Welcome, Beautiful. I was so inspired to write this article for a few amazing women. Alice, Stephanie, Alda, Jennifer, Tracey, Julia and Kathryn, this is for you. <3 May it not only help you, but may you be the inspiration for every woman who reads this natural fibromyalgia help post all the way into the future.
These are my strategies for healing fibromyalgia.
1. Gentle Liver Cleansing
Taking the time to cleanse your liver slowly and gently is safe for everyone. It’s a more gradual approach than some of the liver cleanses out there, and it will have multiple benefits because, in essence, liver cleansing is all about eating clean.
The reason this is so important for fibromyalgia is because some of the expected root causes of fibromyalgia are based in sluggish liver function. Heavy metal excesses can cause muscle pain (alongside indigestion, tremors, headaches, pallor and dizziness). A buildup of uric acid and phosphate can be causes of fibromyalgia, as can free radical damage to the cells.
All of those will be helped by a properly-functioning liver.
The liver is not only your prime fat-burning organ, but it’s also the chief of detoxification in the body; getting rid of pollution, harmful chemicals from soaps, deoderants, makeup, hairsprays, chemical sprays on conventionally-grown food, concentrated in meats and butter, and anything else the body needs to get OUT.
Gentle liver cleansing is especially important if, in addition to fibromyalgia, you also suffer from:
- low tolerance to alcohol
- low tolerance to sugar
- oily skin on your nose and forehead
- really bad-smelling bowel gas
- pain on the inside of the right shoulder blade
- being 20 pounds or more overweight
- alcoholism or a past history of it
- psoriasis
- if you’ve used hormonal birth control
- if you’ve worked in industries like cleaning with chemicals, using pesticides, solvents, or soldering/welding
- if you get bloating and gas from most foods, but especially from onions, radishes, cucumbers and cabbage
- if you have pale stools that float
If lots of those are true for you, use my three-step approach to gentle liver cleansing:
- Eliminate meat and dairy to move towards lots of fresh and cooked fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, beans, grains and legumes. Keep this up for at least 4 weeks.
- Eliminate fat. Use small amounts of nuts and seeds, separated throughout the day. Go light on avocados. Go light on oil, only using good quality oils like flaxseed, extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil when you do use them.
- Eat liver-helpers like fresh lemon juice, turmeric, ginger, grapefruit, oranges, green tea, apples and pears, caraway and dill, broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy and broccoli sprouts. Try to eat a radish between meals for an extra boost.
2. Improve Your Thyroid Health
A lot of the symptoms connected with fibromyalgia also pop up in thyroid health that’s not doing too hot.
While thyroid-healing is an amazingly full story (so much so that I created a workshop I couldn’t keep under an hour long on the topic in The Glow Membership Program), here are some signs that you’d benefit from some thyroid healing (even if your blood tests are coming back okay for thyroid health) :
- waking up feeling heavy
- loosening up through the day
- getting a heavy, cry-worthy exhaustion when you’re over-tired
- a heart that turns flip-flops, misses beats or if you get palpitations
- constantly cold hands or feet
- hair loss from the head or outer third of the eyebrows
- low libido
- menstrual irregularity
- low basal body temperature
- history of miscarriages
I’m trying to give you three powerful strategies to put into place to help with thyroid function, but if you suspect you could heal deeply from recovering thyroid function (ie: you connect with a lot of the symptoms above), consider joining The Glow Membership for a month or two. I have the best, most complete thyroid training in The Glow Membership that came out of years of studying thyroid health.
If those points above rang eerily true above, here are three tips to put in place stat to help with your fibromyalgia:
- Stop dry-cleaning with perchlorate. Make sure your dry-cleaner (if you use one often) is using perch-free dry-cleaning methods. When this is on your clothes, it’s absorbing into your body and perchlorate competes with essential thyroid nutrients in the body, which means your thyroid will not work properly if you’ve got this constantly in your bod.
- Get a high-quality filter for your water; ideally one that takes out fluoride and chlorine. Filter your shower water. Get fluoride-free toothpaste. Both fluoride and chlorine compete for absorption with essential thyroid nutrients. Again, your thyroid won’t be able to work if it can’t get the nutrients it needs!
- Make sure your iron levels are good. Get your Doctor to test both your Ferritin levels and your Hemoglobin levels. Both should come back mid-range. If they’re lower, consider taking a well-absorbed (read: non-constipating, low dose) iron supplement like Vital F or SpaTone. Without enough iron, the enzyme that converts the hormone your thyroid makes into what’s usable by the cells can’t work efficiently.
3. Increase Your Magnesium Levels
Increasing your magnesium levels can be so effective that one of the possible root causes for fibromyalgia is simply a magnesium deficiency!
If magnesium would likely help you, you’d have (in addition to fibromyalgia):
- occasional muscle cramps
- occasional twitches
- irregular heartbeats
- headaches
- strong cravings for chocolate, especially around your period
- insomnia
- repeated tapping of your hands or feet
- and restless legs
Here are some amazingly powerful ways to get more magnesium into your day:
- Add a safe green drink into your day every day (something like Greens Plus or Greens Plus for Kids if you’re nursing) if it’s safe for you.
- Include superfoods like hemp seeds and raw cacao, both of which are SUPER powerful sources of magnesium. (I re-post a smoothie recipe every once in a while inside my free Facebook Community, The Glow Doers – if you want that, come join us). Once you’ve requested to join and I’ve let you in, ask in the group and I’ll tag you in that post.
- Kale, broccoli, collards, molasses and dark spring mix lettuces are also great sources of magnesium.
- Take a good quality (either in the glycinate or bisglycinate forms) magnesium supplement if it’s safe for you. Always read and follow labels.
4. Boost Cellular Energy
There are a few supplements that are known to help fibromyalgia by boosting cellular energy.
I can’t say for sure WHY we need to boost energy levels at the cellular level (though maybe because fibromyalgia is so commonly linked with chronic fatigue syndrome) but nutrients that are known to do just that are proving to be incredibly effective.
My word of warning is this: if you felt deeply connected to the symptoms in either gentle liver cleansing, thyroid healing or low magnesium, take the time to put those tips for healing into place in your life. Healing the root cause(s) of your fibromyalgia, three of which are just above, is so much more helpful for the body as a whole than continuously throwing down some good supplements that help.
It’s the difference between getting heavy and heavier creams to try to moisturize your dry skin from the outside – which will eventually stop being so effective, and you’ll find you need more and more – versus eating more flaxseed oil and leaving behind the need for moisturizers because your skin gets bright, supple, and lubricated from the inside.
- D-Ribose: a study of 41 people with either fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome were given 5 grams of D-Ribose three times per day. They showed a significant improvement in sleep, energy, mental clarity, pain intensity and well-being.
- S-Adenosylmethionine (SAMe): a double-blind trial using 800 mg of SAMe per day for 6 weeks showed significant benefit for those with fibromyalgia in their pain, stiffness, fatigue and mood.
These are not necessarily safe for everyone. Always read and follow labels, alongside consulting your Holistic Nutritionist.
I help amazing women from all over the world. If you need more help or guidance in which of these to put into place to help you heal, I’m here for you. You can book a complimentary appointment with me to talk about working together right here.
Sources: Prescription for Natural Cures + The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine
I’m sending love and light and wild healing your way for the happiest of muscles and easiest of days ahead,
Nathalie
Holistic Nutritionist
