Fibromyalgia is a chronic disease with the most common fibromyalgia symptom being profound widespread body pain. The list of fibromyalgia symptoms is long and miserable. In addition, irritable bowel syndrome, restless legs, extreme fatigue and sleep problems are very common. It’s the kind of discomfort that comes after doing your first boot camp session, except you didn’t and the pain never goes away.
It stays with you night and day. It makes it hard to move. It makes it hard to sleep. It makes it very difficult to live a normal life. Life is defined by chronic misery. But it doesn’t have to be — there is hope of breaking free from fibromyalgia and feeling good again.
So let’s talk about oxalates and the role they play in Fibromyalgia. Oxalates are nontoxic organic compounds naturally occurring in certain foods, mainly vegetables and fruits. An accumulation of oxalic acid crystals in the muscle and connective tissue cells may be the cause of the muscle aches and pain associated with Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS).
When too much oxalate is absorbed into the bloodstream via the gut, it can team up with calcium to form sharp calcium-oxalate crystals. These crystals can then wedge themselves into tissue almost anywhere in the body causing damage and/or exacerbating pain and inflammation. Most people are able to tolerate and safely process oxalate out of the gut through the stool. However people with fibromyalgia due to poor intestinal permeability (leaky gut) and inflammation are much less likely to be able to metabolize oxalates which leads to increased pain and suffering.
Another oxalate connection relates to Candida and yeast overgrowth. Good bacteria in the gut help to keep oxalates in check by breaking them down. Bad bacteria in the gut can produce oxalates. Oxalates are said to suppress the immune system and make one more susceptible to Candida overgrowth. Therefore, along with a low oxalate diet, addressing yeast is imperative to reducing the overall oxalate load.
There are even more implications of oxalates in the body. For example, oxalates are said to suppress the immune system and make one more susceptible to Candida overgrowth. Oxalates deplete glutathione, one of the body’s key antioxidants; oxalates change how zinc works within the body, which can affect immune function; and oxalates also fuel inflammation, a major issue in Fibromyalgia.
If you suffer from FMS, a low oxalate diet may be a valuable part of your nutrition goals. Contact Rachel at Transformation Health to see how you can recover from Fibromyalgia.
