It seems to be well known that going vegan gives numerous health and environmental benefits, but is it possible that it could help you fight your fibromyalgia symptoms? There are multiple studies and personal accounts that say yes! Not only can going vegan improve your health all around, it has huge potential to ease your fibro symptoms, so its a win win.
Being a vegan means that you refrain from consuming or using any animal products. This includes eating meat, dairy, cheese, wearing leather and anything else that comes from an animal. How does what you eat affect your chronic disease?
Food is medicine. If you put bad, unhealthy food into your body, you will feel bad and unhealthy. A study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology found exactly that. They studied 18 fibromyalgia patients (including 15 control subjects who ate their normal diet) over a 3 month period of converting to a vegan diet to gather whether or not it helped with their symptoms. This particular study focused on a raw vegan diet, which includes raw fruits, vegetables and nuts that have not been cooked in order to retain all nutrients. The results showed that the people who followed a raw vegan diet for the time studied had significantly improved fibromyalgia symptoms.
Another similar study found in the BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine examined 26 people with fibromyalgia who ate a mostly raw vegan diet. The diet included raw fruits, salads, carrot juice, tubers, grain products, nuts, seeds, and a dehydrated barley grass juice product. Overall, the results showed that patients experiences a 46% improvement in their fibromyalgia symptoms, which is almost half! This study also mentions that people who begin a vegan diet see an improvement in their quality of life all around, and that it could be partially psychological. The combination of putting good things into your body and having the motivation to beat your fibromyalgia together produce amazing results that can’t be ignored.
Typically it takes 6-8 months for a full vegan diet to being to show improvements on your symptoms, but it is worth a try for everyone suffering. Be aware of how to safely switch to a vegan diet, and be sure to speak with your doctor first.
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