Fighting Fibromyalgia: The Surprising Benefits Of A Gluten-Free Diet

Have you ever felt like your body is waging a war against you – with every muscle aching, fatigue pulling you down, and a constant fog clouding your mind? For millions of people living with a complex condition known as fibromyalgia, this is their daily reality. This chronic condition, often misunderstood and misdiagnosed, turns even the simplest tasks into daunting challenges. 

But, the good news is, if you’re dealing with a fibromyalgia diagnosis, research may have uncovered a secret weapon when it comes to fighting back against fibromyalgia and reclaiming your well-being. What is this secret weapon? Your diet – or more specifically a gluten-free diet.

In this blog post, we’re going to explore exactly what fibromyalgia is, what causes this puzzling condition, how gluten can contribute to and exacerbate your symptoms, and most importantly – some practical steps you can take to alleviate symptoms and maximize your quality of life. Let’s dive in.

What Is Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that affects the way the brain and spinal cord process painful and nonpainful signals – often amplifying pain sensations. But pain isn’t the only side effect of this life-hindering diagnosis. Some of the more common symptoms associated with fibromyalgia include:1,2

• Chronic (long-lasting) pain and stiffness all over the body. People often describe it as aching, burning, or throbbing
• Medium to severe tiredness (fatigue)
• Less exercise endurance
• Sleep problems at night
• Depressed mood
• Anxiety
• Headaches
• Irritable bowel symptoms, such as belly pain and bloating, diarrhea, and constipation
• Restless legs
• Painful menstrual periods
• Trouble thinking clearly (called “fibro fog”)
• Sensitivity to light, noise, odors, and temperature
• Numbness or tingling in the arms and legs

Fibromyalgia is thought to be a result of abnormalities in how the brain and spinal cord process pain signals. This phenomenon is often referred to as central sensitization. When central sensitization occurs, the nervous system goes through a process called “wind-up” and becomes regulated in a persistent state of high reactivity. This means that the nervous system is more sensitive to stimuli that are normally not painful and can amplify the perception of pain.4,5

So what on earth can cause this heightened pain perception?

What Causes Fibromyalgia?

The root cause of fibromyalgia remains elusive and is likely multifactorial. Researchers believe it results from a combination of genetic, environmental, and psychological factors that all add up to the dysregulation of pain processing systems in the body. Some of the key elements that are speculated to contribute to fibromyalgia include:5,6,7

• Genetic predisposition
• Neurotransmitter imbalances
• Neuroplastic changes
• Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation
• Neuroinflammation
• Injuries or surgeries
• Underlying hidden infections
• Stress
• Sleep deprivation

Because fibromyalgia likely arises from an interplay of various factors – it’s impossible to pinpoint one singular cause of this perplexing condition. But there’s another often overlooked factor that can not only influence fibromyalgia itself but also create a vicious cycle by exacerbating many of the above-listed imbalances.

What is this factor? Your diet – and more specifically a tiny nutrient known as gluten.

What Is Gluten?

Gluten is a type of protein found in wheat and other grains like barley and rye. It's what gives dough its elastic texture and helps bread rise and hold its shape. Think of gluten as the glue that holds everything together – giving baked goods that chewy, satisfying texture we love.

While gluten can certainly be delicious, it can also have some not-so-great side effects.  You see, gluten is one of those tricky nutrients that doesn’t always play nicely when it comes to our health. And research is finding that this little protein might be particularly problematic when it comes to fibromyalgia.

Gluten and Fibromyalgia: What’s the Link?

While gluten in and of itself doesn’t cause fibromyalgia, its effects can certainly contribute to symptoms. That’s because gluten can have a domino effect, triggering things like:8,9,10,11

Leaky Gut: 

Leaky gut is exactly what it sounds like – when your gut allows undigested food particles, toxins, and waste to “leak” out of your gut and into your bloodstream. Gluten is notorious for triggering inflammation and weakening the barrier of your gut – allowing these “gaps” to form that allow harmful substances to leak out of your gut.

Gluten-induced inflammation and leaky gut can not only allow these icky substances to leak into your bloodstream but can also impair the absorption of essential nutrients – leading to deficiencies that can contribute to muscle pain and fatigue.

Immune System Activation: 

Gluten can be double trouble when it comes to activating your immune system. Even if you don’t have celiac disease (a true allergy to gluten), your body can flag gluten as a threat – causing your immune system to release signaling molecules known as cytokines to ramp up inflammation.

But the spiral of inflammation and immune activation doesn’t stop there. As your gut becomes more damaged, more and more substances that are meant to stay sealed up tight in your gut begin leaking into your bloodstream. When your body detects these particles, your immune system sounds the alarm – further ramping up inflammation in an attempt to protect you.

This immune response to gluten can elevate levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which can amplify pain sensitivity and contribute to the central sensitization seen in fibromyalgia.

Neuroinflammation: 

Gluten-related inflammation might start in the gut, but it can extend through your body – even making its way to your nervous system. This inflammation of your brain and nervous system, also known as neuroinflammation, can exacerbate fibromyalgia in a couple of ways:

1. By affecting pain processing pathways – interfering with the nervous system's ability to regulate and process pain signals
2. By altering the balance of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which play roles in mood regulation and pain perception

This combination of effects can be a major player in fibromyalgia symptoms.

Altered Gut Microbiome:

Your gut microbiome is the collective community of microorganisms that inhabit your gut. This delicate ecosystem is designed to maintain a delicate balance that works in harmony with your own cells.

And gluten can really throw your gut microbiome for a loop by promoting the growth of bad bacteria, contributing to leaky gut, and spiking inflammation – causing what’s known as gut dysbiosis. As your microbiome becomes more and more imbalanced, it can create a vicious cycle that can further damage the integrity of your gut barrier, and spark even more inflammation.

