U is for Use the 90% Real Food Rule

ABCs for healthy living are quick takes on simple strategies for creating a healthier life.

I start every day with a real food breakfast.

I created ten strategies for healthy living that helped me detoxify my life and optimize my stamina and energy because I was desperate to find ways to cope with the severe pain and fatigue of the chronic illness fibromyalgia.I succeeded far beyond what I could imagine.I not only found ways to cope. I eventually completely recovered. Last week I celebrated four years of being symptom free.

These strategies required me to make changes in my lifestyle.All of the strategies have been important in my recovery and in maintaining my health. The top three are:

• Replace harmful household products with safer ones.
• Remove most processed food from my diet.
• Make smart choices about eating real food.

The first one was the easiest.I didn't have any emotional attachment to cleaning products. I could live without scented things.If you would like more info on why scented products are dangerous and some ideas for making your own nontoxic cleaners, check out these posts.

3 Easy Nontoxic Cleaners You Can Make

How to Clean Your Entire Bathroom Without Toxic Chemicals

Why Scented Products are Hazardous to Your Health
Completely revamping my diet was a lot more difficult for me.I had been eating things out of boxes and packages and using cans of this and that in recipes for years.I was emotionally attached to some of the processed food I ate.So I use the 90% rule.I eat real food 90% of the time.This gives me a 10% flexibility window each day for occasionally eating processed food, eating out when I don't know what ingredients restaurants use in the food, and going to parties and potluck dinners.

Five things help me follow the 90% real food rule.

1. I start every day with a real food breakfast that includes bread I make myself, fruit, nuts, organic free range eggs I get from a friend, and a cup of ginger tea. Recipe for Ginger Tea

2. When I eat occasional processed food, I make sure it has five ingredients or less and stay away from the most harmful ingredients like preservatives and food dyes. For example, if I want potato chips with my sandwich, I choose a single serving bag that is made from only three ingredients: potatoes,salt,and oil.

3. When I'm invited to a potluck dinner or party, I take a fresh fruit or vegetable platter so that I know I will have some real food choices no matter what else is served.

4. When I eat at a restaurant I choose foods that have the greatest potential for being unprocessed like grilled chicken, fruit, vegetables, and salad.

5. I thoroughly enjoy my 10% flexibility window.This week I've been baking Christmas goodies for my grandchildren. And I've tasted everything I made. One piece of homemade candy or one cookie doesn't wreck my plan because the rest of the day I know I will follow the 90% real food rule that helps me create a healthier life.

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Is Invisible Fat Making You Sick?

Hiking to walk off the visible fat. Eating real food to get rid of the visceral fat.

Researchers are unsure what causes fibromyalgia. Check out the post from Jan. 18 for a discussion of three possible triggers. Although the disease may be set off in different people by a different convergence of events, one thing that all fibromyalgia patients have in common is increased inflammation throughout the body. And one thing known to cause widespread inflammation is visceral fat.

Visceral fat is fat that you cannot see. You don't have to appear obese to have it. Many thin people have a significant amount of visceral fat. This type of fat wraps itself around your internal organs, especially organs in the digestive tract including the stomach, liver, and spleen. Visceral fat causes chronic inflammation on a cellular level that leads to a host of diseases including autoimmune diseases like fibromyalgia. It also contributes to aging, heart disease, diabetes, depression, sleep apnea, some types of cancer, and many other illnesses. 

I am working to get rid of my visible fat and increase my overall stamina by walking, using a fitness tracker, light weight lifting, doing Tai Chi, and stretching. To recover from fibromyalgia, it was important for me to understand the harm that invisible visceral fat causes and find ways to increase my overall well-being by getting rid of it.

One of the main causes for developing visceral fat and the subsequent inflammation it creates is eating too much processed food full of corn syrup, artificial dyes, trans fats, preservatives, and other potentially harmful chemical additives. Researchers studying the link between visceral fat and inflammation say that we should never eat anything that comes out of a box, bottle, can, or package. They recommend eating real whole foods with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients.My personal goal is to eat real food at least 90% of the time. I heard one physician say that if he could get his patients with autoimmune diseases like fibromyalgia to eat real food for at least 80% of their diet they always showed significant improvement.

