11 Tips for Preventing Fibromyalgia by Bob Flaws

It is estimated that between three and six million Americans have fibromyalgia. You can help cut your risk significantly by incorporating a few simple life-style changes into your daily routines and habits. Try adding one of these per week or every other week. You will be surprised at the changes in your personal health!

1. Eliminate processed foods from your diet, especially white sugar and white flour products. These products give our bodies little nutrition and over time can damage our digestion as well as cause obesity, one of the common problems related to fibromyalgia.
2. Include all unprocessed foods in your diet, such as proteins, complex and unrefined carbohydrates, vegetables, whole grains and legumes (beans and bean products) especially soy based products.
3. Eat foods that support the digestion. In other words, avoid overly greasy foods, ice cold drinks, alcohol, raw and uncooked foods, hot, peppery foods, coffee, and too much fruit. Avoid daily juice drinks since these are the same as eating a candy bar in the amount of sugar introduced into the body.
4. Stop drinking sodas. Sodas are acidic in nature and loaded with sugar and chemicals. Sodas are detrimental to both the digestion and source of your energy.
5. Find some type of exercise that you really enjoy and just do it! Pumping iron is not for everyone. You would probably benefit most from some kind of cardiovascular exercise to keep to blood moving, like swimming, yoga, stretching, and bicycling. Take a walk every day.
6. If you live with a dog or cat, play with them daily. Animals live in the moment and love to play. This is a great way to break stressful daily routines.
7. Practice Chinese self massage every morning by stimulating the acupoints on the body and limbs to help promote the flow of qi and blood in the channels.
8. Learn how to really relax. This means bodily relaxation as well as mental repose. Take advantage of the many spiritual resources, books and tapes out there.
9. Take a look at the old habits and patterns of your life and ask yourself what you can do to make your life better. Take up tasks and hobbies that are interesting to you and break the normal routine of your day.
10. If you know that you have too much stress in your life, then find a solution. This may be finding a new job or new, more supportive relationships. Understand that stress alone can kill you, and if you smoke and consume alcohol to escape stressful situations, you are only fooling yourself.
11. Find a Chinese medical practitioner who can help you maintain good health with Chinese medicinals and acupuncture. If you visit with a practitioner on a regular basis, before you become ill, then you avoid many other more serious problems later. Remember that the strong suit of Traditional Chinese Medicine is prevention.