This Blog Has Been Moved!!!

Dear subscriber, visitor and guest!

This blog has been moved to

http://fibromyalgianaturalrelief.com

Looking forward to see you there!

Thanks,

Maja Iten

What are your 6 most burning questions regarding Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is such a complex disease with so many symptoms. On top of that the specialists are still not clear regarding the causes. These facts alone create an avalanche of questions and concerns in any sufferer and their families.

Here and now you have the chance to ask your 6 most burning questions. You can either choose one of the provided answers if they match yours,  and/or you can add your personal questions.

Thank you for your vote. This will give me a better feeling about what information you need most. By voting you help me tremendously to help you.

Causes of Fibromyalgia – Acidity

fibromyalgia & acidity (picture: www.conviva-kosmetik.de)

Acidosis is highly overlooked and underestimated in modern medicine. When you understand the symptoms of acidity you will most likely have a déjà-vu experience. Acidity does not only inevitably lead to illness but ignored, it can lead to premature aging and early death.

 

 

Over-Acidity (Acidosis) or an imbalance of the pH level is an excess of acidic waste products in the blood. This is another huge problem in FMS and CFS patients. All the Fibromyalgia patients I know are very much over-acidic; it is a very widespread but mostly overlooked problem. 

The two German pharmacists, Jentschura and Lohkemper, et al., have discovered that rheumatism, arthritis, stiffness, muscle pain, fatigue, headaches, concentration and memory problems, swollen extremities, depression and anxiety are very often related to acidity. Do these symptoms sound familiar to you? Well, it certainly rang a bell in my head. 

Genetically our body is designed to live for 140 years. And who ever said that we have to die due to illness? We can die healthy, simply because it’s time. But in order to achieve this we have to come to an entirely new understanding of our body. 

The body is the temple of our soul. We are not the body…we have a body. A healthy spirit leads to a healthy body. 

Interestingly, a 1997 study showed that 44% of Germans don’t want to get older than 80 years. Lucky insurances and lucky government. Only 18% wish to live for 100 years old. My assumption is that only these 18% of the interviewees are so-called health conscious and take enough care of their health to expect to enjoy healthy old age. The other 86% are convinced that a life over 80 necessarily means a life of illness, suffering and lack of joy. But their assumption that old age necessarily means painful decay is not right nor based on any scientific insights – quite the opposite. History proves that man can live more than 100 years in vibrant health, with vital energy, healthy vision and hearing capabilities and a bright mind. 

The reasons why we are experiencing decay after the age of 50 are an unhealthy, irresponsible and stressful lifestyle, negativity and fear, toxicity, and an accumulation of wastes and acids. 

When the pH level becomes more and more acidic, the body starts a defense mechanism in order to protect itself. Acidity has a very damaging effect on the organs and as soon as it gets into the blood stream it gets lethal. In order to prevent that and to save itself the body starts to store acids in the soft tissue and fat cells.

For the last few decades our bodies have become a dump for refuse, impurities, drugs, toxins and proteins. Isn’t it interesting that the American indigenous people needed 1 medicine man per several thousand tribe members to remain healthy while today there are 275 patients for each doctor?

The Anthroposophical medicine clearly states that Fibromyalgia occurs when we lose the connection to nature, first of all the nature of our own body. Instead of energy rich food we get food lacking natural energy, toxic personal care products, addictive substances, toxic medications and microwaved food. In the 1990’s the number of chronically ill people increased 6 times compared to 50 years earlier. Today it’s even worse. 

According to Dr. Kern and other physicians and scientists heart attacks, strokes and any kind of blood circulation problems are nothing else but an acidity crisis in the body. The body simply can’t deal with the acidity anymore.

 

How to know if you are overly acidic? – The symptoms

Actually, over-acidity is pretty easy to recognize. You just have to understand the signs of your body.