People who eat processed food, drink soft drinks, and consume other packaged products have high levels of visceral fat even if they are not visibly overweight. I had been eating processed food mindlessly for decades when I developed fibromyalgia. When I changed my diet to include mainly whole real foods and eliminated as many chemicals as possible from my daily routine, my symptoms completely resolved.

• I stopped eating processed food with harmful additives.
• I stopped drinking all soda. 
• I eat a wide variety of fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains.
• I eat foods that have a lot of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients.

The trade off of giving up certain foods for the blessing of feeling better is certainly worth it. Nothing that I have eliminated from my diet tastes as good as it feels to be well. I would love to get your feedback in the comments section. What do you think might keep someone from eating real food? Why would the processed food industry not want people to understand how harmful many of their products are? What else would you like to know about fibromyalgia recovery?


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Painting the House and I'm Still Alive

My husband and I are painting the inside of our house and I am having such fun. I know that sounds a little bit, well maybe a lot, crazy. After all painting involves taping, drop cloths, strenuous manual labor, ladders, brushes, rollers, time, moving furniture, and living in general chaos until the job is done.

But I'm elated nonetheless. Here's why. The last time the inside of our house was painted (ages and ages ago), we had a contractor complete the task. The smell of the paint fumes made me so sick I had to move out and stay with family and friends until the smell was gone. It was almost six weeks before I was able to move back into my home.This time around things are entirely different. Not only am I able to stay in the house while it is being painted, I am able to wield a brush and roller to help paint it.

A lot has happened between our two painting adventures. I had Meniere's disease the first go around. Since then I have developed Fuch's dystrophy of the cornea, multiple chemical and food allergies, and fibromyalgia. All of these diseases are related to malfunctioning of the immune system. I was in so much pain with fibromyalgia that I was desperate to find a way to feel better. I learned that exposure to toxic chemicals contributes to all kinds of autoimmune diseases including fibro. So I got chemicals out of my home, stopped eating processed food that is full of harmful chemicals, and started eating real food rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. I haven't had any fibromyalgia symptoms in over nineteen months. And as a bonus, my immune system in general has improved. My allergies are a lot better. I haven't had a Meniere's episode in two years. My vision is stable. I feel great.

So I was worried when we started planning to paint the house. We are retired now and have plenty of time to do the work ourselves. But I didn't want to rock the boat by risking exposure to paint. Fortunately, paint manufacturers have developed paint that is free of VOCs - Volatile Organic Chemicals. VOCs in paint, cleaning products, scented products, cosmetics and a host of other things people use in daily life are a huge contributor to all kinds of health problems. We bought three gallons of VOC free paint in different colors and painted three different test walls. I had no reaction at all. We have finished painting three entire rooms and I am zipping right along as healthy as can be. 

Here are some quick tips that can make painting the inside of your home a little easier.

Buy paint that contains no VOCs. There are some paint products that say low VOC so make sure to verify that the paint you choose has absolutely no VOCs.

Gather all supplies before you start. Our list included: regular painter's tape, painter's tape with a four foot pull out drop cloth to use on the baseboards, an extension ladder, a step ladder, a step stool, three sizes of good quality brushes, disposable paint rollers, an extension roller pole, roller pans, drop cloths for the floor, and drop cloths to cover the furniture.

Painter's tape with a drop cloth attached works great on baseboards.

An extension ladder helps with the high spots.

Decide on a color scheme. Most companies offer brochures and online resources to help you pick out colors. We used a color palette sheet that shows a range of colors that work well together, got large paint chip swatches of the colors we thought we wanted to use, and painted test patches before buying all of the paint. The color palette sheet also has been useful for picking out accessories to go with our new look.

