If I Had the Energy, I Would Go Sit Down.

Constant fatigue was making me feel really tired..all the time.

They don't call it chronic fatigue syndrome for nothing.  I was one of the many fibromyalgia sufferers who also had debilitating fatigue symptoms.  Feeling so wretchedly tired all the time was a prime motivator for me to find some way to get better. The constant severe pain was awful but the unremitting fatigue was even worse.  When I first started on this quest, I was merely looking for a way to cope and improve enough to be able to get through the day.  It never occurred to me that the symptoms could be completely eradicated.

By now I had made my home environment as chemical free as possible.  I had stopped eating foods that contained trans fats, dyes, additives, and other chemicals.  I googled all the super foods lists I could find.  I started adding foods to my diet that were thought to help pump up the immune system, had anti inflammatory properties, and were in general supposed to be good for my body. 

Meanwhile, I kept coming across articles that said even whole, real, natural foods contained chemicals.  Fruit and vegetables are sprayed with pesticides.  Beef and poultry are stuffed with hormones and antibiotics. I thought, "Oh great!  What in the world does that leave for me to eat?"  Starvation didn't seem like a logical option so I searched for a better way.

I learned that washing fruits and vegetables thoroughly with soap and water gets rid of some of the pesticides. Just giving them a quick rinse under the faucet will not do the trick.  Peeled apples have less chemical residue than unpeeled apples.  I started looking for places that sold organic food.  Some organic foods can be found even at the big chain stores.  Local farmer's markets sell fresh produce.  Although it may have been sprayed with chemicals during the growing cycle, at least it does not have the added preservatives often used when foods have to be shipped long distances.  And some vendors sell truly organic chemical free food.  

Certain fruits and vegetables are not as readily penetrated by chemicals. Fresh pineapple, for example, has such a thick hard skin, that the fruit itself doesn't absorb as much chemical residue as say strawberries which have no protective skin, absorb anything that is sprayed on them, and are impossible to scrub.  So I eat fresh pineapple almost every day but strawberries only occasionally and preferably when I can find ones that have been grown organically.

Even if you live in an area without much access to organic food, you can still make smart food decisions.  Fresh blueberries, even if they have been chemically sprayed, will be a better choice than blueberry flavored something that comes in a box. 

Later I will discuss specific anti inflammatory and immune boosting foods.  For now maybe it will be enough to share that my mantra became:

Eat whole foods

Eat lots of fruit and vegetables

Eat less non organic beef and poultry

Add nuts

Dried cherries are my friend

Buy locally grown produce

Use fresh ginger and fresh garlic in everything