{"id":27661,"date":"2010-08-19T01:20:17","date_gmt":"2010-08-19T06:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/?p=27661"},"modified":"2010-08-18T18:13:28","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T23:13:28","slug":"the-fibromyalgia-diet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/08\/the-fibromyalgia-diet\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fibromyalgia Diet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that affects about\u00a0four percent of the American population, the majority of which are women.<\/p>\n

The Mayo Clinic characterizes fibromyalgia\u00a0by fatigue, widespread pain in\u00a0the muscles, ligaments and tendons, and multiple tender points on your body where slight pressure causes pain.<\/p>\n

Fibromyalgia is still in its early stages of being properly\u00a0understood by the medical community, but because of the increased awareness of this nebulous condition, medical researchers and professionals are confident about some of the known symptoms, risk factors and preventive measures.<\/p>\n

While there is no cure for fibromyalgia, certain treatments have shown promise in controlling the condition. In addition to pharmaceuticals like the popular drug, Lyrica,\u00a0that can help alleviate some of the symptoms, many doctors, and complementary and alternative medical practitioners highlight the importance of nutrition as a way to alleviate symptoms, reduce the risk of flare-ups and improve quality of life. According to Kent Holtorf, MD, the medical director of the Holtorf Medical Group Center for Endocrine, Neurological and Infection Related Illness in Torrance, California, diet is a very important component of the\u00a0fibromyalgia treatment plan.<\/p>\n

“We’re at the point now where we know diet plays a role in this disease – it’s just not the same diet for everybody. And not everybody is helped in the same way,” says Holtorf.<\/p>\n

Here\u00a0is a list of\u00a0seven foods identified by WebMD\u00a0to avoid for fibroymyalgia sufferers.<\/p>\n

1. Aspartame or NutraSweet<\/p>\n

2. Food additives like MSG and nitrates<\/p>\n

3. Sugar, fructose, and simple carbohydrates<\/p>\n

4. Caffeine<\/p>\n

5. Yeast and gluten<\/p>\n

6. Dairy<\/p>\n

7. Nightshade plants like\u00a0tomatoes, chili and bell peppers, potatoes, and eggplant<\/p>\n

In regards to foods to consume, one study showed that a vegetarian diet<\/a> comprised\u00a0mostly of raw vegetables and\u00a0raw whole foods\u00a0reduced fibromyalgia symptoms.<\/p>\n

Nnutrient-rich foods, like colorful vegetables and fruits, help\u00a0cells’ mitochondria to function properly. Mitochondria are considered the energy hub of the cell whereby their task is to produce the\u00a0power needed for the cell to function and carry out all\u00a0of\u00a0its numerous duties.<\/p>\n

The mitochondria of fibromyalgia-sufferers has been clinically shown to operate at sub-standard levels. Such evidence further\u00a0emphasizes the importance of consuming a mostly plant-based diet.<\/p>\n

Also, since inflammation is one of the causes of the tender pain associated with fibromyalgia, making anti-inflammatory foods<\/a> dietary staples is key. Foods like walnuts, flaxseeds, fish oil, cold-water fish, pumpkin seeds, cherries and spices like tumeric and cumin have known anti-inflammatory properties.<\/p>\n

In addition to diet, other non-invasive methods that have shown success with improving the symptoms of fibromyalgia are\u00a0low-impact exercises like\u00a0walking and swimming, \u00a0massage therapy, acupuncture, tai chi, yoga<\/a> and meditation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that affects about\u00a0four percent of the American population, the majority of which are women. The Mayo Clinic characterizes fibromyalgia\u00a0by fatigue, widespread pain in\u00a0the muscles, ligaments and tendons, and multiple tender points on your body where … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3695],"tags":[3771,2712,29,24],"class_list":["post-27661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diet-and-nutrition","tag-fibromyalgia","tag-inflammation","tag-nutrition","tag-vegetarian"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27661"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27661\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28462,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27661\/revisions\/28462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}