Prepare the room. Move the furniture away from the walls and cover with drop cloths. Put painter's tape around all baseboards, door frames, and windows. Take pictures off the walls and use spackle to fill in all nail holes. Wash the walls with a damp microfiber cloth. Bring your paint, brushes, and rollers to the room. Go!

For me painting my home has been a special blessing. Nineteen months ago I was too sick and in too much pain from fibromyalgia to even think about doing something as strenuous as painting our whole house. I am so thankful for health and energy and paint that is free from VOCs. I could share more but I've got to run. There are more rooms waiting to magically change color and I hear a paintbrush calling my name.

Surprised by Recovery from Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia produces a cascading torrent of symptoms.

I know the exact moment my encounter with fibromyalgia started.  On December 21, 2009 I had a severe allergic reaction to shrimp. I went into anaphylactic shock, had difficulty breathing, was taken to the emergency room, and was given three doses of epinephrine before my lung function returned to normal. I was kept in the ER for observation and then sent home to rest and recover. A week later I was still resting but I was not recovering at all.

I felt extremely fatigued all of the time. About a month after the shrimp episode, I developed muscle and joint pain all over my body. At first I thought it was just taking a long time to recover from the anaphylactic reaction, all that epinephrine, and the hectic Christmas holiday season. But the symptoms persisted and grew worse each day.

I had been working part time for four to six hours a day four days a week. I began to cut back on my hours until I was working only two or three hours a day. Eventually, I no longer had the energy for even that and had to quit my job. Prior to the onset of this mysterious cluster of symptoms I was an energetic,outgoing, generally cheerful person who thrived on being involved in many things at one time. But now it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to complete the basic tasks of everyday living. My doctor did laboratory analysis and evaluation which came back within normal limits. After the symptoms had persisted for six months and other possible causes had been ruled out, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. 

I was tried on several different medications used to help control fibromyalgia pain but I had side effects with each one and couldn't take any of them. I was going to have to somehow find a way to live with constant pain and debilitating fatigue. 

For the next twelve months, I spent most of my time lying on the couch. I got up to make occasional forays to the grocery store and wander into the utility room to try to keep up with the laundry. Everything I heard was discouraging. I was told there was no known cause or cure for fibromyalgia, that it would probably last the rest of my life, and that I might as well get used to feeling horrible every single day.

My usual coping mechanism is to confront a problem head on, brainstorm creative ways to resolve the issue, and jump in and do whatever it takes to make things better. I barely had the energy to stand up and shuffle around the house, much less do any jumping, but I jumped in anyway. I started reading everything I could find about fibromyalgia. 

It took another year to discover everything I needed to know to feel better. Over time, I developed a plan that involved making three huge changes in my lifestyle. I got chemicals out of my home environment, stopped eating processed food, and started eating whole foods rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. My fibromyalgia symptoms have completely resolved. I haven't had any pain, fatigue,insomnia, fibro fog, or other fibromyalgia symptoms for over a year and a half. 

Before I got well, if anyone had told me it was possible to recover from fibromyalgia, I would have said they were nuts. I still wouldn't believe it even now except for this: it happened to me. 

Did you experience any traumatic physical, spiritual, or emotional event before you got sick?

Have you found anything that has helped improve your fibromyalgia symtpoms?

Making Bread without Catching the House on Fire

Update: November 16, 2015

Since I have been posting about breakfast foods for the past week, I thought you might enjoy this blog post from last year when I first attempted to learn how to make bread in a bread machine. As I reread the post, I noticed that I shared I had been free of symptoms for a year and a half. I'm thrilled to report that next month I will celebrate three years of being symptom free from fibromyalgia. Even if your attempts to move toward a healthier lifestyle are filled with setbacks and culinary disasters, it is so worth the effort. Happy baking and hope for healing to all!

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread

Over the past few years, I have been replacing processed food with whole foods as part of my plan for coping with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. My symptoms disappeared when I got chemicals out of my environment, stopped eating processed food, and started eating whole foods rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. I haven't had any fibromyalgia pain or CFS symptoms in over a year and a half. 