And because your gut microbiome and your brain and intricately connected via your gut-brain axis, dysbiosis can mess with your nervous system's ability to regulate pain, mood, and brain function.

So, Can Going Gluten-Free Help My Fibromyalgia?

The answer to this question is – it very well could! While everyone is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all diet or lifestyle for managing fibromyalgia, research has found that cutting out gluten can have a potent impact on fibromyalgia. Studies have found that following a gluten-free diet can significantly reduce overall pain and drastically reduce the severity of symptoms associated with fibromyalgia.12

You see, eliminating gluten removes a major source of irritation and damage to your gut – allowing your gut barrier to heal, your microbiome to rebalance, and inflammation to settle back down to baseline. So, if you’re wrestling with fibromyalgia, it may be worthwhile to cut out gluten-containing foods like:

• Barley
• Bulgur
• Durum
• Farina
• Graham flour
• Rye
• Semolina
• Spelt
• Triticale
• Wheat

But because gluten is often hiding out in many processed foods, it’s important to scour the nutrition label and be diligent in understanding the exact ingredients of anything you eat. While going gluten-free isn’t always the most convenient lifestyle, the effort and investment are worthwhile when it comes to soothing your fibromyalgia.

Are There Any Other Ways I Can Manage My Fibromyalgia?

While following a gluten-free diet can undoubtedly be a pivotal piece of the puzzle when it comes to managing fibromyalgia, it works best when paired with a big-picture approach. Here are some other powerful strategies I recommend incorporating to manage and minimize fibromyalgia symptoms:

• Prioritize nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory foods: Just because something is gluten-free doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for you. So it’s important to not only cut out gluten but also focus most of your meals around fresh, whole, unprocessed foods that will help combat inflammation and support your gut in healing. If you need help incorporating more healthy, unprocessed foods into your diet, be sure to check out my recipe library.
• Incorporate gut-healing supplements: It can be helpful to up your intake of the nutrients and compounds your gut needs to restore and maintain a strong intestinal barrier. I recommend supplements like Collagen Boost, Gut Shield, and/or Gut Calm powder to give your gut the boost it needs. 
• Correct gut dysbiosis: Help correct any dysbiosis and support a thriving, diverse ecosystem of beneficial microbes by reinoculating your gut with friendly bacteria like those found in my Probiotic Daily Essentials and in my Spore Probiotic Plus IgG.
• Make rest and relaxation a priority: Poor quality sleep and high-stress levels can be major triggers for fibromyalgia. So focus on getting quality sleep (check out my favorite sleep hacks right here) and managing stress.
• Lower your toxic burden: Exposure to everyday chemicals and toxins can overwhelm your detox pathways which can spike inflammation, burn out your immune system, contribute to leaky gut, and more. This influx of toxins is an often overlooked component that can have a big impact on the symptoms of many conditions – fibromyalgia included. Click here to learn the exact steps you can use to lower your toxic burden and my favorite low-tox swaps for every area of your life.
• Take antiinflammatory supplements: Some of my favorite fibromyalgia-supporting supplements include SynovEase to promote muscle and joint comfort, Omega Curcumin to help soothe inflammation, and my very favorite pro-resolving mediator supplement- think natural ibuprofen – Omega Pro PRM. 

When paired with a gluten-free diet, these steps can have a dramatic impact on your fibromyalgia.

Are You Grappling With Fibromyalgia?

If you are in the trenches grappling with a new or ongoing diagnosis of fibromyalgia, it can feel exhausting, overwhelming, and downright devastating sometimes. But the good news is, you are not alone, and you are not at the mercy of your diagnosis. You are more powerful than you might think.

With the right approach and the right support, you can fight back against this complex condition and become the healthiest, happiest, most vibrant version of you. I know what it’s like to feel at war with your own body. And I also know that there is so much hope and light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes all you need is someone who’s a few steps ahead of you to reach back and give you a helping hand moving forward.

And that’s precisely why I do what I do – to help people just like you tap into true healing and become the very best versions of themselves despite any diagnosis or life obstacles. To help connect you with the resources that are going to be most useful to you wherever you’re at in your journey, I created a totally free Resource Roadmap. It’ll help you sift through all the noise and zero in on the resources that are going to be most valuable for you. All you have to do to access it is click right here.

Resources:

1. Fibromyalgia: Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment (clevelandclinic.org)
2. Fibromyalgia | Johns Hopkins Medicine
3. Central sensitivity and fibromyalgia – PubMed (nih.gov)
4. Central Sensitization Syndrome and the Initial Evaluation of a Patient with Fibromyalgia: A Review – PMC (nih.gov)
5. Fibromyalgia – Symptoms & causes – Mayo Clinic
6. Fibromyalgia – Causes – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
7. Fibromyalgia: Learn More – What is known about the causes of fibromyalgia? – InformedHealth.org – NCBI Bookshelf (nih.gov)
8. Effect of Gluten-Free Diet on Gut Microbiota Composition in Patients with Celiac Disease and Non-Celiac Gluten/Wheat Sensitivity – PMC (nih.gov)
9. Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity: How Its Gut Immune Activation and Potential Dietary Management Differ from Celiac Disease – PubMed (nih.gov)
10. Gluten, Inflammation, and Neurodegeneration – PMC (nih.gov)
11. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity triggers gut dysbiosis, neuroinflammation, gut-brain axis dysfunction, and vulnerability for dementia – PubMed (nih.gov)
12. View of Efficacy of a gluten-free diet in reducing the widespread pain index and symptom severity scale in patients affected by fibromyalgia (reumatismo.org)

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The product mentioned in this article are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.   The information in this article is not intended to replace any recommendations or relationship with your physician.  Please review references sited at end of article for scientific support of any claims made.