Symptoms of acidosis are:

• Dizziness, Being dazed, Brain fog, A dull feeling in the head
• Slowed thinking, Concentration problems
• Overweight – fat is definitely an acidity problem. I don’t know any obese person who is not also extremely acidic. Acids get stored in the fat cells (the body creates fat cells to carry acids away from our vital organs and thus protect you from your overly acidic condition).  
• Underweight – when the body is too acidic yeast and fungus can grow. Both love an acidic ‘environment’.
• Respiratory problems
• Pain in ears, Tinnitus
• Acid reflux
• Depression
• Chronic fatigue
• Pain, Stiffness
• Sleeping problems, Waking up in the middle of the night
• Bitter taste in mouth, Tooth plaque, Bad/loose teeth
• Cellulite
• Swollen fingers and limbs 
• Osteoporosis
• Candida
• Hemorrhoids
• Sensitivity of the tissue to pressure
• Internal parasites
• Rheumatism
• Muscle spasms
• Stroke and heart attack
• And many more (too many to mention here)

All these symptoms mean just one thing from your body’ perspective: DANGER!!! 

If you want to know how to balance your pH level, contact me at fmsrelief@yahoo.com.

Causes of Fibromyalgia – Loss of Nutrients (2)

Storage of fresh foods

loss of vitamins (picture: www.lightforyou.net)

 

Storage of fresh foods

Considering the fact that the average fruit or vegetable travels 1,500 to 2,500 miles (and more) from the farm to your plate, the impact of storage on nutrients is a worthwhile concern.

• Most stored fresh vegetables steadily lose ascorbic acid.
• Green beans refrigerated after harvest lost more than 90% ascorbic acid following 16 days of refrigeration; broccoli lost about 50% of both ascorbid acid and beta-carotene following 5 days of storage.
• Following cold storage for 8 days in the light, spinach lost 22% lutein; in 8 days of dark cold, spinach lost 18% beta-carotene. Carrot carotenoids were stable under both conditions.
• Storage of whole heads of lettuce or endive in the cold dark for 7 days resulted in total flavanol gylcoside losses from 7-46%.
• Storage partially depletes milk of vitamin C.
• There are significant losses of vitamin C in orange juice stored in polyethylene or wax paper containers; retention is better in glass containers.
• Ready-to-drink orange juice should be purchased 3-4 weeks before the expiration date and consumed within 1 week of opening.
• Tomato juice retains vitamin C better in cans than glass containers.

The substantial losses of water-soluble nutrients (flavonoids, vitamin C ) and some losses of a fat-soluble nutrient (beta-carotene ) suggest that similar losses of the water-soluble saccharides and fat-soluble sterols may also occur during fresh food storage.

Storage of processed foods

Atmospheric oxygen is responsible for most losses of vitamin C during storage. In acidic foods, vitamin C and thiamine are stable.

Plant oils are a major source of vitamin E and K. Losses of vitamin E are high in the presence of oxygen and are accelerated by light, heat, alkaline pH, and the presence of metals (iron and copper ).  vitamin K, which is stable to oxidation and most food processing and preparation procedures, is unstable to light (daylight and fluorescent) and alkaline pH. There were extensive losses of vitamin K1 in plant oils following 2 days of exposure to fluorescent light.

The exposure of foods to light can significantly lower levels of vitamin B6. Riboflavin (and other flavins) are also light-sensitive.

• Documentation of riboflavin losses from milk stored in glass bottles was one of the first scientific studies demonstrating nutrient losses during food storage.
• Losses may be high even under dim light; enriched pastas lost up to 80% riboflavin within 12 weeks when stored under fluorescent light.

 

Washing & ChoppingFoods

All of the water-soluble vitamins, particularly thiamine, vitamin C, and folate, are vulnerable to losses during washing.  Although there are no available data, it is reasonable to speculate that the water-soluble flavonoids and saccharides would also be vulnerable to losses when fruits and vegetables are washed.

Losses of antioxidants appear to be rapid and significant when plant foods are chopped, shredded or pureed. It is believed that this is caused by physical release of oxidase enzymes.

