I am new on this website and do not want to over step the boundries but I am trying certain foods for energy and over all health. I like a website www.everynutrient.com that gives me the benefits of most every thing I put in my body. I have read that walnuts almonds, sunflower seeds are good for you. I have just tried today Moringa Powder and Green Tea Powder (if it helps or not I will let you know). I drink a smoothie most every day with barley powder (from http://www.hacres.com) and I can tell a BIG difference if I go several days without but I want to see what the 2 powders might do. I got the nuts and powders from Nuts.com. I am NOT endorsing any of these websites but after reading up on the various things I choose what I hope might working for me and certainly do not mind sharing with you. The Moringa Powder is for tired blood, arthritis, joint pain, etc. I have also found that any type of aspartame or artificial sugar, ice cream, yogurt (dairy) and Nightshade plants such as tomatoes and white potatoes cause major flare ups. Therefore I use Stevia and fresh fruits and veggies with the powders in my smoothie. I also love sweets so any ideas on that would be helpful.
QUESTION: What foods, vitamins, etc. have you found is good and bad. Any feedback would be appreciated. Blessings to all of you my friends who deal with this pain day by day.
I'm vegetarian. Meat, fish and eggs increase my fatigue. I've cut out a lot of gluten in my diet and it's helped my fatigue as well. Anything with high fructose corn syrup sends me into a flare. I stay away from pop/soda, in fact the only thing I drink is water and herbal tea and from time to time freshly squeezed orange juice.
I've heard about nightshades causing problems but haven't noticed any difference with me. I try to drink half my body weight in water to flush out toxins. Sometimes I succeed, most of the time I don't. As for vitamins and minerals, I'm currently taking Flax Seed Oil and it's helping with my PMS.
As for sweets, I'm diabetic so I have to watch that. I stay away from mainstream sweets like twinkies, and pies. If you can get it in the regular grocery aisle, I don't eat it. If it has high fructose corn syrup in it, I don't eat it. I try to eat only 100% natural dark chocolate. My sister and I had some gluten-free cookies last week and they were good. It came in a box (gluten-free cookie mix) and we added all natural peanut butter to it.
The Kroger that we go to has a natural foods section. That's basically the only section I visit in the store besides the produce section. They have a nice variety of dark chocolate, antioxidant bars, cookies and chips.
I have been gluten free for 3 months. The biggest benefit I see from it is less bloating, about 7 pounds weight loss and less Fibro fog. I also crave sweets pretty badly but since I have gone gf I don’t crave sugar nearly as much. I eat pretty healthy, no pop (well, rarely), no alcohol, no artificial sweeteners…I drink herb teas and water, eat a lot if vegetables, fruits, brown rice, fish, beans, nuts…my downfall is dairy. I LOVE cheese and just cannot see my life without it. I use almond milk on cereal etc as I don’t like cow’s milk but my love of cheese is pretty deep. I have a feeling I’d do better without dairy but since my diet is pretty clean, I don’t worry much about it. Thanks for sharing your story and the websites, I will look into it
Nightshade plants don't bother me either. MSG, aspartame, sugar, preservatives make my pain worse. Carrot and tomato juice or V8 make me feel really good. Fresh veggies and fruits do too. Meat causes inflammation so I avoid it most 99% of the time. I wish I had the strength to cut fruits and veggies and wash them to make smoothies. Vicious cycle. You need the good foods to give you energy, but you need energy to get the foods prepared.
Hi, I started on the Paleo Diet, and my Doc maxed me on Lyrica and Pain meds so I am feeling pretty good.
When I went on the Paleo DIet, I was able to give up my daily dose of Prilosec for my GERD. That alone was a blessing. One less drug I had to put in my body.
I have recently (since Oct 13) been having severe fibro symptoms so I brought my allergies, etc. into it with me. Having said that, I was having GERD so bad it was causing esophageal spasms and that feels like a heart attack. The pain is so intense, different pain than fibro but worse on the pain scale, at least for me. Anyway, I decided to go dairy free because I kept reading that it can increase or cause those symptoms. I was reluctant, I LOVE my latte's and ice cream (natural organic) BUT I finally tried it anyway. I have to say my GERD symptoms have improved by about 85%. My doctor was really impressed.
I was diagnosed way back I think about 1999 with gluten/wheat intolerance so I have been gluten free since that meant eating bread the consistency of cardboard and it tasted about that bad too. It's been such a relief to start getting brands out there that are only gluten free. My favorite is UDIs, but I don't know how widespread that brand is. There are a lot of others out there too.
I never use the sweeteners, I find I can't digest them and they give me symptoms similar to the wheat/dairy intolerance. (you don't want to know)... I'm not ready to go meat free though. I get mine locally grown, organic, nitrate-free, non antibiotic, so I have to hope that it's better for fibro too.
I'm so glad that you've brought this subject up. I haven't had an appetite for the longest time. In the past year and a half I've dropped 15 pounds simply because I have to make myself eat so my stomach doesn't get upset. I'm soon to be 67 and still have never made a smoothie . I love strawberries and have Activia yogurt each day, and don't notice that it causes a flare. I only eat breads with good seeds on it. My chiropractor also suggested I eat almond butter which my husband gets for me at our grocery store, all nuts can be ground. I've got to find some foods that sound good. I take a woman's vitamin, D, and other vitamins when I can eat enough to keep them from making me nauseous. I'm so glad you mentioned the Moringa Powder, it sounds like it really helps you. I do also use Stevia. If you would share how you make your daily smoothies I'd appreciate it. I'm in a flare now but thought it was because of the storm soon to reach us. Thanks so much for your input Cheryl, I'll be looking for your answer to how you do your smoothie, I have a feeling that may be exactly what I need! Best wishes and Welcome to the group! Susan
Barley juice powder and beet juice powder are great, I get them at Sunburst Superfoods, much less expensive than Halleleujia Acres.