My goal is to eat 95% real food. I use a few processed prepackaged items for the remaining 5% of what I eat like mustard, ketchup, pickles, and until recently - bread. Packaged bread is probably not nearly as full of chemicals as industrially produced cookies, candy, soda, etc. - Right?  That's what I thought until I read the label on the bread package and saw that the list of ingredients includes: sodium stearoyl lactylate, calcium stearoyl lactylate, monoglycerides, calcium peroxide, datem, ethyoxylated diglycerides, high fructose corn syrup, azodicarbonamide, and enzymes. 

Since I don't want to eat chemicals, I decided it was time to learn to make my own bread. I've been making muffins for years so it was no problem to make a few batches to put in the freezer. So far I've made blueberry, banana walnut, and apple oatmeal muffins.

Blueberry Muffins

I had an old bread machine collecting dust in the attic and an old bread machine cookbook shoved to the back of the cookbook shelf in the kitchen. So one day when my schedule was completely free and I was feeling adventurous. I decided to tackle making bread. My first attempt was a stellar success. The cinnamon raisin bread made my kitchen smell like a bakery and it was absolutely delicious. And I knew exactly what was in it: water, raisins, cinnamon, butter, salt, organic raw sugar, flour and yeast.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

And then I had a great idea. I noticed that all of the recipes in the cookbook were for one pound loaves and my bread machine could make up to a two pound loaf. Hmmm, let's see:  to make twice as much of most recipes you multiply times two and - Voila!  I should have twice as much bread. So I doubled one of the recipes in the cookbook, dumped all of the ingredients in, and pushed the start button. The bread machine was churning merrily away when I left the kitchen to go tend to some other chores. About an hour later I smelled something burning. I went back to the kitchen to investigate. It looked like the bread machine had exploded. Dough was running over the top of the bread pan and oozing out of every seam in the machine. Globs of sticky dough had trickled down on to the heating element, and caught on fire. I yanked out the plug, poured water over the smoky mess, and stood gazing at the sad remains of the bread machine as it quietly died. 

I learned something. If the bread recipe says it makes a one pound loaf, DO NOT double it to make a two pound loaf. I ruined a loaf of bread and murdered a poor innocent bread machine. Since I am quite stubborn and persistent, I just bought a new bread machine and started over. I have been making delicious homemade chemical free loaves of bread ever since. 

I have had fun recently making bagels and sandwich buns.

Bagels

Whole Wheat Sesame Buns

I have learned a few things about making bread in a bread machine.

Measure all ingredients exactly. 

Make sure all of your ingredients are fresh.

If you use bread flour, choose a brand that is non bromeated with no xanthum gum. 

Do not double the recipe.

Have all ingredients at room temperature.

Heat the milk or water until it is warm but not hot.

Put all of the liquid ingredients in first.

Add all of the dry ingredients next.

Spread the dry ingredients evenly over the liquid ingredients so that no moisture can get through.

Make a small indention in the dry ingredients with a spoon.

Sprinkle the yeast into the little hole you have made for it.

Follow the directions on your machine.

The new bread machine is working great. And I haven’t caught anything else on fire. 

A Few Corn-y Thoughts

After the Corn Harvest

I am committed to eating whole foods and eliminating processed foods from my diet as part of my fibromyalgia recovery plan. Doing this plus getting chemicals out of my environment has sent my symptoms into remission.  Yay!  Finding out which whole foods are healthy and which may be problematic can be frustrating and confusing. Boo!

Let's take a brief look at corn.  A field of corn ready for harvest is a beautiful sight with ripe ears bending tall green stalks swaying in the summer breeze.  Even after the ears are harvested, the stripped fields look like a Norman Rockwell painting of a wholesome and healthy food source.  But when you discover a few facts, it suddenly feels more like that old horror movie, "Children of the Corn."  

