From the article: The Elimination Diet for Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
The elimination diet can help you uncover food allergies and sensitivities, which are common in those of us with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Have you tried the diet? Did it help you uncover problem foods? What helped you stick to it, or what do you wish you'd known before you started? Share your experience so we can all learn from it! Share your experience!
Amen to the above responses
- I also did a "complement antigen test" with my MD and the results were amazing! He tested 200 foods with one blood draw. After staying away from my Avoid foods for a while, I ate an entire meal of "no-no's." Mood and cognitive dysfunction for 3 days! Look up the Alcat test online for more info. It is amazing to see that foods you ate all the time and thought were OK affect you after you give them up for a good while. Nightshades cause me pain and stiffness. HFCS and sugar cause depression. Grains destroy any energy I have. Doing the GAPS /Weston Price diet has helped my mood but not significantly improved my energy. I keep looking for what will do that...as we pretty much all do. Godspeed to you all.
- —Guest Mombat
Know What to Eliminate/Solanine
- I've had 8 years of pain from psoriatic arthritis and fibromyalgia. The Elimination Diet was not successful for me. I switched to a Nutritarian Diet. My fatigue ended but not pain or stiffness. After an excruciating flare-up, I realized I'd recently peeled a green-tinged potato for soup, eaten huge amounts of peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, red and green salsas, apples and blueberries. I researched nightshades more extensively and discovered there are additional foods that are not nightshades that DO CONTAIN SOLANINE. I stopped eating all possible sources of solanine and pain disappeared. Too many internet articles have incomplete information about solanine sensitivity. In addition to tomato, potato, eggplant and all peppers, include apples, blueberries, huckleberries, okra, artichoke, gogi berries, ashwaganda, Meds/Vita/Supplements with potato starch fillers, maybe strawberries & maybe beets in your elimination. See forums at Arthritis Nightshade Research Foundation for more info.
- —jenlamsis
sugar
- Sugar seems to be my major problem. I find that if I eat ANY sugar, including those from fruit, I crave MORE and MORE! Then, if I give in to those craving, I feel worse. My body aches become unbearable, even with medication. First I become too tired, then the insomnia kicks in. I have heard that sugar is actually addictive. I think that is a major issue with me. It takes me weeks to stop eating and get rid of the cravings, so I need to eliminate ALL processed sugar and eat very little fruit. I do, however, tolerate berries of all types pretty well.
- —Guest guest
Important food!!
- I had a delayed food allergy test or "compliment antigen test" performed that showed the food to which I was most allergic. I would never have eliminated these on my own because it can take 2-10 days to get response. I have eliminated most of them from my diet. If I eat one of my biggies, I can have a cns episode within 2 days. It has been the single most beneficial thing in the treatment of my M.E.
- —Guest ReMe11
DO IT!
- I can't recommend enough that people try an elimination diet for fibro. For me, keeping blood sugar stable by eating meat and vegetable-centered diet w/some fruit (not citrus) has helped me most. Also, NO dairy, no gluten, no nightshades, no additives, no processed foods if you can help it. No gluten showed best first results, then dairy. It has been one year since giving up nightshades. After I'm better 100% (currently 90%), I may reintroduce them to see how it goes. Keep up the good work Adrienne!
- —Guest Emma
starch free diet
- starch free(as tested with iodine)has releived sll symptoms from a frontal lobe dementia to sore bones, and 5o more symptoms that happened over time
- —Guest yes
Never heard of this
- My doctor did say stay away from white enriched flour,aspartame which is in diet drinks, MSG.
- —DebraStr
salt
- In the last two weeks I've had two super heavy salt days and following each one I felt awful! So much pain. Normally I keep to a low-sodium diet, and I've reacted very badly to these two exceptions. I suppose the sodium causes inflammation that wouldn't otherwise be there. All my joints hurt on top of the regular fibro pain. With regard to food elimination, I've found I also react badly to processed and artificial foods, and to any sugar and wheat beyond a certain low threshold. My go-to grains are corn (as tortillas, hominy, popcorn, etc.), brown rice, and wild rice. I tolerate quinoa less well, wheat makes me hurt, and oatmeal causes anaphylaxis. I haven't eaten potatoes in ages, so I couldn't say how I respond to them, but I'm pretty sure I stopped eating them for a reason (even if I can't remember what the reason was). I'm better with coffee (tea makes me sick), fish is helpful (it's the only animal protein I eat apart from occasional cheese), oranges and baked apples are like candy. Days that start with a barely ripe banana and a vitamin D pill are generally better.
