Recent research has uncovered interesting findings linking gut health and fibromyalgia.
What is fibromyalgia?
This common but poorly understood condition is a collection of symptoms.
You might have a burning or sensitive painful feeling in various locations around the body, often accompanied by digestive issues like IBS, brain fog, trouble sleeping, allergies, headaches or flu-like symptoms.
It can be different for each individual. Some people have constant symptoms and pain, for others it can come and go.
We don’t yet know what causes fibromyalgia. There is increasing evidence it can often be linked to a trauma like an accident, traumatic emotional event, or virus. People with fibromyalgia also commonly experience poor sleep, and nervous system disruption.
Both of these factors make us feel more pain.
Fibromyalgia & Gut Health – The connection
A recent study showed a link between gut bacteria as well.
This study was on humans looking at differences in stool bacteria between people diagnosed with fibromyalgia and controls who didn’t have it.
The gut microbiome of fibromyalgia patients showed significant differences when compared to that of controls.
And pain levels were correlated to increases and decreases in certain microbes.
It’s not clear if the bacteria are causing the increased pain levels, or they are present because of the biological changes that pain causes. But we do know there are changes in the digestive system which may be important.
Although we don’t know all the mechanisms and interplays in the gut yet, there is definitely an opportunity to work with the digestive health of anyone with fibromyalgia.
Not least because it normally comes with digestive symptoms too.
If you know someone who might need support with improving gut health please get in touch to discuss how a nutrition plan will support you.
Hi I'm Anna Mapson, registered Nutritional Therapist.
I help people with IBS and SIBO get control of unpredictable gut symptoms to find long term relief from painful and embarrassing IBS without restrictive dieting.
I can help you to:
- understand your digestion better, so you recognise your triggers
- eat a well balanced diet, with tasty meals that are simple to prepare
- develop better digestion and more energy
Find more about my 3 month 1:1 Gut Reset programme
Gut health shots – what does an IBS nutritionist think?
Lately, gut health shots seem to be everywhere. But are they any good for your digestion. And are they actually worth your hard earned money? As an IBS nutritionist, this is my specialist subject. So recently, the Sun newspaper asked me to spill the beans on gut...
Bile Acid Diarrhoea – A Forgotten Reason For IBS-D?
Struggling with IBS-D? Did you know it could be related to bile acid diarrhoea (BAD)? You might not have heard of this, but some studies show that around 34% of people with Diarrhoea predominant IBS may have BAD. What are bile acids? Bile is made in the liver, and...
Best gut health hack for better digestion
Stop scrolling all those blogs about better gut health! This is my best gut health advice, the one thing you need to do to get better digestion. If you're looking to improve your gut health my number one tip is to eat more variety. Specifically, we need to aim to...