1. Modern varieties of corn contain up to 40% sugar.  While the sugar content has increased over the years, the nutrients have decreased.  Corn that has been planted by American Indians in the southwest the same way for thousands of years has a lot more nutritional value than modern sweet corn.  For instance, "blue corn...has thirty times more antioxidant value than modern white corn." (Eating on the Wild Side by Jo Robinson)

2. The Monsanto corporation, the largest holder of seed patents in the country, produces a majority of the corn found on supermarket shelves.  This corn has been genetically modified (GM) to withstand drought, resist pests,and be impervious to pesticides. Our bodies are not designed to digest genetically modified corn. Several studies show that GM seeds produce tumors and other health problems in lab animals. Monsanto is a chemical company whose history includes producing agent orange and DDT.  I don't think the corporation is inherently evil.  It is just that their primary motivation is profit not health.  And that is scary.

3. Part of the corn harvest is used to produce high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) found in processed food.  Many medical studies show how bad HFCS is for our health. Dr.
Mark Hyman has written an interesting article entitled, "5 Reasons High Fructose Corn Syrup Will Kill You". He says, "We are consuming HFCS and sugar in pharmacologic quantities never before experienced in human history–140 pounds a year versus 20 teaspoons a year 10,000 years ago. High fructose corn syrup is always found in very poor-quality foods that are nutritionally vacuous and filled with all sorts of other disease promoting compounds, fats, salt, chemicals, and even mercury."

Now that all that bad news is out of the way, let's look at a few positive corn facts.  Corn, especially heirloom varieties, that you either grow yourself or purchase from your local farmer's market is quite nutritious.  HFCS won't be a problem if you avoid eating processed foods because whole food does not contain HFCS.  There are varieties of corn and corn seed available that have not been genetically modified by Monsanto or any other corporation. Because consumers are becoming more food savvy, many markets now sell blue corn and other varieties of nutritious corn.

Eliminating processed food from your diet is a healthy step toward recovery from fibromyalgia and many other diseases.  It is helpful to recognize that all whole food is not created equally. It is encouraging that in our country we have choices and access to many options.  I am learning more about choosing wisely every day. 

Exploring Unknown Territory

I recently visited the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.  The soaring sculpture is located on the approximate site where Lewis and Clark begin their westward journey of exploration to map unknown territory for those who would come after them.  

I have been on my own trek of discovery the past few years.  When I started searching for a possible cause for my fibromyalgia symptoms, I was definitely exploring unknown territory.  It is my hope and prayer that all those who are currently suffering from fibromyalgia or other autoimmune diseases will benefit from what I have learned.

I found my first clue doing research online.  I read an article describing the enormous quantity of toxic chemicals that are used in products with fragrances.  These include VOCs (volatile organic chemicals) used to bind fragrances to whatever they are being added to; plus a whole lot of other toxic substances. I had a history of allergic reactions to fragrances so the following sentence immediately captured my attention:

“The National Academy of Sciences reports that 95% of the chemicals used in fragrances today are synthetic compounds derived from petroleum, including known toxins capable of causing cancer, birth defects, central nervous system disorders and allergic reactions.”  “Chemical Sensitivities and Perfume”. Medical News Today.  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/9682.php

Having fibromyalgia and a history of allergies turned out to be a gift.  Of course I didn’t think that during the time I was sick.  My mindset was more along the lines of, “Oh great.”  “Just what I needed.”  “Something else to deal with.” (Feel free to insert your own favorite phrase dripping with sarcasm here.)

I learned that the chemicals in scents cause all kinds of responses in our bodies.  Since these reactions can occur several days after contact with a fragrance and because some of the damage is caused on a cellular level that is not readily obvious, many people are unaware of how dangerous the chemicals used in scented products are to their overall health and well-being. 

