The researcher writes, "This review embraced the literature and showed that the role of dietary supplements on FM remains controversial, although clinical trials with vitamin D, magnesium, iron and probiotics’ supplementation show promising results. In terms of dietary interventions, the administration of olive oil, the replacement diet with ancient cereals, low-calorie diets, vegetarian diets, the low-FODMAPs diet, the gluten-free diet, the monosodium glutamate and aspartame-free diet and the Mediterranean diet all appear to be effective in reducing the symptoms of FM. The majority of the included studies showed a significant improvement in chronic pain, anxiety, depression, cognitive function, sleep pattern and gastrointestinal symptoms. In addition, weight loss seems to be associated with both reduced inflammation and improved quality of life in FM subjects, thus suggesting that body weight could have a functional repercussion in these patients. Therefore, the fact that the improvement has been achieved through different dietary strategies may lead to the hypothesis that both weight loss and the psychosomatic component of the disease could have a major role in the disease." The author goes on to say, " In addition, all of these diets are generally regarded as healthy dietary models, rich in plant foods, antioxidants or fiber, so the fact that people have experienced an improvement in symptoms after almost all dietary interventions suggests that an adequate diet could play a crucial role in the management of FM. However, these results should be interpreted with caution since the aforementioned studies present several biases that limit the robustness of the findings. First of all, most studies have a limited sample size with no possibility of blinding due to the nature of dietary intervention trials. Secondly, outcomes are often analyzed using different methodologies and without considering possible confounding factors. In addition, adherence to the assigned dietary intervention is hardly ever evaluated. Finally, a follow-up is almost never carried out to determine whether the positive effects are maintained over time or are only transient. Therefore, although dietary aspects appear to be a promising complementary approach to treat FM, further research is needed to improve the understanding of the disease and to provide the most effective treatments."
Of course, it is important to talk to your doctor about the supplements you take and any dietary changes you make. The Mediterranean Diet has been shown to increase NRF2 which may reduce the harms from oxidative stress and mast cell generation and activation. Both of which have been implicated in causing some of the symptoms in fibromyalgia. Generally, limiting processed food, limiting saturated fats and increasing fruits and vegetables are good rules to follow when making dietary changes.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7551285/ Pagliai G, Giangrandi I, Dinu M, Sofi F, Colombini B. Nutritional Interventions in the Management of Fibromyalgia Syndrome. Nutrients. 2020 Aug 20;12(9):2525. doi: 10.3390/nu12092525. PMID: 32825400; PMCID: PMC7551285.
