Fibromyalgia Treatment - Nutritional Support

Transfer Factor

Our immune system directly influences our quality of health and life. Nowadays our body’s defense-system is weakened by many factors. Antibiotics especially, which are considered advanced medicines have failed to provide desired results, because resistant strains are produced by more and more microbes. But simultaneously a natural agent has been traced, that can improve the quality of life of many people and can even save lives potentially.

All higher organisms produce “Transfer Factors” that are small immune messenger molecules. They carry essential information that the immune system uses to identify foreign organisms (carriers) and they even regulate the immune system.

A rich source of Transfer factors is colostrums, the first milk that a mother produces immediately after birth. Colostrums produced by cattle are also rich in transfer factors. However, sadly many people are lactose intolerant and allergic to milk proteins. For such people colostrums becomes an improper source of transfer factors. But modern technology has been used efficiently to successfully isolate transfer factor from bovine colostrums.

For persons suffering from Chronic fatigue (condition similar to FM) Transfer factor has been used to boost their immune system. Like Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue is also a syndrome with many contributing factors. Polyvalent (reactivity to more than one organism) transfer factor preparations have been successfully used against multiple infectious agents that can contribute to chronic fatigue syndrome. Tests conducted confirmed the success of the polyvalent transfer factor.
Immunological dysfunction is not the only causative factor of Fibromyalgia, and it is a critical issue. In a large percentage of FM cases viral infections are found involved. So researchers proposed viral infection as the initiating event for many FM sufferers. Thereby one can recover from FM either by eliminating persistent viral infections or by overcoming remainant effects of viral damage.

Diet For Fibromyalgia And Food Ingredients

Magnesium

Dr.Abraham’s gynecological work demonstrated that deficient Magnesium levels were strongly co-related with PMS and Dysmenorrhea symptoms. 80% of Fibromyalgia sufferers were women and the co-relation between PMS and Fibromyalgia supports crossover benefits of Mg-PMS trials. Further it was proved that extended treatment with high doses of Mg and Malic acid (600mg/day and 2400mg/day) reduced severe tenderness and pain. No risk factors were involved in their prolonged usage. Researchers have found that FM patients indeed have significantly low Red Blood Cell Magnesium levels. In Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FS), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Eosinophilia Myalgia Syndrome (FMS), and Myofascial Pain Syndrome (MPS) and in Systematic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, reduced erythrocyte magnesium levels were traced. A common symptom in all these disorders is chronic pain. Besides low pain tolerance was found co-related with low muscular Mg levels, and this confirmed low tissue levels of Magnesium in Fibromyalgia.

Emotional/neuronal disorders are also associated with Magnesium deficiencies. In depressed people the cerebrospinal fluid showed potentially lower Mg levels. Symptoms of agitation, depression and disorientation have been linked to Mg deficiencies. And low Mitochondria Magnesium levels trigger migraine.

Magnesium (Mg) is the most effective natural calcium channel blocker. Cardiovascular drugs are, widely used calcium channel blocking agents. “Syndrome X” which is a generalized cardio-vascular metabolic disease is primarily caused by a deficiency in Mg. Magnesium is considered the premier cardiovascular mineral. It also plays an important role in the generalized muscular dysfunction seen in Fibromyalgia.

In every transport function and major energy production in the body Magnesium is involved. And so fatigue and pain can be treated well with Mg supplementation.

B-Vitamins

Faulty thiamin (Vitamin B) metabolism is found associated with Cellular Magnesium abnormalities. In the production and transport of cellular energy, thiamin and essential vitamin play the role of a critical co-factor’s.

The Central Nervous System of all Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients showed high levels of homocysteine. In cardiovascular disease homocysteine is considered as a high risk factor. Low levels of Vitamin B were co-related with high levels of fatigability and high levels of homocysteine. A deficient remethylation of homocysteine is caused by the deficiency of Vitamin B12.

Malic Acid

Through the action of citric acid cycle, malic acid enhances the formation of NADH and oxaloacetate. The main energy-producing cycle of the body is citric acid cycle, also called Krebs cycle or Tricarboxylic acid cycle. Malic acid enters the most efficient site of the citric acid cycle and is quickly converted into NADH and subsequently into 3 forms of ATP (usable energy). ATP stores energy as a battery, while it is being transported from the mitochondrial power plant to the various enzymatic factories where it consumed. In the stabilization of ATP, Magnesium plays a critical role. ATP can be made without Mg, but before it can be delivered to the enzymes, it falls apart. When the energy carried by the NADH or ATP is released in an uncontrollable random manner, it causes cellular damage and produces weak and inefficient cells. It is important to note that by-products of malic acid metabolism, NADH and oxaloacetate are important cellular factors in their own manner. Besides malic acid also acts as a chelator for aluminum.

