5 Foods your Fibromyalgia Diet Should Avoid

It may be time to reconsider what’s in your fibromyalgia diet.

Lifestyle management and healthy food in your fibromyalgia diet can have an enormous affect on your symptoms. One of the primary strategies for dealing with fibromyalgia symptoms is a healthy, selective and intentional fibromyalgia diet. While eating a wide range of healthy foods is essential to maintain good health, there are 5 foods or types of foods that should be avoided if your suffer from fibromyalgia: caffeine, sugar, aspartame, yeast and gluten, and fatty foods. Here is a bit of a description of the top 5 foods that fibromyalgia sufferers should avoid.

Caffeine

Caffiene stimulates the central nervous system contributing to difficulty sleeping and feelings of anxiety, which are known symptoms of fibromyalgia. Although it is natural to think that caffeine will help fight fatigue, caffeinated drinks such as coffee and colas should be avoided. Such beverages counteract our ability to normalize the body’s system of waking and sleeping.

Sugar

Sugar is a comfort food for many of us when feeling stressed or experiencing a low mood. However, the adrenaline rush we know as a sugar rush is a temporary, quick fix. It can actually increase feelings of fatigue when it wears off and create an unhealthy cycle of ups and downs throughout the day. This can lead to panic attacks in fibromyalgia sufferers.

Aspartame

Aspartame is a replacement for sugar in many foods and beverages, and acts as an excitotoxin. This means that it actually stimulates pain reception! Additionally, aspartame has been found to cause memory loss and may therefore contribute to “fibrofog”.

Yeast and Gluten

These two food ingredients are often found together in baked goods. The consumption of yeast can stimulate the growth of fungus in the body, which can aggravate joint and muscle pain.

Gluten can exacerbate digestive problems in patients with a gluten intolerance. Gluten intolerance is also associated with fatigue in fibromyalgia patients.

Fatty foods

Foods such as burgers and fries can severely deplete your energy level contributing to the fatigue commonly suffered by those with fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia sufferers tend to have a lower activity level than average, and should therefore be especially careful to avoid these foods and maintain a healthy weight.

Does your fibromyalgia diet contain some of the foods listed above? While diet is a very important aspect of fighting fibromyalgia, other drug free strategies should also be considered as well. Things such as regular exercise and perhaps meditation could help alleviate some symptoms. Remember to always consult your health care professional before doing anything out of the ordinary. Do you have any suggestions or experiences with foods and a good fibromyalgia diet? Leave a comment below!