• Thiaminase reactions are initiated by bruising, blending, homogenization, or other processes that break tissue structure, leading to breakdown of thiamine.
• Carotenoids become unstable if the food matrix is disrupted
• Peeling carrots may increase carotenoid loss due to oxidation
• Shredding of lettuce followed by exposure to light can produce significant losses (0-94%) of  flavenoids, depending on the variety (green oak leaf lost 94% and iceberg lost 36%).
• Shredding of endive resulted in 8-32% losses of flavenoids.
• Slicing vegetables can cause loss of sugars.

Scary, isn’t it?

As if the huge loss regarding farming methods, environmental affects and loss of nutrients through transportation wouldn’t be enough, we make matters even worse through the way we process our food.

This article is part of the report “From the Farm to the Kitchen Table” (Author unknown).

Causes Of Fibromyalgia – Lack of Nutrition (1)

causes of fibromyalgia (picture: www.greengeek.ca)

 

As long as modern medicine can not offer answers that really get us healthy again we have to find answers ourselves. Reversing vs. curing also requires to look at our nutrition.

Based on ongoing developments in nutrition science, the modern view of what levels of specific nutrients we need is constantly changing.  Assessing the foods of our hunter-gatherer ancestors can offer clues. Genetically we are identical to these ancestors. So we know that our nutrient needs should be similar (even when adjustments are made for our reduced caloric requirements).

We also know that our ancestors were as tall as we are today, and they did not suffer from diseases we know now to be caused by the modern Western diet, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, auto immune disorders, cancer, etc. Our ancestors ate a diet that included a limited amount of meat and an abundance of a wide variety of freshly collected unprocessed plant foods – foods that we now know contain a diverse array of phytonutrients, which are essential.

Even if we try today to eat mainly fresh, unprocessed foods, these foods are typically grown on a large scale, picked at varying degrees of ripeness (dictated by storage and transportation issues), and then stored before they come to the produce section of our grocery store. Moreover, most of our foods today are processed in any way (boiled, canned, frozen, refined, pasteurized, protected with preservatives, precut, microwaved, radiated, etc). Thus, it is certainly legitimate to highly question whether the nutrients that our ancestors obtained from their foods are also present in our foods today.

Plant species and variety, soil mineral conditions, growing season, genetic engineering, time of harvest, and the use of herbicides or plant regulators affect the nutrient content of many fresh foods.  

Several recent studies reported that our fresh fruits and vegetables are significantly lower in certain vitamins and minerals today than they were as little as 30 years ago. One analysis compared levels of 7 vitamins and minerals found in 25 common fruits and vegetables between 1951 and 1999. Overall, nutrient losses far exceeded nutrient gains. Of particular concern were losses in foods that are reported to be good sources of a particular nutrient. These include broccoli ( calcium, riboflavin, vitamin A, and vitamin C ), spinach ( riboflavin and vitamin A ), and potatoes, cauliflower, strawberries, tomatoes, and green peppers ( vitamin C ). Whereas one serving of broccoli would have supplied more than the current RDA of vitamin A for adult males in 1951, one would have to eat more than two servings today to obtain the same amount of vitamin A. The calcium in broccoli has even decreased 80%. Two peaches would have supplied the current RDA of vitamin A for adult women in 1951. Today, a woman would have to eat almost 53 peaches to meet her daily requirements! If you wanted to have the same nutritional value an apple had before World War I you would have to eat 50 apples.

Are you still wondering why diseases are increasing in epidemic numbers and obesity occurs in more than 30% of the Western population…and is on the rise?

Another study compared data collected in 1930 and 1980 for 8 minerals in 40 fruits and vegetables. The author reported significant losses of calcium, magnesium, copper and sodium in vegetables, and magnesium, iron, copper and potassium in fruits. The foods were also significantly higher in water and lower in fiber content.

Why are these nutrient losses occurring? I assume that numerous factors could be involved, including plant breeding practices that select for post-harvest handling qualities and cosmetic appeal (rather than nutrient content), changed storage and ripening systems, reliance on chemical fertilizers that have contributed to soil nutrient losses, massively increasing electromagnetic pollution. Not to forget the fact that most foods are genetically engineered and our body doesn’t recognize the containing nutrients as nutrients.  

