Do you do everything you can to ease your fibro symptoms, and wonder why you don’t feel better? If you’re being exposed to the following substances, you may be undoing all the good you’re doing with your diet, medications and alternative treatments.
- Aluminum Hydroxide – An adjuvant added to vaccines to increase antibody production, aluminum hydroxide is a neurotoxin that has been connected to Gulf War Syndrome; as well as cognitive dysfunctions and motor neuron disease, which is virtually indistinguishable from classical amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) except for the age of onset. It has also been linked to the destruction of, and damage to, motor neurons; which are responsible for telling your muscles to contract or relax, thus controlling movement; as well as for receiving sensations from the body.
- Aspartame – Aspartame (Nutra-Sweet) has been linked to headaches, including migraine; higher pain levels, cancer, brain tumors, tinnitus (ringing or buzzing sound in the ears,) noise sensitivity; decreased vision and/or other eye problems such as: blurring, bright flashes, squiggly lines, tunnel vision; decreased night vision; pain in one or both eyes; dry eyes; dizziness and unsteadiness; confusion and memory loss; severe drowsiness and sleepiness; paresthesia or numbness of the limbs; severe slurring of speech; severe hyperactivity and restless legs; atypical facial pain; tremors; seizures; severe depression; irritability; aggression; anxiety; personality changes; insomnia; phobias; palpitations; tachycardia; shortness of breath; high blood pressure; nausea; diarrhea, sometimes with blood in stools; abdominal pain; pain when swallowing; itching without a rash; hives; aggravated respiratory allergies such as asthma; and many more. Like MSG, it is an excitotoxin, and causes the same over-excitement of neurons and neuron death at high levels.
- Breast Implants – Silicone breast implants have been connected to debilitating chronic fatigue, postexertional malaise, impaired short term memory, and multi-joint pain. These symptoms become even worse if the implants rupture or leak, which has been known to happen without any obvious sign that the implant has been damaged in some way.
- Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) – In a small human study (linked below) eliminating MSG from the diets of several fibromyalgia patients also eliminated their fibromyalgia symptoms. In other studies; MSG has been linked to neuropathic pain, anxiety and depression; as well as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and ALS. MSG is an “excitotoxin” which affects the brain by triggering neurons to fire incessantly until they die and effects the areas of the brain that control sensory perception, memory, orientation to time and space, cognition and motor skills
- Atorvastatin, Pravastatin, Simvastatin and other Statin Drugs – statin (cholesterol lowering) drugs are known to cause myalgia (muscle aches and pains) and myopathy (spasms, cramps, twitching, rigidity and weakness) as side effects. All of these are also symptoms of fibromyalgia and CFS/ME, and the myalgia and myopathy can become permanent if you take these medications for long enough. In addition, a 2011 study at the University of Kentucky suggests that statins can also interfere with memory and cognition. Finding other options could reduce pain levels and fibrofog.
Although there are other toxins that can worsen your symptoms, these are all very common, and relatively simple to get rid of. They may not be the only things impacting the severity of your symptoms, but eliminating these 8 things from your body can help you feel better.
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SOURCES:
Peer-Reviewed Anti-Aspartame Studies
SURVEY OF ASPARTAME STUDIES: CORRELATION OF OUTCOME AND FUNDING SOURCES
Aluminum hydroxide injections lead to motor deficits and motor neuron degeneration
You forgot the most important one: STRESS!
Yes, Sema, stress is a HUGE issue with fibro, but most people know that by now. My focus was specifically on things that most of us don’t realize could be causing a problem. (Actually, I think I need to modify the title a bit to make that plain.) Thanks for the reminder, I’m now working on a post that focuses specifically on the effect of stress on fibro symptoms, but in the meantime, check out Stressed Out? Stress Management Can Improve Your Quality of Life
Great post, Wendy. I always find out something new when I visit your blog. Thanks for providing the sources — sometimes a blogger will write a great piece about something, but not provide any sources/links. As a former academic, I always look for footnotes/sources, LOL.
You’re welcome phylor. I actually find that a bit frustrating myself. If there aren’t any sources, how can I find out more, or see what people have left out? I’m better about listing sources on articles like these, though, where it’s not something well known. Thanks for reminding me that even the stuff that “everybody knows” is new to many of us and needs to be sourced too.
