My Foods to Avoid List for Fibromyalgia

Foods I try to limit or avoid altogether:

• Whole and refined grains, except for small amounts of refined rice, pasta and tortillas. I make meals with grains for my family, but in general the less grains I eat the better I feel.
  
  

  Salads are supposed to be a healthy foods, but I personally feel much better off having soup instead.

  
  
  
• Most salads and raw vegetables. I think raw foods are hard to digest for people with less than robust digestive systems. If I do have a salad, I use ranch dressing or some other kind of dressing with beneficial bacteria.
  
  
• Excessive amounts of foods with blood thinning properties, such as onions and garlic.
  
  
• Olive oil - I know this is supposed to be a health food, but personally I get tight muscles from it.
  
  
• Eggs enriched with omega-3 fatty acids - my whole family has reacted negatively to these kinds of eggs. This includes my husband, who normally doesn't have fibromyalgia. We can all eat food with natural omega-3 fatty acids just fine, like walnuts and tuna, but haven't done well with the eggs. I think it might be because omega-3 fatty acids are known to thin the blood, and I've noticed a link between increased fibromyalgia pain and too many blood thinning foods. Maybe the eggs we bought just had unnaturally high amounts, at least for our body types.
  
  

  Check the labels on the eggs you buy. This may not be an issue for others due to differences in diet, genes and biochemical individuality, but my entire family didn't do well on omega-3 fortified eggs.

  
  
  
• Coffee, tea, and anything else with caffeine. Coffee seems to be the worst offender for me. I love the taste and I love the smell of coffee, but the feeling just isn't reciprocal.
  
  
• Anything with yeast, sugar, trans fats, dyes, preservatives, fortification, sulfites, artificial nitrites.
  
  
• Fruit juice. I do drink fruit juice for a quick pick me up, but in general I think it is better to eat the whole, fiber rich fruit.
  
  
• Refined sugar tends to give me an upset stomach, though honey doesn't seem to cause me any problems.
  
  
• High vitamin C foods. Some juices and snacks are fortified with 100% of the daily values. I think this can cause an imbalance with vitamin C and other nutrients.
  
  
• Excessive amounts of strawberries, blueberries and most other berries because of their blood thinning properties.
  
  
• Mushrooms - because it is a type of fungi.
  
  
• Tofu
  
  
• Soy milk
  
  
• Lemon juice or hot lemon water
  
  
• Milk and most dairy products except for small amounts of yogurt with active cultures when I need it for better digestion.