Fibromyalgia, like many chronic illnesses or diseases today is a condition that results from an environmental trauma (physical, emotional, toxic, etc.) that the body is attempting to adapt to. Or, the result of toxicity and deficiency and no drug on the planet can “cure” toxicity and deficiency.

Why is fibromyalgia an epidemic right now? Why are type II diabetes, gluten intolerance, allergies, cancers, and many other diseases and chronic illnesses growing more than ever in the last 50 or so years? It seems simple-just looking at trends and statistics. The four top culprits are: (1) Immunizations and medications, (2) poor food quality, (3) emotional stress, and (4) the lack of activity. This makes fibromyalgia and many other auto-immune diseases and chronic illnesses “lifestyle” illnesses.

Antibodies from immunizations are injected in people in huge numbers and become stored in huge numbers all before the age of 6. Antibodies have one purpose which is to kill their target infection and then to self-destruct. So what happens when we are full with antibodies that cannot all self-destruct? They build up and at some point “may” cause an overactive immune system as is seen in so many diseases today. At some point an environmental trigger starts the chain reaction that forces the immune system to malfunction. Most medications are violations of human biologic law and do nothing to “cure” problems and most cause more problems. (lifestyle trigger #1)

Food quality has been decreasing for decades but in just the last two decades with additives, preservatives, pesticides, and GMO foods, the majority (90%) of our foods are impacted by these toxins. What do toxins do in the body? They build up and at some point “may” trigger the trauma that initiates a chronic illness or disease. Our diets make us acidic and this produces disease symptoms. (lifestyle trigger #2)

Emotional stress that is chronic causes cumulative stress on every aspect of the body. We need to have a balance of stress in our lives so that it does not become chronic and be a trigger for disease or chronic illness. It seems impossible to “control” the amount or severity of stress in our lives but with a little practice it becomes realistic. Maybe some of us need therapy like CBT, maybe some need meditation, self-hypnosis, or other relaxation exercises-because we can’t all change our job for a less stressful one or change other things that are out of our control. That being said, we control what we can and we change ourselves versus expecting the environment around us to change. (lifestyle trigger #3)

The lack of activity is a major issue in the U.S. Just look at obesity levels in the last two decades-they are over 50% of the nation and growing. Part of the equation is the foods we eat and the rest of the equation is the sedentary lifestyle that technology has graciously provided for us. Why do overweight people have more diseases and chronic illnesses? Because they store more nutrients from food. What kind of foods are obese people eating? Processed and junk foods. What is in processed and junk foods? Toxins et al. So what is the obese person storing more of than a thinner person? Toxic nutrients. Plus many junk foods are pro-inflammatory. The next thing the individual experiences is systemic inflammation. Often the exercise piece of the wellness puzzle comes after detoxing, getting nutrition balanced, and reducing stress-things that will reduce pain and other symptoms so that the individual can actually go to the gym without exacerbating their symptoms and quitting altogether. (lifestyle trigger #4)

Today there is no cure for most diseases for one reason-science attempts to use chemicals (medications) to alter our physiology which attempts to reduce or eliminate the symptom expression that manifests from whatever trauma that happened to us versus addressing the underlying issue. So science attempts to change the physiology but fails most of the time.

We are living a lie. We’re violating a biologic law by using medications to bandage our symptoms without examining the underlying cause. Some people say that diseases and chronic illnesses aren’t really what hurt us, but rather the body adapting incorrectly to the environment- the body adapting to deficiency or toxicity. Over time, failed attempts to address the underlying problem promote severe stress in the body and many more symptoms begin and the severity of current symptoms will increase.

So here when our bodies are over stresses and we are given a chemical to “help” with this problem, it truly is just a band aid. The number one prescribed “drug” for any chronic pain condition are opioids like Vicodin, with antidepressants a close second. The function of an opioid isn’t to solve an underlying problem but to act as a band aid, which simply makes you care a little bit less that the pain is present. The fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. is properly prescribed medications. That is people are given the right meds for their “condition” but die anyways from that treatment that altered their biology.

Today physicians don’t teach nutrition and fitness as “the key” to reversing chronic illness and disease symptoms. Why? Because they didn’t learn that in medical school. Medical school taught them to use all kinds of band aids to address symptoms, and to avoid the underlying problem. Most lifestyle diseases are greatly improved or “cured” by getting your diet and exercise in check. However, nobody wants to hear this.

Physiologic issues to address:

The first thing we do is detox the body to eliminate toxins, balance cholesterol levels, eliminate medication expression, and right size the immune system. Every 140 days our blood is replaced. So we detox for 140 days.

The second thing we address is the gut to help many things, one of which is serotonin levels produced in the gut. We do this by creating the right diet. In a sentence, if man created it-don’t eat it.

The third thing we address is the psychological component which includes therapy, meditation, self-hypnosis, and other natural interventions, etc.

The fourth thing we address is sleep. We get our sleep architecture as good as it can be and we allow ourselves to enter all four stages of sleep so that we allow our body and our mind to heal as God had intended.

The fifth thing we address is exercise. Since we live in an era with toxic foods and too many technological distractions that keep us fat and lazy, we add in an exercise curriculum for life.

Serotonin side note:

Most physicians will look to serotonin as a possible suspect for some of the symptom expression seen in many chronic diseases. As such, physicians prescribe opioids and antidepressants for many diseases which positively impact serotonin levels-at least in small amounts and for a short time (under 3 months). Most serotonin is produced in the gut. So doesn’t it make sense to repair the gut and get it working correctly so that the body will produce the natural amount of serotonin which will help control pain and depression naturally?

Top food offenders:

If I were to attempt  to do the bare minimum to positively impact my symptoms I would eliminate a few food products in an attempt to do a partial detox. These foods are not a problem for everyone but are suspect in a number of nutritional disorders and many cause major issues in small numbers. (1) Aspartame (causing excitotoxicity) or any artificial sweetener. (2) MSG, (excitotoxicity). (3) white sugar, corn syrup, fructose, simple carbs, agave, (yeast love eating sugar so eating sugar produces an overgrowth in yeast and is thought to cause pain among other symptoms), plus sugars cause insulin spikes. (4) caffeine (stimulant) burns out adrenal glands which makes it difficult to regulate your blood sugar and inflammatory system. (5) gluten (allergen) only if you have a problem with gluten (as 70% of people in the U.S. do). However, eliminating gluten won’t hurt anything and may be worthwhile to rule out. Some people have a predisposition for gluten intolerance or celiac disease, but most people today develop gluten intolerances due to a bad diet that results in leaky gut syndrome.  (6) dairy, due to leaky gut, can cause someone with leaky gut to develop allergies to dairy, and the (7) casein in dairy is the culprit. (8) Soy proteins are similar to gluten and casein and cause inflammatory reactions in the body. All these foods may exacerbate your symptoms.

Making this plan into action:

Putting this plan into action requires a complex lifestyle make-over. It’s not going to be easy but the alternative is you stay sick! I have written many articles about what it takes to put this plan into action and will not go into that in this article.