Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, Muscle Problems Diet  Foods to Avoid:    All colored and green peppers, eggplant, pasta, potatoes, bread, wheat products, corn, tomatoes, all dairy products, oranges, tangerines, grapefruits, glutens,         Gluten is a grain storage protein. Certain glutens, because of their biochemical structure and properties, incite immunologic reactions in people possessing the genes to react to them. Wheat, rye and barley contain the most inciting glutens and must be avoided by gluten sensitive persons. Oats have also been incited as damaging to celiacs and gluten sensitive people since the origin of the research discovering gluten as the cause of celiac disease in the early to mid- 20th century.  Foods to Eat:   Dark greens, green drinks, berry fruits, apples, apple cider vinegar Legumes and nuts are very healthy food for anti-aging purposes, again taken in moderation. Whole wheat pasta is off course better than refined pasta Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology   Publisher:  Taylor & Francis       Vegan diet alleviates fibromyalgia symptoms K. Kaartinen, K. Lammi, M. Hypen, M. Nenonen, O. Hänninen, A.-L. Rauma A1 Department of Physiology, University of Kuopio, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland Abstract: The effect of a strict, low-salt, uncooked vegan diet rich in lactobacteria on symptoms in 18 fibromyalgia patients during and after a 3-month intervention period in an open, non-randomized controlled study was evaluated. As control 15 patients continued their omnivorous diet. The groups did not differ significantly from each other in the beginning of the study in any other parameters except in pain and urine sodium. The results revealed significant improvements in Visual analogue scale of pain (VAS) (p=0.005), joint stiffness (p=0.001), quality of sleep (p=0.0001), Health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) (p=0.031), General health questionnaire (GHQ) (p=0.021), and a rheumatologist's own questionnaire (p=0.038). The majority of patients were overweight to some extent at the beginning of the study and shifting to a vegan food caused a significant reduction in body mass index (BMI) (p=0.0001). Total serum cholesterol showed a statistically significant lowering (p=0.003). Urine sodium dropped to 1/3 of the beginning values (p=0.0001) indicating good diet compliance. It can be concluded that vegan diet had beneficial effects on fibromyalgia symptoms at least in the short run.   Email me for more information about Fibromyalgia and Arthritis! If you'd like to take the Eww! challenge click on the link below for more info! Jennlphilips@gmail.com The Eww! Patch