Eat Healthier For Fibromyalgia
Eating healthy foods can really help you out when you are suffering from fibromyalgia. For fibromyalgia patients, the benefits of eating healthy are numerous, including symptom relief and stress management. Regular healthy eating can lead to increased energy and pain resistance, and it will also benefit all parts of your body.
The Effects of Poor Diet
You must remember that if your diet is insufficient to support your health, then you will not feel as well as you could. Some patients have reported that certain types of foods, such as fatty, fried, or sugary types, seem to invite or worsen fibromyalgia symptoms.
By avoiding things such as caffeine, alcohol and candy, you will help to improve your sleep and lessen the severity of some of your symptoms. Eating healthy and maintaining a balanced diet can go a long way to symptom control. Also, try discussing the possibility of taking vitamins with your health care provider. Smoking is also something that magnifies the symptoms of fibromyalgia patients. By quitting you will be taking the first steps to living pain free. It is also very important to drink lots of water to help flush out the toxins from your body.
Eat Your Protein!
For the fibromyalgia sufferer, sufficient protein in the diet is very important. Protein is required for proper growth and maintenance of the body as it makes up to 20% of the mass of most of your cells and tissues.
Proteins also function as enzymes, hormones and antibodies, all of which are needed for your body to operate normally. Animal-derived proteins like milk, meat, fish, poultry and eggs contain good amounts of all essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein.
Some of the degenerative changes and tissue abnormalities seen in fibromyalgia may be exacerbated or even caused by insufficient levels of protein intake. Therefore a proper diet can help decrease the irritation, stiffness and pain associated with the tender points in fibromyalgia.
Avoid “Miracle” Diets
Unfortunately, a number of unproven “miracle” diets and supplements are advertised as fibromyalgia treatments. These should be investigated carefully by patients before use. Not all of these supplements provide appropriate nutrition for healthy eating. When starting a new nutritional program, it is important to inform your physician as some supplements and foods cause serious, or even dangerous, side effects when mixed with certain medications.
Foods to Avoid
Here is a list of the more important things that you should try to limit or eliminate completely from your diet:
- Refined sugar
- Alcohol
- Foods high in saturated fats
- High-calorie, high-fat, junk food
- Monosodium glutamate (MSG) and Nutrasweet (aspartame). Both glutamate (found in MSG) and aspartic acid (found in aspartame) stimulate pain augmenting receptors within the spinal cord
- Caffeine
Fibromyalgia patients should probably give up caffeine completely because even a small amount consumed in the morning can cause sleep disturbance. Be aware that many sodas and even some herbal teas contain caffeine, so it is a good idea to read the labels. If it doesn’t boast that it is caffeine free, it is probably a good idea to assume that it isn’t and avoid it. Try replacing your caffeine fix with healthier drinks like juice, milk, or water.
The Benefits of Healthy Eating
A balanced diet is an essential part of a healthy eating plan. This can be very tough at first, but by limiting these things from your diet and adhering to the ratio of 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 30% fat for each meal, you will see great improvements in your FMS
symptoms of fatigue, pain, and stiffness, just to name a few. These results can be seen in as soon as one week!