I know a lot or folks who are very sick with a variety of autoimmune diseases who have responded to the idea of a chemical cause for their illness with, “Oh, chemicals and fragrances and those kinds of things don't bother me. That can't be it."  Because I had reacted to scented products previously with symptoms of dizziness, nausea, and headache, I knew that they could cause problems.  So right away I considered the possibility that exposure to chemicals might be one of the culprits in my development of fibromyalgia.

This little nugget of truth nudged me to think about just how many chemicals we are exposed to each day in a wide variety of items including fragrances, cleaning supplies, cosmetics, pesticides, insecticides, and processed food.

Some researchers have developed a theory that exposure to multiple chemicals over a long period of time is one of the primary factors in the development of numerous autoimmune diseases.  The theory is that long term exposure to these chemicals causes the autoimmune system to malfunction.  When we are exposed to a physical, emotional, or mental stressor such as heart disease, surgery, an injury, a nasty divorce, etc., this triggers a response that our chemically poisoned immune system cannot overcome. If we do not get the chemicals out of our environment and food, there is a cascading effect.  We can never get well as long as the exposure to chemicals continues. 

Doctors who have recognized this connection are encouraging their patients to make changes in their lifestyles to get chemicals out of their environment and food and to eat a diet rich in whole foods full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. They have seen dramatic improvement and often complete resolution of the symptoms in people who have suffered for years with chronic autoimmune diseases such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, sjogren’s syndrome, and irritable bowel syndrome.

If you have no health problems at the moment, making these changes can keep you healthy.  If you are currently sick and want to feel better, take a thorough survey of your home.  How many products that contain fragrance do you use every day?  Read the labels on your cosmetics, cleaning products, laundry detergent, and lotions. What chemicals are you breathing in each day?  How many chemicals are being absorbed through your skin?  Read the labels on boxes, cans, and bottles of processed food. What chemicals are directly entering your body through what you eat and drink each day?  How many years have you been exposed to these multiple sources of toxicity?

I had been using chemically laden products and eating processed food for over five decades without giving a single thought to how this might adversely affect my health. But because I didn’t want to live out the rest of my years with daily excruciating pain and constant debilitating fatigue, I was highly motivated to make lifestyle changes that otherwise I never would have considered.  I am thankful that being so sick with fibromyalgia eventually led me to make healthier choices for the rest of the time I have left here on earth.

My symptoms have been in complete remission for over eight months with the exception of a one-time occurrence when I used sunscreen without thinking. That incident provided additional evidence of the chemical connection. (You can read about this in an earlier post). 

We don’t have to resign ourselves to a life of misery.  The truth is out there for anyone who wants to find it.  Making a few simple lifestyle changes can make a world of difference in your life and your world.   

Stop using products that contain fragrance.

Get rid of cosmetics and cleaning products that contain harmful chemicals.

Stop eating processed food.

Start eating whole foods that are rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.

It took Lewis and Clark over two years to complete their journey,  With all the information and resources at your disposal, you can  map out your road to recovery in considerably less time. Westward ho!

.

How Long is this Going to Take?

I am often asked:  If I start doing all of the things you suggest today, how long will it take until I start feeling better?   It took me two years of trial and error, reading and research to find out what worked and to get all of the pieces into place. My pain symptoms started getting better with the first step and continued to improve over the time I was developing my plan.  Once I put the last piece of the plan into place, it only took six weeks for all of my symptoms to completely disappear.

That was six months ago.  I have continued to keep chemicals out of my environment, eat very little processed food, and eat mainly whole nutritious foods that are full of anti-inflammatory properties and rich in antioxidants and other nutrients.  I have not had a flareup or return of any of the symptoms of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome that plagued me for years.  I am completely symptom free.

There are doctors and medical researchers investigating this process now.  I find new validation almost every day in the work they are doing that shows that people who get rid of chemical exposure, ditch processed food, and eat whole foods get well.  The time this takes for each person will vary depending on how many chemicals you have been exposed to, how long you have been eating processed food, and how willing you are to be consistent in sticking with the plan.  I had been eating processed food and exposing myself to countless chemicals with little thought of the consequences for over fifty years. 

