Did you know that your diet could be one of the triggers to your fibromyalgia? Your body is always trying to maintain its very delicate acid/alkaline balance. Too much acid can cause lots of diseases and other problems to occur in the body.
This is the basis for the argument for maintaining a healthy alkaline food diet- especially for those that are sick. You should adhere to a 20/80 rule for your diet, meaning 20 percent acid and 80 percent alkaline- especially if you’re suffering from fibromyalgia.
As mentioned, your diet can play a role in your fibromyalgia- either triggering it or stopping the pain. Though medical experts can’t agree on the specific symptoms of fibromyalgia or what causes it- they do agree that a healthy alkaline diet can help to quiet fibromyalgia flare-ups and make you feel better. Following are seven steps that you should try to see if your symptoms improve.
Get rid of food triggers
First of all, you want to take some time to examine your diet and figure out what foods lead to digestive issues. According to the National Fibromyalgia Association, around 40 percent of patients with fibromyalgia report that they also experience irritable bowel problems and food sensitivities that triggered symptoms such as diarrhea, headaches, and intestinal pain.
Common food triggers are MSG- or monosodium glutamate, food coloring, shrimp, eggs, caffeine, chocolate, yeast, dairy products, soy, milk, sugar or aspartame, and even citrus. According to alkaline food charts, most of these foods are considered to be acidic.
A 2010 study in Dijon, France at Burgundy University revealed that when aspartame was removed from diets, the signs and symptoms of fibromyalgia subsided. This is because both aspartame and MSG are considered to be neurotransmitter stimulants.
Eat More Turkey
Turkey, as well as some other foods, contains an amino acid called tryptophan. This chemical can serve to control chronic fatigue and depression, which are common fibromyalgia symptoms. According to a 2007 study of 2,596 patients with fibromyalgia revealed that around 40 percent reported suffering from these symptoms.
Your body does not naturally produce this chemical- you must get it through food- and if your body does not have tryptophan, it can’t produce the neurochemical serotonin. Serotonin is referred to as the “happy hormone” because it boosts your mood, as well as creates melatonin, which helps you to sleep well.
One of the ways to combat the fatigue of fibromyalgia is to add more tryptophan-containing foods to your diet. These foods include: eggs, nuts, soy, yogurt, and turkey. In addition to the tryptophan, these foods also contain tyrosine, which boosts the levels of norepinephrine and dopamine in the brain, which aid in alertness. The tyrosine foods can help to clear the “fibro fog,” or cognitive confusion.
Learn to Like Sardines
One of the most common symptoms of fibromyalgia is muscle pain. As many as 63 percent of the patients in the above referenced study reported experiencing lower back pain. Recent studies have revealed that this is due to a deficiency of CoQ10, which is an essential nutrient found in sardines and organ meats. Studies have shown that, on average, fibromyalgia patients are 40 percent deficient in CoQ10, which leads to pain and fatigue. Around 30 percent of patients reported feeling less pain after taking 300 milligrams every day for nine months.
Since sardines and organ meats aren’t exactly on everyone’s list of favorite foods, supplements are the preferred method of getting this nutrient. However, before starting this or any other supplement, consult your physician.
Eat Red Fruit
You may think cherries and raspberries are nothing more than summer-time treats. However, you should also know that they are excellent pain relievers. This is because they contain a compound that is called anthocyanins, which offer ten times the anti-inflammatory relief of aspirin.
In addition to relieving the pain, tart cherries can also relieve sleep problems related to fibromyalgia. One study revealed that insomniacs who drank 2 eight-ounce servings of cherry juice for only two weeks reported a change in their sleeping habits.
Fish Relieves Inflammation
Cold-water fish such as anchovies, salmon, and tuna contain a nutrient called omega-3 fatty acids. These reduce inflammation as well as relieve chronic inflammation.
Eat Greek
Get butter out of your diet and replace it with extra virgin olive oil. Your joints will feel better because it relives the chronic pain related to fibromyalgia. Newly pressed oil contains a compound called credit oleocanthal which causes a slight stinging in the throat. This compound has the same effect that anti-inflammatory medications have. You should always make sure that your oil is as fresh as possible- it loses its potency the older it is. To make sure you get fresh, purchase from small regional suppliers and look for a date on the bottle that indicates when it was pressed.
Get Your pH balanced
Consuming a diet that is high in alkaline foods can help to reduce inflammation. Eating too many foods that cause acid to build up, such as bread and butter can cause you to have diarrhea, fatigue, and migraines. However, the acidity or alkalinity of a food has nothing to do with its taste or even with its intrinsic acidity. What matters is its effects after it is digested.
Citrus fruits are considered to be alkaline because they remove the hydrogen ions from your body. On the other hand, foods such as sugar and butter are acidic foods because they add hydrogen ions to the body.
Acidic foods include: breads, flours, oats, wheat, margarine, butter, lobster, cashews, hazelnuts, and red meats.
Alkaline foods include: lime, raspberry, watermelon, cantaloupe, nectarine, honeydew, broccoli, daikon radish, tangerine, collard greens, onion, sea vegetables, kale, garlic, lentil, and even pumpkin seeds.
In addition to changing your diet, you can get alkaline water which can help to bring balance to your body’s pH- bringing it to a more alkaline level instead of being so acidic.
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