For my own fibromyalgia diet there are a few criteria I follow besides just trying to eat healthy. When you don’t feel well it’s easy to justify having sugar, chocolate, or caffeine just so you get a boost to start the day. Also prepackaged foods are easy to grab when you don’t feel well enough to cook. This deprives your body of many nutrients when you need it most.
Just like people experience fibromyalgia symptoms in different ways there is a lot of controversy about diet. Work with a doctor to find the best solutions for your disease.
The first thing I wanted to know was how was I supposed to manage any dietary changes? It would be worth it if I got fibromyalgia relief. However, cutting out a lot of carbohydrates also equaled a lot of work and I didn’t have the energy.
Foods to Avoid
While I’ve never heard this from a doctor there are many suggestions online for people with fibromyalgia to avoid the nightshade food group. This includes peppers, eggplant, potatoes, and tomatoes. I don’t follow this suggestion just because I haven’t noticed a substantial difference after eliminating these foods.
Also I find it difficult to eliminate any fruits or vegetables when also trying to get rid of refined sugars, red meat, and many carbohydrates. There needs to be at least some food groups that are left alone. However, if you have a problem with nightshade vegetables then you’ll need a different approach.
Compromising Saving Energy with Increasing Energy
I look for recipes that I can prepare quickly. Usually healthy food takes longer to cook. You can’t just open a box or microwave something like if you were eating processed food. While this is fine most of the time on days when I’m in a fibromyalgia flare it just isn’t practical.
A lot of my favorite recipes are in the style of summer salads and may technically classify as raw foods. It usually just involves chopping and mixing instead of standing at the stove for long periods of time and cooking.
I also try to find meals that have several servings in them and can be stored in the fridge or freezer for one or two days. When fibromyalgia is at its worst I know it’s going to last for two or three days. The less I have to cook the better.
Shopping in a Fibro-Friendly Way
While this may sound silly to the part of the world that don’t have fibromyalgia I think that other fibromites will understand. I look for foods that are easily available. Of course this means that they should be at almost any store and the closer to my house the better. However, on really bad days I’m usually not going to walk all the way to the back of the store. Luckily the produce section is right in the front.
I’ve heard some dieticians for weight loss that isn’t fibromyalgia related recommend that you just shop around the perimeter of the store. This includes fruits, produce, and dairy. When you go up and down the aisles to the packaged foods your calorie count and your sugar intake goes up. I do find that this is a much more expensive way of shopping but it’s healthier and faster too.
Find a Diet You can Stick With
I need a diet that is easy to follow. If I haven’t slept or am experiencing lots of fibro fog it’s going to affect how much I feel like cooking. I do eat some processed foods because of this. I have found that just like with anyone else the word diet is a trigger.
In all of the years of modifying how I eat I haven’t felt deprived or even like I was giving up anything. I don’t think of it as a diet as much as I think of it as being as healthy as possible. Reducing the steps in my food preparation has helped with this long term.
Fruits and Vegetables are Your Best Friend
I knew from tracking how I felt after eating that it just felt better to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. The other food groups are important too; but these are the food groups that I felt more energetic after eating.
I am not vegetarian or vegan but I do concentrate a lot on fruits and vegetables. This also makes cooking easier because most diet books have ingredients I’ve never heard of or that aren’t readily available where I live. I also think it leads to a healthier diet overall.
Some vegan fibromites claim to experience less pain. Many forums and blogs suggest this is because of phytonutrients. This also helps with the antioxidant connection. While it sounds like a big scientific word it just means eating more fruits and vegetables. You probably don’t need more than what is recommended for the average diet.
General Diet Recommendations
The USDA recommends on the older version of the food pyramid to have 2-4 servings of fruit a day and 3-5 servings from the vegetable group. That food pyramid is now outdated and instead some experts just suggest going with five servings across both categories. Who do you know that actually meets this requirement every day?
The most important thing is to pay close attention to the foods you eat to see which ones are triggers for you. Here are some great recommendations for recipes and Fibromyalgia friendly foods.