Once I started making changes the harmful effects of my prior choices reversed. I recovered. It's never too late to start a healthy lifestyle.  I do things every day that would have been impossible for me three years ago.  A few weeks ago I went camping with my grandchildren, hiked through the woods, tromped down to the creek, attended a family reunion, packed and unpacked the camper, drove over a hundred miles from the campsite to our country home to stow the camper, packed the car and drove another hundred miles to our apartment in the city, arrived at seven that night, hauled the luggage to the apartment, and then headed for the grocery store.   When I was sick, attempting to do only a fraction of all that activity would have put me in bed for a week.  But I had a great night's sleep and woke up the next morning refreshed and energized and ready to tackle the tasks of the day.

What do you do between the day you decide to make the necessary changes to improve your health and the day you get better?  You keep on keeping on and you wait.  Having the patience to continually make smart choices for your health while you wait on improvement and recovery is essential.  

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."  

C.S. Lewis

Supplements: Do I Really Need Them?

I recently saw the above post on the Growing Organic, Eating Organic site on Facebook,  It pretty much sums up my current food philosophy.  The group has a lot of good information on eating healthy food.  You might want to check it out.

I have gotten rid of chemicals in my environment, ditched processed food, and I'm eating a healthy diet that is rich in whole foods, and anti-inflammatory and antioxidant foods.  But, hey, I could still be missing something that might help me maintain my freedom from fibromyalgia pain.  After making all these changes I'm symptom free and I surely do not want that horrible pain and debilitating fatigue to come back.  I wondered if I needed to take supplements.

So I hit the computer and started reading about vitamin and mineral supplements.  Some people recommend taking a lot of pills.  There are companies and websites devoted to explaining which supplements a person needs (and often include a convenient link for buying the products they describe.)  If you take a lot of vitamins and supplements and this has helped you, that is awesome. 

I was hesitant to add a ton of manufactured supplements to my recovery plan. There is no oversight or regulation concerning what goes into these products.  There is no requirement that companies have to disclose what they use for fillers, coatings, and additives to the supplements they make.  After spending two years getting chemicals out of my life and food, I don't want to risk unknown chemicals sneaking back into my body through a processed supplement.

I do take two vitamins.  My routine lab work last fall showed that I had developed a Vitamin D deficiency and that my B 12 level was low.   So I take Vitamin D and B 12 and will continue to do so until my levels return to normal and stay there.  It is important to have yearly lab work done to determine if you have any true vitamin deficiencies or other treatable conditions that will only show up with laboratory analysis.  It is equally important to follow the recommendations of your physician for treating a vitamin deficiency. 

But there are many vitamin pills and mineral supplements that some people recommend for inflammation, pain, fatigue, and other symptoms.  These vitamins and minerals can be absorbed easily through eating whole foods.  Why should I take a pill of concentrated cherry compound with unknown manufactured components when I can just eat cherries every day?  
Why should I take a pill for omega three when I can get it from eating salmon, flaxseed, walnuts, basil, oregano, and spinach?

If you want to know which foods contain which vitamins and nutrients, just get online and google away.  There are lists of foods high in omega three, lists of antioxidant foods, lists of anti-inflammatory foods, lists of foods that help control pain, lists of super foods.
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Word of Caution

Eating healthy food will not help you recover if you don't get rid of the harmful chemicals in your environment and stop eating processed food 

Spread the Word

In my last blog post I shared what I have learned about the role of visceral fat in contributing to chronic inflammation on a cellular level.  So, what causes the chronic inflammation to morph into a disease process like fibromyalgia?

The current research indicates that some type of stress on the body is usually the culprit.  We set ourselves up to get sick by constantly exposing ourselves to chemicals in our environment and eating processed food.  I spent decades consuming packaged cookies, candy, ice cream, and other processed foods that had most certainly increased my visceral fat and cellular inflammation levels to extremely high numbers.  But I didn't get sick for a long time. There has to be some type of trigger to make the chronic inflammation spike to cause a full blown disease.

