jenny cares 

FIBROMYALGIA and HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup)
Janice Lorigan wrote "High Fructose Corn Syrup and the Fibromyalgia Connection" - a book that's fairly easy to read;. Not too many big words I made some notes as I was reading which I'll share with you here.
.

GUIDELINE TO REDUCE FIBROMYALGIC SYMPTOMS...
.
DO NOT...

• Consume food or drink products that contain HFCS, corn syrup*, crystalline fructose, or corn syrup solids.
• Inhale wet fingernail polish fumes.
• Inhale pesticides, insecticides, fumigants, or malathion.
• Drink liquids which contain more than 5% pesticides.
• Eat rice**

*Old-fashioned corn syrup does not disturb metabolic processes for most people. However, many manufacturers are still using the terms high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup interchangeably.
.
**Rice- Unfortunately, rice absorbs arsenic from the soil. (Soil of many agricultural areas of US and o' countries has elevated levels of arsenic. Even organic rice may contain an excessive amount of arsenic if grown where cotton grew previously.)
.
DO...

• Read ingredients levels on food and beverage containers.
• Be cautious when eating out.
• Stock your pantry with organic biscuits and cereals.
• Stock your fridge with fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly.
• When possible, drink filtered water.
• Choose organic milk, juice, and wine.
• Eat a balanced diet (without HFCS!)

METABOLISM - Non-fibromyalgic consumers seem to metabolize HFCS with no noticeable unpleasant effects. BUT fibromyalgics experience negative effects after eating or drinking HFCS. However, the effects aren't immediate so it makes it difficult to make the connection between the pain and the HFCS.
.
THE TROJAN HORSE: the journey of the HFCS into the body is like the Trojan Horse fable. HFCS tastes like food and digests like food in the stomach. But as metabolism begins the body discovers the deception. Part of the HFCS is toxic to fibromyalgics, i.e. the chemically manipulated fructose that used to be glucose.
The manipulated fructose part of HFCS confuses the metabolic processes and exhausts the intestines and liver because this fructose is unstable. ORGANS and NEUROTRANSMITTERS are affected.
SEROTONIN and DOPAMINE are neurotransmitters that contribute to feelings of contentment and well-being. During pain the dopamine levels in fibromyalgics are significantly lower than dop' levels in non-fibromyalgics.
Serotonin - 95% of serotonin is produced in the intestines. In fibromyalgics the low levels of serotonin contribute to depression and catastrophic or negative thinking. As long as the intestines are overtaxed with the abnormal glucose/fructose metabolism problem, serotonin production may be v low.
ENZYMES - influence the speed of metabolism and play powerful roles in the metabolic process. One of the important roles of the enzyme is to remove toxins from the body.... but a high level of toxins suppresses the production of enzymes, so the intestines are burdened.
FASCIA, PAIN & CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
There is a connection between fibromyalgia and fascia.
WHAT IS FASCIA? - a stretchy web existing all over the body, lying just below the skin. Fascia surrounds everything: organs, brain, toes, fingers, limbs, neck, muscles. It helps to hold the body together. It supports and separates organs and muscles.
Impaired fascia of the fibromyalgic becomes tighter and more immobile, especially in the neck, upper back, shoulders, lower back.
At times the fascia of fibromyalgics contains and restrains the muscle, ligaments, tendons too tightly. Manipulation of the fascia with massage, acupuncture or acupressure can provide some comfort.
HOW DOES THE FASCIA BECOME IMPAIRED? Janice Lorigan's theory is that the strange enzymes from HFCS aren't wanted by the body so it attempts to excrete them via the skin pores. While passing through the fascia on the way to the skin, an adverse chemical reaction results, stiffening the fascia until the HFCS enzymes are expelled from the fascia. During that process the fibromyalgic feels pain and achiness and requires additional sleep time to recover.
WHY MORE SLEEP? because the intestines, liver, endocrine system, and cells have to work v hard to rid the body of the HFCS chemicals, thus causing FATIGUE.
THALAMUS -part of the Central Nervous System -an area of the brain -made up of neurons - plays a part in PAIN PROCESSING.

By Christopher Gearon - in health.discovery.com

Researchers are trying to pinpoint the cause of a mysterious syndrome that causes pain, fatigue and other maladies so they can treat it appropriately. It's called fibromyalgia and it strikes mostly women like Donna Paduano.

Nine years ago, Paduano was in a failing marriage, raising two young sons... working full time and managing some chronic health problems. Such challenges would wear anyone out, but Paduano was feeling more than fatigued—she was also in pain.

"It felt like somebody hit me with a baseball bat — but all the time,"
says Paduano, who was told by a rheumatologist that she was suffering from fibromyalgia. Says the 43 year-old Paduano...
"You're not going to die from fibromyalgia, but you'll always have to live with the chronic pain. That's what fibromyalgia is."

The Symptoms of Fibromyalgia?

