Diet & Nutritional Supplement Recommendations from Leading Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Physicians

From: ImmuneSupport.com

We’ve all heard the expression "you are what you eat." While there is no question that diet and nutrition have a significant impact on overall good health, the extent to which this is true in people suffering from disease is a subject of much debate and has been the topic of many research studies. When you’re struggling with a chronic illness such as fibromyalgia (FM) or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), this expression takes on a whole new meaning and weight.

While there is no diet or nutritional regimen that has been proven to eliminate all of the symptoms of FM or CFS, there are nutritional strategies that involve changing what you eat – and the way you eat, that help a great many patients feel better, resolve some symptoms, and function at a much higher level.

The dietary and nutritional supplementation advice that follows is provided by respected CFS and FM physicians and experts. While dietary and nutritional changes must be experimented with and tailored to each individual patient according to particular symptoms and deficiencies, the recommendations that follow broadly address the spectrum of nutritional issues that CFS and FM experts regularly encounter with patients, and describe the best solutions they have found.

Charles W. Lapp, M.D.

Charles Lapp, M.D., is nationally recognized and sought after as a medical consultant regarding CFS and FM. He is Co-Chairman of the Clinical Affairs Committee for the American Association for CFS, medical advisor to the CFIDS Association of America, and a board member of the American FM Syndrome Association. Dr. Lapp is currently Director of the Hunter-Hopkins Center, P.A., Medical Consultations, in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he is a practicing physician, and is also Assistant Consulting Professor at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. For more information about Dr. Lapp, visit his Web site at www.drlapp.net.

Diet (foods to eliminate, excitotoxins, etc.): There is very little study of this aspect, but empirically my patients do best on a low fat diet with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, complex carbs (like rice and potato), and light meats (chicken, turkey, scaly fishes).

We have also found that PWCs do not tolerate several items: sugar, caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, and excitotoxins like MSG and aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal). Saccharin (Sweet N’ Low) is satisfactory, however. These are remembered by the mnemonic SCATE. Many patients with loose stools may find that reducing dairy and gluten (wheat, barley, oats and rye) intake may help.

Supplementation (how to address any nutritional deficiencies): The literature confirms several deficiencies in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and fibromyalgia, including intracellular magnesium and vitamin B-12, whole body potassium, intracellular ATP, glutathione, taurine, serine, and the short-chain fatty acids such as valine, leucine, and isoleucine. While patients may not feel any better by supplementing these, health can at least be optimized. I frequently recommend supplementation with a multivitamin (like Super Multiple II or Cellular Support), magnesium, potassium, NADH (for ATP), glutathione, and an amino acid capsule.

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Diet & Nutritional Supplement Recommendations from Leading Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Physicians