I know what my trigger was because I know exactly when I got sick.  I had a severe allergic reaction to shellfish which sent me into anaphylactic shock.  My body was stressed further when I had to take three injections of epinephrine to bring the anaphylactic shock under control. The next week I had a virus.  This combination of events overwhelmed my immune system, caused the chronic inflammation to go through the roof with no possibility of going back down, and left me suffering with severe fibromyalgia pain and debilitating chronic fatigue.

I know other people with fibromyalgia who have experienced some kind of physical and/or emotional stressors prior to the onset of their symptoms.  Here are some possible stressors:

Suffering severe bodily injury in an automobile accident

Having major surgery

Having a severe allergic reaction

Dealing with ongoing difficult family problems

Being seriously injured from a fall

Having a prolonged viral illness

Okay, so this is rough stuff.  But there is good news to share.  You can get better!  When you stop eating the chemically laden processed food that keeps the inflammation going and start eating healthy whole food filled with antioxidants, vitamins, and anti-inflammatory goodness, you stop the inflammatory cycle and you get well.  I know this is true not because I read it in a book or because some researcher said so.  I know it is true because I was horribly sick for three years and now I am symptom free.

I need you to help me spread the word.  Pass this information along through social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.  Tell everyone you know who suffers from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome that there is hope.  There is something you can do to get better.  I have to go now.  I'm trying to figure out a way to shout it from the rooftops.  

Visceral Fat and Inflammation

My husband, who retired from his private family medicine practice to teach medical students, just came home from a grand rounds lecture at the university.  That sentence sounds boring but I'm stoked, excited, and positively pumped over what he heard from a medical researcher today.

I've been pretty much flying by the seat of my pants trying to find possible causes for my fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms and searching for a cure or at least a way to feel better.  I've ditched processed food and been eating whole foods especially focusing on those that have anti-inflammatory properties and contain antioxidants that help strengthen the immune system.  My symptoms have completely resolved and the lecturer who spoke today shared part of the reason why.

It has to do with visceral fat and inflammation.  Visceral fat is fat that you cannot see that wraps itself around your internal organs, especially organs in the digestive tract including the stomach, liver, and spleen.  This type of fat causes chronic inflammation on a cellular level that leads to a host of diseases including autoimmune diseases like fibro and CFS.  (It also contributes to aging, heart disease, diabetes, depression, sleep apnea, and a bunch of other illnesses, in case you were wondering.)

And guess what is one of the main causes of developing visceral fat and the subsequent inflammation?  Eating processed food full of corn syrup, dyes, trans fats, preservatives, and other chemicals. Wow!  The speaker is working on a research project about this and will publish a paper about it when they complete the study.  He said we should never eat anything that comes out of a box, bottle, can, or package.  He recommends eating the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant foods I've been eating.  He said eating the Mediterranean type diet is a good place to start.  All of the patients who have followed his advice have significantly improved.  Many of them are completely symptom free.  That's amazing!

All the people they have tested who eat processed food, drink soft drinks, and consume other packaged products have high levels of visceral fat even if they are not visibly overweight.  That is the bad news.  If you fall into that group, don't despair, you can change your ways, pick yourself up and move on toward getting better.  Here's how:

Do not eat any processed food.

Stop drinking soda.

Eat lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains.

Eat foods that have anti-inflammatory properties.

Eat foods that contain antioxidants.

If you want more information on getting rid of processed food in your diet, eating healthy foods, and clearing chemicals out of your life, check out previous blog posts.  I was sick for three years but after changing my lifestyle, I feel great.  The trade off of giving up certain foods for the blessing of feeling fantastic is a no brainer.  Nothing that I have eliminated from my diet tastes as good as I feel.

The researcher also recommends exercise to speed up getting rid of the visceral fat and inflammation.  We will save that to discuss another day.

What reasons could keep someone from eating a healthy diet?

Why does the processed food industry not want this information to get out?