Fibromyalgia sufferers are sensitive to a lot more than pain. They can also be affected by the weather, stress, smells, and even the things they eat. Among the things which can be of concern when trying to plan your diet for the best health results when you have fibromyalgia is the use of GMOs. It is questionable as to whether or not GMOs can play a role in exacerbating FMS symptoms.
What are GMOs?
The term GMO refers to “genetically modified organisms.” Although it’s one term, it’s actually a reference to many different things as there is no set rule on how the organism is genetically modified. That is why GMOs could be a problem for those with fibromyalgia syndrome.
When it comes to crops, such as fruits and vegetables, GMOs are plants in which the actual gene has been altered. How they are modified is not usually explained. It could be through cross-breeding, cross-pollination, or by adding chemicals directly to the plants while the produce was growing.
If you consider that the beef, pork, and poultry you eat could come from animals be fed with the GMO plants, you may also say that the meat is also consider a GMO if it comes from an animal fed GMOs.
Why are there GMOs?
The first use of GMOs could be seen as a positive endeavor. Genetically modified plants were grown in areas which couldn’t produce food, such as flood ravaged states, areas of constant high or low temperatures, or drought ridden swamp land. With the use of GMOs, people who might have starved were able to have food.
The question has been raised as to whether the use of chemical engineering has gone too far. This has caused groups to encourage the purchase of organic food, which is GMO free, and have foods grown with GMOs labeled as such, so people with illnesses such as fibromyalgia can make the decision on whether or not they want GMOs in their diet.
Are GMOs bad for you?
It’s impossible to simply answer the question as to whether GMOs are bad for you because the term refers to so many different things. Has the food been genetically modified for it to adapt to a different land? Is it a hybrid of different plants brought together? Or, has it been grown with more than normal amounts of pesticides or herbicides?
The biggest factor in whether GMOs can affect the debilitating pain and fatigue of fibromyalgia is that we simply can’t define genetically modified organisms as following one specific plan of creation so we can’t pinpoint the health consequences.
Why would GMOs affect those with fibromyalgia?
Diet and chemical sensitives play a big role in those with fibromyalgia. It is possible that genetically modified organisms could be a problem in the health of someone with the syndrome. With GMOs, you don’t know exactly what you are eating and whether or not it may affect your FMS symptoms.
GMOs in consideration would be fruits, vegetables, and legumes grown to be consumed, as well as those given as feed to animals who lay eggs, produce milk, or being raised for consumption. This leads to a lot of possible sources of GMOs which may or may not contain substances that will affect the health of those with fibromyalgia.
Unfortunately, there is just no way to know for sure what substance is an issue without knowing the start to finish process of production of these foods, and that information is not available to the consumer.
Should people with fibromyalgia stay away from GMOs?
In the United States, it is currently not necessary for food containing GMOs to be labeled as such. Given this fact, we have all most likely consumed them at some point.
The only way to assure you do not have something containing a GMO that might make you ill is to completely stay away from anything that may possibly have them. You would have to eat dairy, produce, and meat labeled organic, and only purchase prepared and canned food specific labeled that it is 100% GMO free. (While this is not a legal requirement, some companies have chosen to put this on labels.)
If you are having trouble keeping your fibromyalgia symptoms, such as muscle pain, headaches, severe fatigue, and flu-like malaise under control, you might want to try purchasing only organic for a while and see if it eases any of your health issues.
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