Herbs and Supplements that Help Fibromyalgia and CFS

When you work with alternative medicine, your goal is to treat the base cause of the imbalance. With each person it is different. There are many factors to consider on the road to recovery from Fibromyalgia and CFS. These factors include the state of your mind, your stress level, the health of your immune system, your age, genetic weaknesses, accidents you may have had, and lifestyle factors such as nutrition and exercise. The following herbs and supplements will help but healing must take place on a number of levels, especially in the mind-body connection.

Vitamins and Supplements That Help:

B-Complex: helps in rebuilding and support of nerves; aids in digestive function; and supports your ability to withstand stress. Stress both precipitates and makes Fibromyalgia and CFS worse. A good supplement will be a capsule, not a tablet. Tablets are harder to digest. It will contain at least 50 to 100 milligrams of each Vitamin B element.

Learn to read labels: Often the brands whose labels say Stress B complex have only a few milligrams of B-Complex in each tablet. Don't go by the name of the product. This is really misleading. Nerve conditions need more Vitamin B-Complex than a person who is in good health. For those with depression, nerves, and anxiety, it is a good idea to take both the B-Complex with the multi-vitamin as well.

For those of you who don't think vitamins are needed. When you are sick, you tend to eat poorly. You don't fix food. You eat easy convenience foods because you are too tired. You need to change your diet to more healthy foods, but you also need vitamins to boost up a system that is compromised.

Again, true health starts in your thinking, your diet, and life style. When your system is compromised, it does not make use of vitamins effectively. It is like putting gas in a car with engine and carburetor problems. The gas has to be used properly by the engine parts. It does not just work to take vitamins. They must be properly utilized by the body systems and organs.

Multi-Vitamin: There are some real junk vitamin brands. Buy your multi-vitamin in gel or liquid form for better absorption when your health is physically compromised. Get one that contains a full spectrum of vitamins and minerals. It should contain at least 25 milligrams of B-complex, and 500 milligrams of Vitamin C. It should contain Vitamin A and E as well.

Calcium and Magnesium: Research has shown that Fibromyalgia patients have dramatically lower levels of Calcium and Magnesium than people who are well. Twitches, leg cramps, foot cramps, and the craving for chocolate can all mean a deficiency of Magnesium. A good dosage would be considered 2000 milligrams of Calcium with 500 magnesium with Fibromyalgia and CFS. You need to buy Calcium Citrate not oyster shell or carbonate. They are very difficult to digest. Get calcium gels so they are absorbed better.

Malic Acid also benefits Fibromyalgia as well. It needs to be taken on an empty stomach. 1000 to 3000 milligrams is the usual dosage.

5-HTTP: Helps increase the production of Serotonin which has been shown to contribute to Fibromyalgia and CFS pain. Low serotonin levels are part of the depression problem that many patients suffer from. It may improve sleep and reduce pain.

Digestive Supplement: If you have bloating, gas, discomfort and problems after eating, it may be your digestive process is not working well. Try a good digestive aid supplement to see if those symptoms improve. If it is not food itself causing the problems, it is in your digestive system.

A good digestive supplement will include Betaine hydrochloride or HCl, pepsin, apple cider vinegar, pancreatin, and bromelain. Bromelain is an anti-inflammatory by itself. The combination of bromelain and turmeric is especially effective. Often GERD symptoms are caused from too little digestive juices, not too much.

MSM: It is the dietary form of sulfur. Sulfur improves enzyme production and cell health.

Supplements That Help:

Tumeric: Tumeric and Tumeric with Bromelain have been known in hundreds of research studies to reduce inflammation without hurting the liver or kidneys. Used in cooking. It is found in curry. It is anti-inflammatory and helps in arthritis and knee pain.

Ginger: You can buy ginger pieces to chew or capsules of ginger. You can make ginger tea. Ginger is another natural anti-inflammatory with research that has proven its benefits.

Siberian Ginseng and Aswaganda: Both herbs support the body's ability to withstand stress. The herbs are given to athletes to help their athletic performance. It is given to men going into space to help with the stress of weightlessness and space travel. In Fibromyalgia it helps with fatigue, stress and nerves supporting the body so it can function more effectively.

St. John's Wort: Helps with mild to moderate depression. In some cases is found to help with the pain associated with Fibromyalgia and CFS. Do not take St. John's wort with pharmaceutical anti-depression medicines.

Skullcap: Herb used for muscle pain and spasms.

Boswella Cream: Herb in the frankincense family that has shown to help the pain in Fibromyalgia and arthritis. It is used as a topical treatment and has helped many patients.

Herbal Combinations: If you visit a health food store, you will find herbal combinations for stress, and inflammation. You don't have to take all these herbs separately. Tumeric and Bromelain are two herbs I take on a daily basis for my knee pain. The two herbs together make a significant difference in the mobility and pain in both myself and my husband. These herbs do not make you sleepy, are not addictive, and do not kill your liver and kidneys, like most of the conventional drugs. I hope this article helps in your search for real relief.

References:

http://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/guide/fibromyalgia-herbs-and-supplements

http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/conditionsetoh/a/Fibromyalgia.htm

http://www.holisticonline.com/remedies/cfs/fib_nutrition.htm