Glucosamine and Cartilage

The muscles, bones and joints comprise the musculoskeletal system. While rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis involve the joints, Fibromyalgia is a soft-tissue arthritis. Joint or muscular pain may cause crossover problems. That is, problems in one part of the musculo-skeletal system, often causes excessive strain on the other parts of the system. For example joint pain can cause changes in your gait (walk), this exerts a repetitive abnormal stress on the muscle, causing muscle pain, strain or injury. Therefore by ignoring other components of the system, if you treat only one part of the system, the approach would be improper and insufficient.

The repair of tissue injuries can be speeded with glucosamine aid, and cartilage preparations exert a protective effect on the heart. Glucosamine and cartilage hydrolysates helped reduce pain and enabled joints to function properly (besides the above soft tissue affects). Our joints are greased well with glucosaminylglycans (GAG’s), the main component of synovial fluid, which is manufactured by glucosamine in the body. The degradation of GAG’s is protected by chondrotin sulfate and cartilage hydrolysates. Besides, cartilage preparations have improved blood flow and oxygen delivery and thereby shown a reduction in dementia cases. Muscle dysfunction in FM may even be caused by low oxygen availability called hypoxia. Glucosamine scavenges free radicals, and improves inflammatory conditions.

Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM)

All foods, fruits, meat, milk and vegetables contain MSM, which is a nutritional food supplement. MSM is a source of organic sulfur that is beneficial and safe to use. Muscle cramps and soreness can be remarkably reduced with MSM. Pain associated with systematic inflammatory disorders can also be alleviated with the help of MSM. It has also been used to treat allergies.

Boswellia Serrata

It is a traditional ayurvedic treatment used for joint inflammation and pain. Modern pharmacological studies have also confirmed that Boswellia Serrata is safe to use. It was found to have slow-acting, long-term anti-inflammatory affects. For people suffering from adjuvant-induced arthritis, the anti-inflammatory effects were found beneficial. It also acts as a normal inhibitor of leukotriene biosynthesis.

Cysteine and Derivatives

Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, cancer, HIV infection, major injuries, sepsis, ulcerative colitis and to some extent old age and overstrained athletes have common features similar to CG Syndrome but are unrelated conditions. A combination of very low plasma cysteine and glutamine, increased rates of urea-production, muscle fatigue or skeletal muscle wasting and low natural killer cell activity are complex abnormalities that have been labeled “low CG Syndrome”.

A critical role is played by cysteine in the prevention of fatigue and skeletal muscle wasting. An abnormal cysteine metabolism sustains the triggering effects of Interleukin-6. The interrelated role of the immune system with the wasting was thus illustrated.

Low levels of arginine, cysteine and glutamine is correlated with the loss of body cell mass (wasting). High levels of arginine, cysteine and glutamine (in healthy people) stabilize body cell mass and wasting is self-terminated. Cysteine and glutamine are related, so the regulatory role of cysteine was tested in people who had low glutamine level. When supplemented with N-Acetyl-cysteine the ratio of the body cell mass to body fat increased. In contrast to this, another theory suggested that body protein converts into other forms of chemical energy and thereby loss of body cell mass increased body fat. Thereby pretreatment with N-Acetyl-cysteine improved human muscle performance during fatiguing exercises.

Muscle wasting is also caused by sepsis, that is a toxic infectious condition. In this condition cysteine is used for antioxidant production and protein synthesis and so the acid balance inside the cell is ill maintained. And cysteine supplementation is recommended in these cases.

Unmet Mg and cysteine requirements explain the muscle pain of FM sufferers.

Glutamine and Urea

Plasma cysteine levels regulate body cell mass and nitrogen balance. To maintain normal cysteine levels it is very critical, and to meet the increased cysteine demand the skeletal muscle protein is cannibalized. This maybe beneficial for short periods, but is very damaging in chronic conditions, because it leads to an excess production of urea at the expense of glutamine, which was fueling the immune system.

Glutathione

For patients in altered redox state suffering from RA, N-Acteyl-L-cysteine (NAC) is found beneficial in restoring glutathione (GSH) levels in joint T cells that are hypo-responsive.

General Antioxidant

Apart from their roles of being precursors to glutathione, Cysteine and Non-acetyl-L-cysteine are antioxidants in their own way. In rheumatoid arthritis, lens damage from low levels radiation and ulcerative colitis, NAC and cysteine are found beneficial.

Creatine

For the treatment of FM and other types of myopathy and cache tic cases, certain creatine preparations are available.

Diet for fibromyalgia goes a long way to provide relief from the ailment