Santa Barbara Chiropractors may counsel fibromyalgia patients about wellness concepts such as nutrition, exercise, changes in lifestyle, and stress management, but do not prescribe drugs or perform surgery.Some Chiropractors specialize in sports injuries, Neurology, Orthopedics, Pediatrics, nutrition, internal disorders, or diagnostic imaging.
Chiropractors such as Santa Barbara Chiropractor are health care providers which address problems involving the musculoskeletal system particularly the spine and neck. Their aim is to improve the overall spinal health of patients. According to Santa Barbara Chiropractor people suffering from backache and neck pain frequently have an underlying problem with the alignment of the spine or may have muscle damage which prevents the back muscles from providing the correct support. They help realign the spine and relieve muscle tension with the use of various techniques. They can also treat joint problems, muscle spasms and ligament pain. Moreover, they stress the importance of correct posture from sitting, standing, to walking.
In some people, Aspartame can cause some nasty reactions. I also avoid aspartame even if i am not allergic to it. I am more inclined to use natural sweeteners such as Stevia or Xylitol because they are much better than Aspartame based sweeteners. ;;*`, Regards vitamins & minerals blog site
Thank you so much for this information. It’s so important to keep ourselves educated, especially since this is a life long battle.
You are so right Kimberly. Doing our own research is the only way to find the things that work for our own bodies and help us feel the best we possibly can. I make absolutely no claim to be able to “cure” (as in make it go away forever) anything, but I do claim that there are many ways to reduce the impact that chronic illness has on our lives. One of the biggest, hardest lessons for me to learn was that finding something that helps isn’t actually the important part of the process. The really important thing is DOING the things that help, all the time. Consistently using the methods that make a difference is the only way that we can feel better, since they only work if we actually USE them.
excellent information many thanks
This is outstanding, this blog.
My doc told me that my cholesterol was a bit high on my last blood results, he prescribed the anti-cholesterol meds, I took the docket to the chemist and got it processed. I was told that they cause. diarrhea, so needless to say, I haven’t yet taken any yet. Now I have read the about, I’m even less inclined to take them. My biggest dilemma is;
Sooner rather than later, I will have to address my cholesterol problem. Is there a natural form of anti-cholesterol med?
Thank you – you just gave me an awesome follow-up to this post . . . Hopefully I’ll have time to write it soon, but in the meantime, I’d suggest you make a few lifestyle changes that can help normalize your levels. The biggest factor in high triglycerides seems to be sugar, including high glycemic foods that convert directly to glucose in the body. Diet changes that reduce triglyceride levels can make a huge difference in total cholesterol levels, as well as increasing your overall health.
The cholesterol levels considered “dangerous” have been artificially lowered over the past twenty years or so to increase demand (and profits for the pharma industry) for the drugs that lower them. I’ve seen “acceptable” levels drop from 220 down to 100 just since I was diagnosed in the 1980s, and I’ve seen some studies that suggest the new, lower levels may actually be dangerously low.
Cholesterol is necessary to keep our brains functioning properly, in addition to having other important functions in maintaining our body; and too little cholesterol could be even more dangerous to our health than too much. What doctors and scientists can’t seem to grasp is that every body is different, and forcing everyone into a “standard” range of numbers can damage those whose bodies require more or less of something to function correctly.
These are some great tips. Do you know if they would also apply to people with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome?
Thanks Katie. Since the effects I’ve listed were found in studies involving healthy test subjects, my assumption is that they could have the same effect on anyone. The only way to find out if they’re causing YOUR pain to be worse is to eliminate them (it takes 3 months to completely clear MSG and aspartame from your system, so this takes patience!) If you can’t tell for sure if it’s made a difference, and you’re POSITIVE you haven’t eaten anything that has a hidden source of either in it, try exposing yourself again and see if you feel worse.
A friend of mine recently went gluten-free, and the improvement was so gradual that she didn’t realize that it had helped until she went out to eat and was given something that had gluten in it. Within hours, she reacted with a bad case of “FibroFog,” digestive issues, and a headache that lasted for two days.
The point I’m trying to make is that the changes/improvements from diet modification and other lifestyle changes can be so subtle (and gradual) that you don’t notice them until you’re re-exposed and the symptoms suddenly reappear.
Please see the information on silicone, chemical, and biotoxicity at http://www.thenakedtruthaboutbreastimplants.com for a treatable model of fibromyalgia.
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