So, even if we eat the freshest possible fruits and vegetables, they are not as nutrient-rich as the foods our ancestors enjoyed. Now let us consider post-harvest practices that affect our foods before they reach our table – that is, the effects of storage, food preparation (washing and chopping), boiling, microwaving, freezing, canning, pasteurization, milling and refining, and the use of food additives and preservatives.

By the time our food is on the table there are hardly any nutrients in it anymore.

(to be continued)

Fibromyalgia Causes

fibromyalgia causes (picture: i.ehow.com)

There is hardly a more complex illness than fibromyalgia. This makes any treatment extremely difficult. But knowing the possible causes also gives ideas on how to deal with the condition.

 

Fibromyalgia is very difficult to diagnose. It can take years to get the right diagnosis. There is also a huge disagreement regarding the causes of fibromyalgia.

Hardly anybody can tell you for sure what causes fibromyalgia. I once asked my physician whether it was an autoimmune disorder, a viral infection, a post-traumatic problem or anything else. He answered that it might be all of that combined and some more.

However, it’s very difficult to say which are the causes, which the triggers and which the symptoms. For instance, are sleeping disturbances a cause or the symptom of fibromyalgia? Or maybe just the trigger?

Some suggestions of causes include:

• Immune dysfunction 
• Sleep disorder
• Depression
• Viral Infections
• Food allergies
• Emotional stress & Adrenalin exhaustion
•  Nutritional deficiencies:  
• Mercury poisoning from amalgam dental fillings
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Stress
• Endocrine dysfunction
• Trauma and injury 
• Changes in muscle metabolism
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Upper spinal cord injury
• Accumulation of phosphate due to enzyme deficiency
• Nervous System Dysfunction 
• Neurally mediated hypotension
• Yeast
• Elevated Phosphate
•  Mitochondrial Problems

It’s likely that there is no one single cause of fibromyalgia, but multiple causes. Fibromyalgia is such a complex illness, which is the reason why the pharmaceutical industry most likely will never come up with a cure. Modern medicine is so much focused on treating symptoms versus eliminating the causes that they have problems coming up with an appropriate treatment for FMS.

There are such a large number of abnormalities in different body systems of fibromyalgics that center around the nervous, endocrine and immune systems. The fact that these abnormalities have been identified does not mean that science is clear about which are the causes, the triggers and the effects. The real causes of FMS are still in the dark.

To get clarity regarding the causes of FMS may take years or even decades. The question is whether or not the individual patient wants to wait for such answers or to take responsibility over his or her health and reverse the condition vs. waiting for a pill.

No matter the causes, we have much more influence over our health than we might believe. There is no reason to give up. There is always a lot we can do ourselves in order to enhance our health. What is required is patience, a change in some particular habits and the right combination of natural therapies and remedies to reverse this terrible illness.

In my next post we are going to talk about a particular possible cause of fibromyalgia that has been completely ignored by the medical society so far.

Fibromyalgia Symptoms

fibromyalgia symptoms (picture: 4.smh.com.au)

Approximately 5% of the Western population suffers from fibromyalgia. Therefore, worldwide millions of people are affected.Although modern medicine does not have a cure to offer it is still very helpful, and actually often a relief, for a sufferer to know what it is. There is the hope that once the condition has a name there must also be an answer to it. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Reversing fibromyalgia is possible and has been done many times, and for most of the sufferers the first step is to get a handle on that ‘monster’ and to give it a name. So let’s start with the symptoms.

Is Fibromyalgia all in the head?

Many fibromyalgia sufferers had to go through years and even decades of pain and desperation before they finally got the diagnoses. At some point or another they even have been told that it was all in their head and that they were not sick at all.

One reason why physicians very often don’t take a fibromyalgia patient seriously is because the symptoms are in such a variety and because they very often are overlapping with other diseases. The fact that many FMS patients are so tired and even depressed very often leads to the wrong diagnoses and doctors assume that it’s just a psychological or mental health issue.

