Fibromyalgia Syndrome and Food

Fibromyalgia Syndrome: is there a link between symptoms and foods consumed? - a survey of Fibromyalgia Syndrome sufferers

Extended Abstract

Introduction

There have been many studies looking at diet and Fibromyalgia Syndrome (Fibro) and much anecdotal evidence from both Fibro patients and practitioners that the consumption of certain foods or food groups worsen or ameliorate the symptoms of Fibro. This research study aims, via the use of a questionnaire, to investigate the link between foods consumed and Fibro patients’ perception of their affect on Fibro symptoms.

Methods

Research was carried out through the use of a questionnaire which was emailed to qualifying members of Fibro support groups and also included on the websites of these support groups. To qualify for inclusion in the study, participants had to be female, living in the SE of England, aged between 25 and 60 years old, who had suffered with the symptoms of Fibro for at least 1 year and had been diagnosed by a medical professional. Members of the Fibromyalgia Association UK support groups of South Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey & Sussex, Fibro Action and the Tried and Tested Fibromyalgia group took part in the research.

The questionnaire asked participants about 31 different foods and beverages, some of which were known to be possible triggers and some of which had no such information concerning their consumption.

Results & Analysis

Of those participants who responded to ‘worse’, the foods which brought the highest rates of response were; potatoes 40%, artificial sweetener 43%, beer/cider 45%, white wine 50%, aspartame 50%, sugar 53%, red wine 55%, mono-sodium glutamate 56%, coffee 58%, and bread 59%.

This was not a surprising result as these are the foods which many of the websites and books regarding Fibro detail as possible triggers for Fibro and perhaps this is a confounding factor in itself.

When looking at which symptoms were affected, the spread of negatively affected symptoms was broad, possibly suggesting that foods affect sufferers’ individual symptoms differently. However, the symptoms that were most affected upon consumption of these foods were, in descending order; fatigue, pain, stiffness, sleep and memory/concentration.

Chicken, oily fish, white fish, nuts (unsalted) and seeds all positively affected the perceived symptoms of more than 10% of participants who answered these questions. 37.5% of participants who answered the oily fish question stated that consuming oily fish made their pain, stiffness, memory/concentration and fatigue better. 29% of participants stated that the consumption of white fish improved their memory/concentration and fatigue but not pain or stiffness. Unsalted nuts brought a greater response to improving symptoms than salted nuts with 17% and 9% respectively of participants who answered this question seeing improvement. Salt is also recommended as a food to be avoided by Fibro patients and perhaps the negative effect of the salt outweighs the positive effect of the essential fatty acids which might explain the difference in response. 22% of participants answering the seeds question stated that they felt improvement to symptoms however only one participant detailed which symptoms were affected, these being pain and stiffness.

Conclusions

A large proportion of the Fibro patients surveyed in this study perceived that many of the foods contained in the survey affected their Fibro symptoms either negatively or positively. This finding conflicts with the opinions of many conventional healthcare providers who maintain that there is no link between the symptoms of Fibromyalgia Syndrome and foods consumed by the sufferer. This small pilot study has highlighted some interesting points which would need further investigation in a larger study to confirm participants’ perception that the consumption of certain foods or food groups does in fact contribute to the worsening or amelioration of their Fibro symptoms.

©Jacqui Mayes 2008

The full text of this study can be downloaded from ‘Articles’ at www.jacquimayes.co.uk.