Question about foods to avoid or add to my diet???

Well, I can eat just ab out anything with no symptom repercussions. Sorry I cannot help you.

Donnaeil

Below is a post I put in my live journal account. I do notice a huge difference in energy when I eat less fat and more fruits and veggies. I have also lost 20 pounds while on lyrica doing this food plan. Hope this helps some.

I cross checked this list with my doctor and she agreed on it. I bought the book "food that helps win the battle against Fibromyalgia" I recommend this book highly.

Food Additives to avoid:
Aspartame, equal, Nutra sweet, even splenda may be a big no no for some.
Artificial coloring. Food coloring is a huge health issue for many Fibromites.
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
Caffiene, I have yet to avoid this one,
Nitrates Nitrites (Sodium Nitrate, Potassium Nitrite, (saltpeter) in ham, bacon, sausage, hot dogs (tofu dogs are safe) corned beef, lunch meats, and fish products.
BHT, butylated hydroxyanisole
brominated vegteable oil, ALL sugars
sucrose, dextrose, High fructose corn syrup, Benzoic acid, Artificial flavorings, Olestra
TbHQ, EDTA, hydrogenated vegetable oils, Trans fats, Gums, guar gums, gum bases, Propylene glyco, Xylitol
Aluminum salts

Safer alternitives to the above, Vitamin A,C, and E
Glycerin-mono- and diglycerides
beta-carotene annato, Acids, citric, asorbic, lastic, Minerals, iron, zinc, and others,
Pectin, Lecithin, Vanillin

Avoid red meats, beef, pork and lamb.
Eat vegies and fruits. Lots and lots, Fresh preferably, frozen as a last resort and make sure nothing is addded to preserve.
Beans, bulgur, millet, spelt, oats, legumes,
STAY AWAY FROM CANNED< PROCESSED, prepackaged. buy organic or soy dairy products. Most milk has a lot of additives, like pesticides, steroids, antibiotics. Things we as humans can not handle in our systems.
Night shade vegies should be avoided. These include, potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes and a few others I can not remember right now, fibro fog yay.

Ok Basic shopping list. This is not for gluten free or for specific allergies, this is for those that are looking for alternitives and have fibro.

grain products:
Barley
Brown rice
Bulgur
Flours, whole, unbleached, no white or refined
Millet
Mixed cereals, but read the label carefully. Again Kashi has non of the added crap
Oatmeal
popcorn, not microwaved
Quinoa
Wheat germ
Whole- grain bread, again be careful a lof wheat bread is actually white bread dyed brown. Make sure ingrediants say "whole wheat"
whole grain crackers, same as above, "wheat thins have high fructose corn syrup and MSG."
whole wheat flour, Whole wheat pasta

Vegetables and fruits:
fresh greens, kale, collards, cabbage, rodichio, brocoli, garlic and onions, saesonal fruits, seasonal vegies, dried fruit, rasians, figs, apricots, dates, prunes
frozen vegies and fruit, again last resort if one can not find or afford organic in season products,

fats and oils,
Flaxseed oil, extra-virgin olive oil, Not oils, Toasted sesame oil, Vegetable or lecithin spray, Coconut oil

Beans and Lentils, Dried legumes, All beans, too many to list. nBest and cheapest to buy dried. Canned has a ton of salt added!!! IF you buy canned, rinse under cold water.
Tofu, Tempeh

dairy products: Again all below should be organic,
butter, cream, Milk, (raw, skim, or soy)
nuts, seeds and butters:
nuts, walnuts, pecans, cashews, filberts,
Nut butters, nothing added kinds or make from scratch at home
seeds, almonds, flax, pumpkin, sunflower
Seed butters, tahini, almond

Herbs and spices
chili powder or other chili
cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cumin, Curry
fresh parsley, cilantro, basil\
Window box herb planting is very easy to mantain, lots of resources online for this.
Fresh ginger, Fresh and dried oragono, sage, savory, thyme, musturd, prepared and pwoered\
Sweeteners,
Blackstrap Molasses, Barley malt, rice syrup, maple syrup, Honey, locally grown and raw

Bevereges, leaf and herb teas, 100% fruit and vegie juices, cereal grain beverages, such as dandelion or chicory
WATER of course. but make sure it is Spring water,no floride or other stuff added
seasonings, Condiments, and other
Miso
Curry Paste
Tamari or soy sauce, unsalted soy sauceVinegar, cider, wine, balsamic, rice
Seaweed hijiki, wakame, Nori, Agar
Bottled sauces, chili, teriyaki
Vegie broth powder, no MSG added


This book claimes the microwave is evil. I am not going that far.
Well any questions or further info needed please let me know. This list is a lot to take in. Aghain I highly recomend this book. It also has some really tasty and nutritious recipes in it. I really think of this book as my food bible. Honestly after almost a month on this Food plan ( I hate the word diet) I feel a lot better and I am not gaining weight from Lyrica. I am actually loosing weight.


Now my back is seezing, and my wrists really hurt so it is nap time.
Sorry for spelling mistakes, too much effort on a post this size to fix. I am sure everyone gets what I am saying, if not contact me and I will Elaborate.




Very sorry for this huge post!!!

Nitrates in lunch meat, hot dogs and dried meat are my worst. Also red meat and pork. Add to it food dies and corn syrup. That stuff is in everything. Takes some time to read all the labels when shopping but it is so worth it to me. I use wheat pasta and organic bread to cut out the white flower, also wheat rice or whole grain.

Dear Meggie (and Baloo if you're out there). You two in particular sound like me. I mean symptomatically. I struggle and lose the carb battle daily. So, what to do. Well, I can't cut it out completely. I tried and found myself knawing up a hershey bar while still half asleep at two AM. All I can do is chose the best, least ammt. of poison as I can possibly find in my carbs. So, I substitute Real Fruit Gummies for any candy and good quality, dark as I can tolerate chocolate, like max 60%, and buy them in very limited portions. If I don't buy them my son (21) currently here with me but finally moving towards school, and working, has to run out at 9PM and buy whatever he can find, sweet for me at such an hour. So, I do my best. The amyltriptilene, and Nortriptilene and all the tri-cyclics which help with the pain of fibro by inducing deeper levels of sleep, cause cravings.  

I tried a gluten free and sugar free diet once to test for a gluten allergy.  The list of foods I was allowed to eat was similar the list posted here.  It is very hard to comply with at first.  I think most Americans are addicted to sugar and carbs.

  The best tip I can give is to have the "right" food on hand in easy, grab n go fashion.  When a craving hit, that last thing I wanted to do was wait around while putting together a healthy meal or snack.  It's also hard when the rest of the family has their junk food all around.

I will say, though, that when I did follow a healthy, very low sugar diet, I did feel a lot better.

I luckily live alone. When I started this I emptied all my cupboards and fridge. Gave the food to my mom and started over. After a month it was a lot easier. It takes a month to get rid of all the bad stuff in our systems. I now no longer crave carbs, candy or salt as much as I used to. The only issue I have now is how much things are costing me. Almost my entire amolunt of money goes to food. But I can not resist when I find waffles I can actually have or pizza crust. The one thing I can not give up is my cheese. Serious addiction there.

I too have a real sweet tooth especially for chocolate and especially for chocolate covered nuts. Typically I can go though a 2 lb bag of chocolate covered peanuts every three days - if I'm good :)

My wife is always looking for ways to lose weight and she came across some info on peanut M&M's. They are supposed to have a low glycemic index. More about that here:

http://www.bodyresults.com/E2Glycemicindex.asp

So I made the switch to dark chocolate M&M's. The real secret to cutting down on how many I eat is to put some back after I pull my hand out of the bag :)