Good: Spinach, carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, any leafy greens (lots of salads), avacados, beans, sweet potatoes, fish (esp. salmon), eggs, mushrooms, whole grain bread and cereal (in moderation), white potatoes, cauliflower, peas, fruits or any kind, unsweetened applesauce, chicken and lean beef on rare occaisions
Bad: Sweets of any kind, high fructose corn syrup, rice (I can eat some in moderation), white bread, fast food or any kind, fried foods
Cathy How are you liking the Paleo Diet? Do you find it easy to stick to the diet? Have you a recipe book you would recommend?
Thanks, hon, for any help.
Laurie
I have found that it does help me to be on a gluten, sugar, wheat and dairy
Dairy free diet. No empty carbs! I take curemin or turmeric for inflamation
I do organic coconut oil daily and cook with it. Also use as oil wick-
Ing. I drink only water or my homemade detox water. I cup of coffee
Daily. No white starches. I can feel the pain worsen if I eat unhealthy.
I want to feel good and hope one day to be able to work again. I also
Do homemade smoothies that have kale, spinach, avacado, Apple,
Yogurt, whey protein, wheat grass, chia and honey. Only use honey
Or Stevia for sweeteners when I must have some. Everyone with any
Illness or not should start being good to our bodies. Good luck
Everyone and have a good night and a good Sunday. One more day
and I see the neurosurgeon. Have no idea what to expect. Also just
Started on new med, Plaquenil. Anyone else on that? Soft hugs to all
Of you who suffer with pain.
Try to go a practitioner of NAET to determine your food allergies and get treated for them. Then try to eat more whole foods staying away from refined sugar for sure. Nightshade plants are notorious for any rheumatic flares. Get a juicer and do green juice, especially celery juice. But cleaning the juicer is a chore. I find I can get away with a full cleaning every other day if I meticulously scrub the basket filter and let it dry between juicing, throwing out the pulp, or mulching it. Then after 2 days the machine develops an odor so I have to clean the whole thing. Make sure you eat some foods that make you feel happy! I really love cilantro and watercress, but I'm weird that way I guess? My go to snack is nuts, but they're notoriously allergenic to some people. I don't seem to have a problem with them. Dates are a sedative so they're good before bed. Eat sweets that make you happy every 4th day only. A nice cup of hot cocoa, or cold, with an acceptable sweetner is a good alternative to chocolate if you don't tolerate commercially available stuff. The paleo diet is fundamentally good for you, but if it makes you crazy or unhappy, that impacts the psycho immune axis as well. Good luck with your ongoing dietary experiment. Everyone is different with the foods and how they affect you.
Brenda, I am so sorry for your heightened pain level today. I wish I could say that eating right has healed my body. I too have worse pain today and was just sitting on floor doing some medical paperwork and I am aching, burning from top of spine to ankles. Increase in barometric pressure does increase pain. My patients always asked for more pain meds when it would rain. Cold also triggers more pain. I do take several natural antiinflammatories and take Cymbalta twice daily. With the new dx of lupus and Rheumatoid arthritis, I am taking Plaquenil which is a drug for Malaria. My rheumatologist also gave me some creme called voltaren which is a topical analgesic. All of this along with occ strong pain pill makes it tolerable on good days. Tomorrow is my big day with neurosurgeon. He will decide if surgery is necessary. I did have injection in right hip that helped less than 3 weeks. All of my doctors work well together. I want so much to enjoy my grandchildren and my husband. I will continue to look for new aides in pain relief. I will share as I do. For you, it would be worth trying a duragesic patch. I know some of you either don’t want a strong pain reliever or can’t get one from a doctor. I did find that using biodentical hormones helps with energy and improves greatly your closeness with your mate. So much out ther.e. Gotta try the right combination. Maybe your doctor could try some Klonopin for anxiety, Duragesic patch for pain and order biodentical hormone eval. Of days like today, try staying warm and just move around the house some to prevent stiffness. Wish I could be there to nurse you and make sure you get what you need. Especially some TLC, gently of course. I miss taking care of others. Keep your hopes up because we will find a common thread. I personally believe it’s something traumatic that hasn’t been dealt with. Gentle and tender love and care headed your way!
My problem is sweets. But all I do is crave them. I know foods can cause an increase in my flares, but I know that sweets with me cause swelling and headaches, but how do avoid what I really only want. Great post now I can check out the websites posted
Joy
I don't mean to be rude and intrude upon your conversation but could you please tell e what a Paleo Diet is? I've never heard of it. Food doesn't really bother me, except for GERD, but the diets sound interesting. Can you please explain Paleo Diet a bit?
Hi Cheryl and welcome! This is a great topic, alas one that i haven't explored before. But your problem with Nightshade plants, tomatoes and potatoes sounds very familiar. i know I read about it in an auto-immune group when I was trying to figure out what I had. I'm thinking maybe the lupus forum? So if those items can cause problems to people with an auto-immune disease, it would make sense that they would be problematic with people with fibro. Have you been tested for any auto-immune diseases? If not, it might not be a bad idea to do it.
I don't really have food issues, I don't think, except for GERD. I see that others on this thread have far better advice than I do so I'll let them have the floor!
