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Fibromyalgia, a disease whose symptoms include chronic fatigue (regardless of the amount of sleep attained), muscle and joint pain, has no known cause. It affects up to 5% of the population, mostly women.

With so many people stricken with this disorder, I am surprised at the number of my clients who have told me that they had to see a couple of different doctors before one would actually admit that fibromyalgia is even a health condition.

Not only did they often times not have the support of friends and family, they were then subjected to experts who, at best, summed the condition up to depression. They were then prescribed various antidepressants, all with serious side effects.

Theres nothing more unpleasant than knowing there is something is not right with you and being told that its all in your head.

The correspondence I have received has been heart breaking, with the exception of the gratitude expressed by my clients over the fact that my Fibromyalgia program has helped them significantly.

Many have asked if there is something in their diet or environment that could be influencing this condition. Newly formed evidence indicates that diet can, in fact play a very major role.

While diet is not thought to cause or even trigger fibromyalgia like say, migraine headaches, the growing belief is that fibromyalgia symptoms are aggravated by other conditions which can be caused or activated by specific foods. Once these conditions subside, the result is that fibromyalgia symptoms disappear.

The thing to keep in mind is that fibromyalgia loves diversity. Just as not everyone is affected to the same extremes, there is no all-inclusive list of foods to shun from. The key is to take note of certain known foods that affect many with fibromyalgia and test to see if your condition is relieved over time as you test eliminate these foods from your diet.

Some foods experts now say to avoid are Aspartame and MSG. They are known to irritate certain pain receptors which for people who suffer fibromyalgia are already heightened.

Eliminateing caffeine from ones diet has also verified to be effective. While many are entice to drink caffeine drinks for the pep, it can make the fatigue worse.

Dairy foods also make the list, although this is controversial. Some believe strengthened bones can actually ease joint pain.

Also included are yeast, mold, gluten and vinegar. This is believed to be because TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder), IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and migraines, all known to affect fibromyalgia symptoms, are set off by these foods.

A macrobiotic diet (whole foods) has shown favorable for some fibromyalgia patients, as well as Omega 3 fatty acids (found in fish, flax see, certain nuts and also added to some foods such as cereal).