Dietary Changes going on!

UPDATE!!!  I wrote this last week but didn't post for some reason so it has already been a week since I started the program!  Check my next post for how week one has gone!

About two weeks ago I read a post from a Fibro group called FibroTV.   FibroTV is a weekly podcast Show designed to bring the Fibromyalgia community and those with Chronic health issues together in a POSITIVE way. It is a place to educate family, friends, the public about fibromyalgia and chronic illnesses! (borrowed from their site!)  I have been following their Facebook site for a long time and didn't realize that they actually had a podcast...guess I didn't see or wasn't observant enough to see that!!... and now I follow the podcast too!  Jen Reynolds is the owner/operator and she also has Fibro and knows what we are all going through.  Check out her blog...http://fibrotv.com

Anyway a couple weeks ago I read this post about diet and how it could be playing a bigger influence on my health then what I give it credit for.  I know the only positive tests that have come back showing deficits are the low calcium, low potassium, low Vit D etc.  SO I looked up and listened a bit harder to what these people are saying.

 Foods for Fibromyalgia by Dr. Diedra Rawlings a board certified Naturopathic physician and Holistic Nutritionist and some of the stuff I read and heard there sent me searching other sites.  I know that she is trying to sell you something but read on and ignore the buying messages cause there is truth in what she is saying.  I remember it from my nutrition courses in college! 

Fibromyalgia and Diet from WebMd puts a little bit of a slow down on the diet and Fibro craze going on but allows that there is a lot of good data with anecdotal evidence presented! 
 
Eat Well to Help Fibromyalgia, Kara Wahlgren. This site shows food slides and gives reasons why they say not to eat this or that.

Prevention.com even jumps in with some good ideas to help control pain issues 

This Time This Space has an awesome article that says we need to take care to eat well to provide our body with the nutrients it need to repair and sustain.  They tell you that you need to beware a lot of foods trigger the inflammatory process and you need to document and track to find what causes your issues.   In almost all the articles above they list what you need to avoid so I will borrow this from This Time This Space:


1. Aspartame (NutraSweet) I would add any artificial sweetner
2.  Food additives including MSG (monosodium glutamate) and nitrates 
3.  Sugar, fructose, and simple carbohydrates.
4.  Caffeine including coffee, tea, colas, and chocolate 
5.  Yeast and gluten. 
6.  Dairy products 
7.  Nightshade Plants 

Well after looking over this list I decided that I would start with a couple and see if they made any difference in my life doing without them.  Wouldn't hurt and would just mean spending a couple dollars on different foods this week.

I spent $$$ on a gastroenterologist and Upper GI and a Colonoscopy not to mention biopsy and blood work cause the Dr. thought I had ceiliac syndrome and all the tests came back negative back in August.  So the first thing that I was going to cut out was Gluten.  WOW did you  know almost every food I love has gluten in some form in it....This might be harder then I thought.

Sugar and Sweetners is the second on my list to get rid of.  I bought a big jar of honey to use cause all I have read says allergies are almost non existent to honey!  I also bought a jar of Stevia to try but didn't really like it before but we will see when the sugar and sweetner is gone and I need sweet.

Dairy is another one that I have had problems with in the past so it came in third on the list.  I decided though after some research that I was going to leave hard cheese and butter in cause they are 'changed' by their processing. 
  
Not giving up my coffee...but I will cut back a bit!

I already know I can's do MSG and already try and stay away from processed meats due to the nitrates/nitrites, BHA, BHT etc.

And finally it came down to the Nightshades.  I love and have never had a problem with tomatoes so I am going to keep those in my diet.  I am going to try the others for a period of 2-4 weeks and if I don't see a difference I will cut them out too!  Dietary changes take a while to show changes in your body so it might take a while longer too but...Giving it a try!  

I will keep you informed as I travel this road and let you know what I am going through and what changes have come about!