Fibromyalgia can be diagnosed now, although it very often takes years. Therefore it is an illness. It’s not only in the patient’s head.

The Definition

Fibromyalgia affects between 3% and 5% of the population in developed countries. It’s a chronic condition. Affected people experience many different symptoms such as widespread pain and fatigue. The condition is very often disabling to a degree where the patient is not able to even do small tasks and chores. A fibromyalgia patient has very often very little quality of life left.

According to the official definition of FMS, patients must have:

a)    Widespread pain in all 4 quadrants of their body for a minimum of 3 months

b)   At least 11 of the 18 specific tender points

However, by now most experts believe that fibromyalgia results from abnormal function of the central nervous system. 

There are a lot more symptoms that may be present in a FMS patient besides pain and fatigue. But unlike Chronic Fatigue Syndrome the only symptoms required for diagnoses are those relating to pain. This is another reason why fibromyalgics are often seen as hypochondriacs. But there is much more to the illness, though.

The condition was originally termed fibrositis because it was believed that it was an inflammation of the muscles and tissues. But it was later found that inflammation is not part of the syndrome. Fibromyalgia literally means ‘pain in the muscles and soft tissues’, in some parts of the world also called ‘soft tissue rheumatism’.

Women are 20 times more affected than men. Women between the ages of twenty and sixty are at greatest risk, although even children may get FMS. The condition is chronic, although the symptoms may fluctuate from day to day.

The Symptoms of Fibromyalgia

Although pain in muscles and tendons is the main symptom of FMS, sufferers often also have a long list of other associated conditions and symptoms. Because of these overlapping symptoms fibromyalgia is categorized as a syndrome.

The symptoms of FMS are very unpredictable and include physical limitations. The patient finds it difficult to make plans because she/he never knows how things are going to develop throughout the day. Every task and chore becomes difficult and the patient often has to push herself to get things done.

Many of the following symptoms apply to many fibromyalgia patients, but not all of the symptoms apply to all fibromyalgics.

• Terrible over all Pain
• Fatigue
• Flu-like feeling
• Sleeping problems
• Cognitive dysfunction
• Balance disturbance
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Mood disorders
• Morning Stiffness
• Skin sensitivity
• Difficulties to exercise
• Headaches
• Jaw Pain

 

Further symptoms may include:

• Night sweats
• Fluctuation in weight
• Heat or cold intolerance
• Feeling of weakness
• Ear-nose-throat problems
• Multiple chemical sensitivities
• Allergic symptoms
• Hearing and vision abnormalities – dry or burning eyes and mouth, difficulty focusing eyes
• Heartburn, acid reflux
• Hypotension (low blood pressure) and syncope (fainting)
• Evidence of echocardiogram of mitral valve prolapse
• Numbness or tingling of different parts of the body                    
• Irritable bladder, increase in urinary urgency or frequency
• Cold symptoms, nasal congestion
• Temperomandibular joint dysfunction syndrome
• Muscle twitches and weakness
• Non-cardiac chest pain
• Irregular heart beat or palpitations
• Shortness of breath
• The feeling of swollen extremities
• Interstitial cystitis
• Vulvodynia (vulvar pain)
• Dry or burning mouth
• Sensitivity to loud noise, bright lights, some foods, and often the medications that are prescribed
• Lupus
• Osteoarthritis
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Restless legs syndrome
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• PMS – painful menstruation and painful sexual intercourse

 

Each FMS sufferer is unique. Any of the above mentioned symptoms can occur intermittently and in different combinations. FMS symptoms may fluctuate during the day. The symptoms may also get worse with stress, cold, draft, tension, inactivity, overexertion, weather changes, hormonal fluctuations, depression, or any other emotional factors. Symptoms may disappear for months and then recur, or can go on indefinitely.

This list of symptoms is not complete and is for your reference only. It is not intended to diagnose fibromyalgia. If you have several of the symptoms you should consult a rheumatologist to get diagnosed.

In my next post I’m going to talk about possible causes of fibromyalgia.