avoid FAD or extreme diets’ -- much more recommended ‘changes one at a time’ so thus you can analyze the effect for your health, especially for symptoms of your fibromyalgia!
Extreme /sudden changes in your dietary routine are bad for your health or even they may make your symptoms worse.
Analyze what you eat and what you feel!
In fact, there are many patients with FMS have sensitivities to certain foods, and this varies from person to person. Some patients maybe more sensitive to particular dairy products, while others maybe more sensitive to gluten or other allergens. About 42 percent of patients with fibromyalgia complained about particular foods that can make their symptoms worse -- according to a study published on the Journal Clinical Rheumatology.
Therefore, many doctors recommend keeping a daily food journal to identify particular foods that can make the symptoms better or worse! For example, if you feel more fatigue (one of common fibromyalgia symptoms) after eating a particular food, then you should put it into the list of foods that you have to avoid!
Do a small research on your diet!
Once again, there is still no clearly answer for particular foods that can worsen fibromyalgia symptoms. Therefore, with your doctor (for better result) you can plan a small research to effectively modify your diet.
For instance, you can try with an elimination challenge diet. This idea is one of good choices, particularly for fibromyalgia patients who also have many irritable bowel symptoms -- talk more with a doctor for in-depth information!
In this idea, you can begin from certain foods that you suspect may aggravate the symptoms. Don’t eat these foods for about 6 to 8 weeks, and then add them back to your diet. Then analyze what you feel -- do you feel better or vice versa! In some patients, gluten and dairy products are some foods that often suspected may worsen /aggravate their fibromyalgia symptoms.
Other characteristics of foods that may be helpful for your guide in this elimination challenge diet include;
- Tobacco products. If you are a smoker, it is much better to stop this unhealthy habit as soon as possible.
- Refined sugar.
- Certain foods that have high calories.
- Trans-fat foods /fried foods.
- Foods that contain a lot of MSG (monosodium glutamate) and aspartame (nutrasweet). Or even your body may need to completely avoid MSG and aspartame.
- Consider also other factors from what you eat that may affect the quality of your sleep which then make you feel fatigue easily. These factors may include; alcohol, caffeine, or even maybe sugary foods.
Once you have found you are sensitive to a food and then eliminate/skip it from your diet, this can give a significant difference to your fibromyalgia symptoms -- in some patients, this is very helpful to significant reduce fatigue, and even you may also get a significant pain reduction.
But make sure you will not lose the essential nutrients that are needed by your body during this elimination challenge diet. To keep safe and for better result, consult more with a dietitian if necessary!
Don’t forget to include ‘a balanced diet’ in your fibromyalgia diet!
Like everyone else, patients with fibromyalgia should have a well-balanced diet to get more energy, have physically active, and to improve the overall health. Having a well-balanced diet is also important to make sure you get all essential nutrients for your body.
You might often hear about a balanced diet, but what actually it is?! According to the University of Washington -- in general, your diet should have five major essential groups which include: grains, fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, protein (particularly lean protein), and dairy. Once again, talk with a dietitian or doctor for in-depth information!
The correlation between protein and fibromyalgia!
There is a theory that lack of protein may aggravate the abnormalities of tissues that go along with fibromyalgia. Though more studies are required to confirm this issue, but it’s much better to stay and keep your body have adequate protein. Some experts believe that getting adequate protein from diet can be helpful to relieve pain and stiffness -- according to a published article on About.com.
Furthermore, there is almost no reason why you need to have inadequate protein. Having adequate protein is very crucial for maintenance and growth of your body. In fact, about 20 percent of the material in the body’s tissues and cells are directly linked to protein that you have. Protein is also responsible for enzymes, antibodies, and hormones that keep the body to work and function as well.
Best foods to keep far away from fatigue!
As mentioned before, fatigue is one of common symptoms of fibromyalgia. The big question is; are there any foods that can be helpful to prevent fatigue and keep your energy level more consistent!
In general, there are also other factors that you have to consider in order to have more energy throughout the day. In other words, diet is not only the single answer in how much energy you will have. Therefore, it’s also important to have enough sleep and adequate physical activity (keep active during the day)!
The following are some tips to keep energy level more consistent throughout the day:
- Try eating small meals throughout the day -- do this frequently! For better result, don’t forget also to prioritize healthy foods for these small meals. For instance, you can try with a snack /small meal with a little protein, do it in the afternoon when usually your body have been very tired.
- Taking breakfast before beginning your activity is very important, so don’t ever miss it! And make sure to include whole grains and protein for better result!
- Another idea for your breakfast, some oatmeal and a boiled egg are also great choice. They are useful to control your blood sugar better and also helpful to provide the right kind of energy to start your day. You may also be interested to know about how much cholesterol in egg yolk?
How about with supplements?
People are more likely to choose practical option to get what they need. Taking supplements are common choice in this modern living. But to keep safe, before taking any supplement to treat your fibromyalgia, it’s much better to consult first with your doctor! Because you should clearly understand that some supplements may cause significant effects and interact with some prescribed medications from your doctor.
And though your fibromyalgia diet can provide a huge difference, but many fibromyalgia patients are more likely to have more benefits and significant improvement from having a variety of approaches. So, don’t forget to do other approaches of treatment and completely follow all instructions from your doctor. Helpful therapies (such as deep-breathing exercise, massage, and yoga) also should be planned in your treatment to get the best possible quality of your life.
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Reference: WebMD and About.com
