The following article describes the health problems that come from ingesting such food additives as aspartame and MSG. Please read this article, especially if you have an interest in or have fibromyalgia.
Eliminating these chemicals from your diet may a go a long way to reducing your fibromyalgia pain.
My basic advice is to avoid as many artificial sweeteners as possible. Not only are they somewhat poisonous to your body, but they also actually make you gain weight! Please refer to another topic I put in this forum on "The Dangers of Diet Sodas". (www.lumigrate.com/forum/diet-soda-harmful [1] -- Link for your convenience.)
Eat a healthy fresh diet with as few preservatives as possible. You will really feel much better.
"Let food be your medicine, and medicine be your food." -- Hippocrates
The link to the piece at Everyday Health I highly am suggesting - http://www.everydayhealth.com/fibromyalgia/are-food-additives-aggravating-your-fibromyalgia.aspx [2]
Some research indicates that food additives like MSG, aspartame, and others can aggravate fibromyalgia pain and other symptoms. Learn how to protect yourself.
"There is no one to blame. There is simply taking action!"........Wm. Marcus Spurlock, MD Dr. Spurlock presently works in Dallas, TX treating people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Bio-Identical Hormone Deficiences and Environmental Illnesses. He has been doing this work exclusively for the last 9 years. In the fall of 2011 he opened a new health center; please visit his website, which is where he posts education beyond what is sprinkled at Lumigrate. http://www.renewedvitalitymd.com/ [4] Through a total body approach, the treatments he and his team provide are 85-90% successful in returning patients to their previous health potential. You can see his complete vitae in Lumigrate's forum "About Our Writers" (link: http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/my-vitae-wm-marcus-spurlock-m... [5]), and the majority of his contributions on Lumigrate are in the FMS/CFS/CPain section, where you'll see a forum which includes his name: http://www.lumigrate.com/forums/health-issuesdis-eases/fibro... [6].
Links:
[1] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/diet-soda-harmful
[2] http://www.everydayhealth.com/fibromyalgia/are-food-additives-aggravating-your-fibromyalgia.aspx
[3] http://www.everydayhealth.com/
[4] http://www.renewedvitalitymd.com/
[5] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/my-vitae-wm-marcus-spurlock-md
[6] http://www.lumigrate.com/forums/health-issuesdis-eases/fibromyalgia-chronic-pain-and-chronic-fatigue/exhaustion
[7] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/food-additives-aggravating-fibromyalgia-excellent-article-everydayhealthcom-i-recommend-readin#comment-2308
[8] http://twitter.com/lumigrate
[9] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/food-additives-aggravating-fibromyalgia-excellent-article-everydayhealthcom-i-recommend-readin#top
[10] http://www.lumigrate.com/user/login?destination=node/1939%23comment-form
[11] http://www.lumigrate.com/user/register?destination=node/1939%23comment-form
Comments
Thank you, Dr Spurlock -- it was a very informative article, and I appreciate your taking the initiative to have it appear at Lumigrate. We're always appreciative of quality information shared here, and since I'm behind the scenes I'm going to share that on Friday I had a semi business, semi social dinner and we went to set up an appointment to proceed, as they were eager to do the next step, and I offered the weekend. "Don't you want your weekend to yourself to not work?" was the response. I said "I'm busier on the weekends than some weekdays -- like that fabulous fibromyalgia specialist in Dallas I mentioned ..." And sure enough, over the weekend, you got ahold of me about this article on Facebook and got the information to me to put this together with you.
AND you contributed on my facebook related to food/nutrition last evening (Sunday) -- TWINKIES in particular. (Quite a debate happened too which ended up flushing out some interesting issues related to the public's perception of doctors, and once again I thank you for your understanding of people's frustrations.)
Facebook is a wonderful invention, which is the single-most important tool we have today as we go into this dramatic time of change we are in. On Lumigrate, as well as on my Facebook pages, whether for my name/Mardy Ross or for the business' pages, I expect people to treat each other respectfully and for it to be a positive energy that goes into people if they contribute to things by spend time/energy reading or writing. I expect the same in my personal life and if someone cannot operate like that, or properly apologize if there is a transgression, they do not remain in my life. The same is true in my professional life; in my career as an occupational therapist, which totals about a dozen years in insurance-based situations and two in private pay doing driving rehabilitation, I've only once had a situation where my assistant and I felt a patient was being verbally abusive and I let them know they would have to find treatment from other providers we suggested. It astounds me how many times I have to remind people on my Facebook streams about respectful conversation standards.
Essentially, I wanted my comment to reinforce that it's a WHOLISTIC body, mind, spirit experience which leads people to be chronically well or chronically ill. And once again, I thank you for having much to offer about that, in this case today about food additives. ~~ Mardy
Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! is my motto. I'm Mardy Ross, and I founded Lumigrate in 2008 after a career as an occupational therapist with a background in health education and environmental research program administration. Today I function as the desk clerk for short questions people have, as well as 'concierge' services offered for those who want a thorough exploration of their health history and direction to resources likely to progress their health according to their goals. Contact Us comes to me, so please do if you have questions or comments. Lumigrate is "Lighting the Path to Health and Well-Being" for increasing numbers of people. Follow us on social networking sites such as: Twitter: http://twitter.com/lumigrate [8] and Facebook. (There is my personal page and several Lumigrate pages. For those interested in "groovy" local education and networking for those uniquely talented LumiGRATE experts located in my own back yard, "LumiGRATE Groove of the Grand Valley" is a Facebook page to join. (Many who have joined are beyond our area but like to see the Groovy information! We not only have FUN, we are learning about other providers we can be referring patients to and 'wearing a groove' to each other's doors -- or websites/home offices!) By covering some of the things we do, including case examples, it reinforces the concepts at Lumigrate.com as well as making YOU feel that you're part of a community. Which you ARE at Lumigrate!