My suggestion, with the exception of processed foods, is just eat a good balanced diet unless some particular food bothers you.

There is no proven connection between diet and fibromyalgia, although there are people making a lot of money saying otherwise.

AMEN. Not everyone has a problem with gluten, and the only real connection in my opinion betweenFM and disease is that a healthier diet will always help you cope better with it! I avoid processed food like it is the devil, but I was raised that way, so it was no big problem for me to do something like that... Once my husband and I made enough money to get off the Ramen noodle diet that is LOL.

I have to agree that you are doing the right thing. I did notice when I changed my diet because of my Barrett's Esophagus, I couldn't figure out what to eat. But, I did have less depression. There really isn't much to eat besides, veggies, fruit, brown rice, potatoes, stuff like that. No processed food is good advice for sure!! and of course lean meats. Lots of Salmon if you like it. A lot of people don't.

One more thing. I'm on a really strict diet so if you want to message me, I'll share what is good and what isn't, according to the GI Specialist, And the dietician.

Sweetie this is my suggestion.

Take one thing at a time.

Lets say you decide to eliminate caffeine. Stop for 10-14 days. Then slowly reintroduce it into your dietary intake. Keep a journal of how you felt and what you took in (for that category - not all foods).

You'll see what causes pain and what doesn't. I did this over the course of 1yr. Slowly eliminated something then re-introduced it.

I've found what I shouldn't eat vs what...just gives me problems so to speak.

And I stuck with the motto...NOTHING tastes as good as PAIN FREE feels. It was my own version of a Pavlovs dog research.

I think with fibro some of us deal with acid reflux, IBS and those things we have to watch our diet.

Hi Wonderbaby
I like your advice a lot. I would love to try that but I have been taken away from so many foods now that I may as well just eat hay! LOL

Gramy you can eat Hay!!! I am jealous! I am on the stick and rock diet.

I appreciate all your comments. I've had to deal with that black hole of depression that comes with Fibromyalgia over the weekend and just couldn't bring myself to communicate.

I'm not sure what is all included as processed food.

Gramybear, yes I will message you. I have had GI problems as well. I'm pretty lost on this food thing. I do know heavy meals and large meals don't go over well. I've been trying to stay away from carbs and greasy food. I gave up soda and increased my water intake. With the exception of ice cream I've done pretty well at giving up sugar. I can't remember the last time I had a candy bar and the cravings for it goes away after awhile. The craving for ice cream will go away when it starts getting cold again. As long as I don't have too much of it, it seems to settle okay.

The hungry feeling is getting to be preferable over being sick to my stomach and when that happens extremely fatigued.

What qualifies as processed: If you can't pronounce any of the ingredients, it's processed :)

If it's in a box, definitely processed. If it contains preservatives, additives, it's processed. If it doesn't have an expiration date, run. Anything that doesn't have an expiration date has something in it you shouldn't be consuming.

Don't go hungry - good nutrition is really important to your overall health, and if your overall health suffers it's not going to do your fibromyalgia any good.

There is a website for the Weston A Price Foundation that has a lot of information about eating as our ancestors did - getting back closer to the source of our food (nutrition diminishes as you get farther from the source) and I've found it really helpful. Some things will actually surprise you. Meat is not evil, fat is not forbidden.

The site is http://www.westonaprice.org/

I don't eliminate "all processed foods" (like you, I wouldn't even know what that means) but I try to be careful with sweets. Refined sugar gives me problems - I don't have any glucose/diabetes issues, but if I hit the sugary junk food, soda, cakes, etc, I get a headache and then I get pain. It also makes all the emotional issues (depression, anxiety) worse.

I've been avoiding MSG for a long time because it triggers my migraines. Chinese food and any food in a can are big villains in this list.

Careful with caffeine - that one's a double edged sword. If you cut it out, you're supposed to cut down by the equivalent of one cup of brewed coffee a WEEK (note: a grande latte at Starbucks is two shots of espresso, which is more than two cups of brewed coffee). Otherwise you'll be feeling major withdrawal symptoms, which may mimic a lot of your worse Fibro symptoms (brain-fog, aches and pains, headaches, etc).

Gluten - if I cut gluten from my diet at this point, I would starve to death, but my sister is on a gluten-free diet and it has helped her a lot. It takes some getting used to, but other than bread, there are pretty good ways to avoid gluten as long as you stick to natural products.

Fresh fruit and veggies are great. Potatoes, skin-on, are packed with nutrients that some theories say are especially good for folks with fibro (magnesium, potassium, vitamin C). Meat is still included in the list you gave; I seem to have trouble with red meat, personally, but I do a lot of chicken, etc. Corn chips are naturally gluten free and yummy - add some cheese and/or salsa of your choice, and life is good.

The hardest thing for me is that fresh foods and veggies, health foods in general, tend to be more WORK than junk foods... which is difficult, since I'm the primary grocery shopper and cook in my house! Hmm... do I want to spend an hour chopping, standing and cooking, or do I want to order pizza?

I suggest people read the book Wheat Belly. It talks amount the wheat that is being used and how it has been genetically engineered and how it can effect our bodies. I am on a gluten free diet and found it helps with my osteoarthritis but not really the fibro symptoms. Many food allergies/sensitivities can cause indigestion type symptoms. I think keeping a food diary can really help, I actually had allergy testing done and found I have multiple food allergies. The rule I try to follow is if the item has too many ingredients and I can't pronounce them it is probably filled with artificial ingredients. Purchase items that are usually on the outside isles of the grocery store since those are the natural items. Once I started eating more natural I have found that my moods don't change as abruptly and even if I have pain I handle it better. So I think sometimes it is harder to prepare but I have learned to pull up a chair and do things sitting down and in short time frames so it may take all day to prepare the chopped vegetables and clean the fruit since I usually need to lay down when the pain gets too high and once I have rested will start again.