- —Guest S
Didn't help me
- I did the elimination diet three different times under doctor's supervision. I lost about 10 lbs the first time. That made me feel a little better emotionally because I felt like I had some control. But it didn't help the pain, fatigue or sleep issues. I believe for some people it is helpful but I still don't find it to be the underlying cause of Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue. I do believe malabsorption is part of the culprit but don't necessarily believe that our diet is what is causing it. In my case, there are no food allergies and the only sensitivity that I became aware of is that I absolutely can not tolerate artificial sweeteners.
- —Guest Linda
Tried it on my own
- At first i thought my cfs was only related to yeast, but now i can say that i relate it to all that this article has mentioned as far as what to stay away from. Lately i've been wondering if some kinds of oil (used in foods as well as for frying foods) cause my symptoms? ALSO, does anyone want to speculate and say that many of the things we cannot eat are those that "soak" up more pesticides and or are exposed to more chemicals b4 they get to our plate? WHAT IS AMAZING to me is that we suffer and no articles that i read will directly relate cfs to the chemically saturated food that we have today?? I want to just stop eating the standard american diet but it seems like such a difficult thing to start within one's family and expensive. I will continue to read what i can and be proactive in my health~I am thankful for others comments because they help in giving me reasons why I feel the way i do when i eat the wrong things and ideas on what to do to make it better. Thanks.
- —Guest Jamie
gluten-free and sugar-free
- The elimination diet helped me. Wheat/gluten and sugar are the culprits in my diet. My fibro pain hasn't diminished, but the fatigue, mental fog, and feeling of yuckiness have disappeared.
- —Guest larrysmom
healthy changes
- I WAS FORTUNATE TO HAVE A GREAT CHIROPRACTOR AND NUTRITIONIST - NO ONE ELSE TOOK ME SERIOUSLY ABOUT MY SYMPTOMS - SHE SUGGESTED A DETOX AND THEN THE ELIMINATION DIET. IT REALLY PINPOINTED SOME PROBLEM FOODS - THE BIGGEST WAS GLUTEN CONTAINING FOOD. I DID NOT REALIZE IT WAS TOO LATE TO BE TESTED FOR CELIAC AND I'M NOT GOING BACK TO EATING THE FOOD THAT MADE ME SO SICK TO BE TESTED. I DID HAVE ALLERGY TESTING DONE THOUGH. THE DIET WAS VERY CHALLENGING AT FIRST, BUT THE INTERNET HAS A WEALTH OF INFO AND I ASKED A FRIEND WITH CELIAC FOR HELP AND I'M NOT CONSUMED WITH MY FOOD ISSUES ANYMORE. WHAT DID IT DO FOR MY WELL-BEING? I HAVEN'T FELT THIS GOOD IN YEARS - MAYBE EVER - MY FIBRO SYMPTOMS ARE MUCH MORE MANAGEABLE. I WORK FULL TIME, HELP RAISE MY GRANDDAUGHTER, TAKE MEDS ON RARE OCCASIONS, LOST A TON OF BODY FAT AND HAVE MORE ENERGY THAN I CAN EVER REMEMBER HAVING. I ACCIDENTALLY ATE GLUTEN THE OTHER DAY AND I WAS SO SICK IT REMINDED ME OF WHY I WORK SO HARD AT IT NOW - I'M WELL!
- —Guest pianolady
robertina3
- I found out that for my CFS the difference is made by QUANTITY and not quality of food. if low quantities, I can eat anything. roberta
- —robertina3
worth a try
- This diet has changed my life-improved my sleep; almost cleared up a life-long problem with atopic dermatitis. My moods are more even and predictable. It has been two years. I lost 40 pounds--kept it off. Look better; feel better though not by any measure cured of CFS.
- —jomije
I got help from...
- I eliminated yeast, and about 95% of the sugar in my diet. I feel soooo much better! I don't have problems with wheat. I put my sandwich fillings on crackers. I have bread, and boy, do I feel lousy later. Also eliminated most of the sugar. Side benefit--I've lost 25 pounds!
- —Guest Kathryn
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