In fact, fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disorder characterized by generalized muscle pain. Sufferers count about a half dozen "tender points" where pain is intense. These points are in the neck, shoulders, below the elbows, and the lower back, hips and legs. Paduano primarily experienced fatigue, generalized soreness and pain in her back and shoulders. And fibromyalgia can be accompanied by a host of other wide-ranging conditions, ranging from irritable bowel syndrome to depression.

Fibromyalgia: A Condition Often Misdiagnosed

Although people have suffered with it for a long time, fibromyalgia only got its name in the last decade. But because of the far-ranging and seemingly disparate symptoms, many physicians misdiagnose the condition as osteoarthritis, depression or anxiety. Even more disconcerting to Paduano and fellow sufferers is that fibromyalgia is considered by many doctors a "waste basket" diagnosis — often reserved for hypochondriacs and preoccupied women.

Fibromyalgia strikes an estimated 4 million to 6 million Americans. It's especially common in older women. Dr. Don Goldenberg, a medical advisor at the Arthritis Foundation, says 3 percent of women have fibromyalgia at age 40; 7 percent by age 70. Goldenberg, also chief of rheumatology at Newton-Wellesley (Mass.) Hospital says about 80% of those with fibromyalgia suffer from extreme fatigue and sleep disturbance, while irritable bowel syndrome plagues as many as 70 percent of sufferers.

Other common problems, in addition to depression, include anxiety, headaches and cognitive problems. For Mary Anne Saathoff, president of the Fibromyalgia Alliance of America and herself a sufferer, it was leg pains and sleep disorders that began as a child and worsened with adulthood.

"I felt more dead than alive," says Saathoff who was diagnosed in 1986 with fibrositis — fibromyalgia's precursor name. "It certainly takes a great toll."

No Proven Cause, No Known Cure for Fibromyalgia

The medical community has only recently started to get a handle on fibromyalgia. In the 1980s a few specialists began developing treatments for the non-fatal condition, and in 1990, the American College of Rheumatology gave the syndrome its name. Within the last decade, researchers have learned more.

"We no longer think this is a disease primarily of muscle," Goldenberg says, "but one of the central nervous system."

While researchers have not proven what causes fibromyalgia, there are a number of theories, according to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

The leading theory is that fibromyalgia is caused by a disregulation or imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain like serotonin, which helps to ease physical pain.

Some scientists believe an unidentified infectious agent, such as a virus, may trigger fibromyalgia in certain people. Extreme stress, injury and trauma are also believed to trigger the syndrome. When confronted in this way, the brain moves into a defensive posture to protect itself.

"A lot of things showing up [in research] are very complex," says Tamara Liller, head of the Fibromyalgia Association of Greater Washington, Inc. Liller, who has suffered with the condition for 20 years, this is why the average primary care physician still does not have a good handle on the condition.

"You're getting into heavy duty brain theorizing."
Some of the most exciting research on fibromyalgia involves the Flexyx Neurotherapy System (FSN). Developed a decade ago by California social psychologist Len Ochs for research on learning disabled kids, FSN uses pulsed radio waves to subtly manipulate brain wave activity and help the brain function normally.

Coping with Fibromyalgia

Coping with fibromyalgia is "like peeling an onion," Liller says. With so many symptoms, "you have to peel away at the layers to get people to feel better.
What works for one fibromyalgia sufferer may not work for another, however, medication and exercise are known widely for helping to manage the condition. Like many fibromyalgia sufferers, Paduano takes low-level doses of the antidepressant Elavil which helps her relax and break the cycles of disturbed sleep that exacerbate her pain. The same antidepressant also helped Saathoff drop what had become mandatory naps and to feel better overall. Exercise is also critical to combating the symptoms of this condition. Paduano finds that water exercises are particularly helpful.

She also believes that meditation has helped her to limit the medications that she would otherwise need to help manage her symptoms.

"The people who seem to do well are the ones who are open-minded and open to working with others in a multi-practice approach,"
Liller says. Such an approach may include one or more of the following:

• physical therapy,
• massage,
• chiropractic,
• osteopathy,
• aerobic exercise,
• biofeedback and other relaxation therapies,
• behavioral therapy,
• acupuncture
• nutritional therapy.

In their "Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine," noted naturopaths Michael Murray and Joseph Pizzorno recommend that those with fibromyalgia take :

• 100 mg of 5-Hydroxytryptophan [5-HTP] 
• 300 mg St. John's Wort extract (0.3% hypericin content)
• 150-250 mg Magnesium 
  three times a day.

5-HTP is converted to serotonin. Low levels of serotonin levels are linked to depression and to fibromyalgia. St. John's Wort extract together with 5-HTP were shown to have "significantly better results" than either one alone, the authors said. Magnesium helps to boost energy.

But Goldenberg of the Arthritis Foundation says getting a correct diagnosis and information on the syndrome goes a long way to help sufferers manage fibromyalgia. He and others also stress the importance of finding a physician who is familiar with the syndrome — and to find one who will listen.