Fibromyalgia Syndrome Fact: Food Combining Really Can Help!

There are a lot of diets out there that claim to help fibromyalgia syndrome sufferers.  Some of them are great and some are not so great.  In fact, a lot of them are pure fiction.  There are people out there that try to take advantage of the fact that we’re in pain and looking for something - anything, that will help.  I am doing my best to weed through the bad to get to the good!  Food Combining has been shown to truly be effective for many FM sufferers!  I call it one of the “good” ones.

Everyone needs to be aware that stimulants (sugar, salt, caffeine, MSG), overcooked meats, highly processed foods, hydrogenated fats, saturated fats, food additives and preservatives, and bad food combinations fill the body with toxic substances that it has to process.  Toxicity build-up can intensify fibromyalgia symptoms and even cause some of them.

Food combining is a way of eating foods so that they do not work against each other.  There are three categories that food falls into when combining: proteins, neutral foods and starchy foods. Fruits are treated separately.  Starchy foods and proteins cannot be eaten together, but both can be eaten with neutral foods, promoting more efficient digestion.

Combining the wrong foods can cause gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, headaches, and other problems.  It can even lead to symptoms of  irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), ulcers, arthritis, hypoglycemia, eczema, colon cancer and more.

Moderation is the key to proper digestion.  Don’t overeat.  You cannot avoid all bad combinations, but if the good combinations are greater than the bad ones you will see results.

Proteins can be divided into three groups:  heavy proteins (beef, pork, lamb), lighter proteins (poultry, fish, shellfish, game, tofu, eggs), and other proteins (cheese, peanuts, nuts, seeds, lentils, beans, peas).

Neutral and low-starch foods:  all vegetables (except potatoes), salads, herbs, cold-pressed oils, mushrooms, avocados, honey, maple syrup.

Starches can be divided into two groups:  slightly starchy (carrots, beets, parsnip, turnips, radishes) and high starches (potatoes, bread, wheat, oats, flour, pasta, corn, barley, rye, bananas, ripe peas, sweet grapes, peanuts, beer, dried beans).

Remember, starchy foods and protein should not be eaten together, but you can eat starchy foods with neutral and low-starch foods OR you can eat protein with neutral and low-starch foods.  I repeat this only to prevent confusion.

If you just can’t take it, you can try a combination of a whole-grain like brown rice with light proteins, or whole-grain bread with eggs.

Papaya and pineapple have a plentiful amount of enzymes that aid digestion, so they can be eaten with any food group.  They will especially help protein digestion.  Depending on your digestive system, fruits may or may not be combined with seeds and nuts, grains or milk products.  You will have to test them and see.
 
Do not combine raw fruit or fruit juices with slightly starchy vegetables - lemon juice is the only exception, otherwise it is best to keep to a separate meal or allow at least half an hour before eating fruit after a meal.  Also, avoid combining fruits with other foods, sugary deserts after meals, melons (ferment quickly and cause gas), and milk with other foods.

If you eat your food in a systematic way, your digestive system will work more smoothly.  Your food will digest in less time and absorb more nutrients.  You can start with foods that digest quicker and easier and work your way up to foods that are more difficult and take longer to digest. This helps you keep the foods that digest more easily flowing through your system and prevent your digestive system from stalling.  If you eat foods that take a lot of time to digest first, it slows the digestion of everything that follows.

Digestive Timing and Order:  Liquids like juice and water digest the fastest (about 20-30 minutes).  Soups and fruit take about 30-40 minutes to digest.  Vegetables take approximately 30-45 minutes to digest.  Grains and other starches can take 2-3 HOURS to make their way through the digestive tract and beans, poultry, red meat, pork and fish can take 3 or MORE hours to digest.

While you are deciding what combinations you will incorporate in your meals, you must also eat your meals in the proper order for this method to be effective.  Let’s face it, this isn’t easy!  It requires planning and thinking through everything you eat and drink.  If is was easy, everybody would be doing it already, but it’s worth it to give it a try if it means getting some pain relief, being healthier and happier!  Talk to your doctor about how this system might benefit you.  What might be good for some, may not be for others, so it is always best to discuss your options with your healthcare provider.