6 Foods That Could Be Tied to Fibromyalgia Pain: they are not what you expect

We did a survey at FIBRO CONNECT and found that over 30 people had food triggers that made their fibromyalgia symptoms worse. These included gluten, dairy, coffee, sugar and chocolate.

The standard treatment for fibromyalgia usually doesn’t involve dietary changes, yet some patients have found that certain types of food exacerbate their sensitivity to pain or pain symptoms.

We’ve consulted with experts to find the foods that could possibly trigger fibromyalgia pain even if science has yet to distinguish a concrete connection between the two.

Potato Chips  Grabbing for that bag of potato chips, will likely contain one key ingredient that could be linked to pain—glutamate. 
The additive is often used as a harmless flavor enhancer that you’ll commonly find in its salt form, monosodium glutamate (MSG). 

“Some patients notice that their symptoms, specifically musculoskeletal pain, increase when they’re consuming foods that have a lot of MSG,” says Tarah Venn, a registered dietician with the Stanford Pain Management Center. “Glutamate and pain have been linked in studies, which have reported higher concentrations of glutamate in some fibromyalgia patients compared to healthy controls.” 

This may be because glutamate acts as an excitatory neurotransmitter that sends messages within the brain and nervous system. If your pain is sensitive to glutamate consumption, always check the product labels at the grocery store for words like monosodium glutamate, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and yeast extract. 

Mushrooms
Despite its incredible nutritional value, the edible fungus may trigger pain in fibromyalgia patients because it’s rich in the naturally-occurring form of glutamate. In just a 100-gram serving, 180 milligrams of glutamate are packed into a mushroom, according to the Glutamate Association. Shitake and enokitake mushrooms are the richest in glutamate. 

Other healthy favorites like tomatoes, grapes, and green peas are also good sources of glutamate. But before you entirely cut any foods, especially fruits and veggies, out of your diet, talk to a healthcare professional who will ensure you aren’t missing out on key nutrients. 

Aged cheeses
Sorry cheeseheads, but cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, and Roquefort cheese all contain glutamate. In fact, one 100-gram serving of Parmesan cheese packs a whopping 1,600 milligrams of glutamate. But keep in mind that glutamate may not be your issue, dairy could be an irritant as well, at least anecdotally.

Fried chicken
All of that butter, saturated fat, and vegetable oil may give a plate of fried chicken the savory flavor your taste buds crave, but it could wreak havoc on your body and cause inflammation. 

Even though fibromyalgia is not necessarily categorized as an inflammatory condition, inflammation can still cause pain-like symptoms, which is why it’s best to avoid any type of fried foods as much as possible.

Flavoured yoghurt
You may think that your strawberry yogurt is a healthy start to your day, but in reality, it’s packed with loads of sugar from the syrups used for the flavoring. And some low-calorie yogurts even contain artificial sweeteners like aspartame.
Even though there’s no evidence stating that sugar makes fibromyalgia pain worse, some patients have found that cutting out refined sugars improved their fibromyalgia symptoms.

Are these the foods you expected to see listed when you read the title 6 Foods That Could Be Tied to Fibromyalgia Pain? 

Do these foods aggravate your fibro pain? I would love to hear from you... leave a comment please.

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If you are interested in other articles about fibromyalgia and food you may also like:

• An anti-inflammatory diet for fibromyalgia
• Fibromyalgia and diet
• Top tips for healthy eating – The Lucky 13
• Why Omega 3 is so important
• So what reduces inflammation?
• Dietary help for Fibromyalgia: Are you trying simple solutions like Magnesium?