​I recently came across Mark J. Pellegrino, MD, and was completely fascinated by the concept of fibronomics. Fibronomics is an interesting term related to how we move our body when we have fibromyalgia. It’s like ergonomics with a FM twist. Pellegrino, who coined the term, has had FM since childhood.

Here are some of Pellegrino’s best fibronomics tips:

1. When changing a lightbulb, hold up your elbow with your opposite hand to give it support, while standing on a stool or ladder to get closer to the lightbulb. This example made so much sense to me. I never would have thought of that.

2. For driving a prolonged distance, switch your hands between the 10:00 and 2:00 position, and the 4:00 and 8:00 positions. This technique helps those of us with FM avoid getting too stiff while driving.

3. When you’re washing dishes, put a foot on a stool or open the door to the cabinet underneath, and rest your foot on the shelf. It will take some stress off your back. It’s also helpful to use a dish scrubber with a long handle so you don’t have to bend over so much.

4. When applying makeup, set a magnifying mirror on a table. That way you don’t have to bend over a sink to get close enough to the mirror, or tip your head back while applying makeup. Personally, I just use lipstick. It’s been a long time since I wore any makeup.

Pellegrino’s four rules of fibronomics are as follows:
 
Arms stay home.

Unload the back. 

Support always welcome. 

Be naturally shifty

How does that look on a practical basis in our daily lives?

Whatever job or chore you’re doing, keep your arms below your shoulders, elbows touching your side. One way to do this while cleaning your bathtub would be to use a mop to wash the tub and surrounding tile, rinse and you’re done. Make use of stools and/or step ladders when you can to keep your arms at home.

When sitting, use afoot rest to take pressure off your back. You can also alternate crossing your legs. Just keep shifting your position.

With dusting you can use a long-handled dusting tool. I have one with an adjustable handle that makes dusting so much easier! For cleaning ceiling fans, you could stand on a stepladder and use a hair dryer to blow off the dust.

If you spill something on the floor, rather than bending over to wipe it up, use a towel and your foot to wipe up the mess.

I have an issue with bending over my washer to get the clothes out to put them in the dryer. I use an assisted grabber device to help with that, so I don’t hurt my back or aggravate my shoulder/arm pain.

Using a step stool to get at things in upper cupboards is something I should do more frequently. Store in such places only things you don’t need to use often. For heavy lifting, I get my husband to help. I also use my grabber tool to reach things I’m not worried about dropping or breaking.

Moving and shifting our position and muscles regularly make a difference as well. I set an alarm to go off every 45 minutes, and I stop what I’m doing — even when it’s just laying in bed — and walk around and do some gentle stretching. It keeps my muscles from tensing so much, and helps with the pain.

Pellegrino’s book, Fibromyalgia: Up Close and Personal covers this topic and more. He has written at least 10 books on the subject. - Fibromyalgia News Today

It's the summer before sixth grade, and Clark (Armani Jackson) is the new-in-town biracial kid in a sea of white kids on the movie Little Boxes. Discovering that to be cool he needs to act more black, he fumbles to meet expectations, while his parents, Mack (Nelsan Ellis) and Gina (Melanie Lynskey), also strive to adjust to small-town living. Equipped for the many inherent challenges of New York, the members of the tight-knit family are ill prepared for the different set of obstacles that their new community presents.

​With her family's livelihood imperiled by the farm crisis during the 1980s, 11-year-old Gitty loses herself in a world of fantasy and make believe. But she stumbles into her own fairy tale when she makes a startling discovery: a well-dressed mystery man being held captive in her family's silo. It's the beginning of a labyrinthine journey that will turn Gitty's world upside down and force her to question her loyalty to her own family.

​Ellen is an unruly 20-year-old anorexic girl who spent the better part of her teenage years being shepherded through various recovery programs, only to find herself several pounds lighter every time. Determined to find a solution, her dysfunctional family agrees to send her to a group home for youths, which is led by a non-traditional doctor. Surprised by the unusual rules, Ellen must discover for herself how to confront her addiction and attempt self-acceptance.

American businessman Jack Dwyer (Owen Wilson), wife Annie and their two young daughters arrive in Southeast Asia to begin a new life. As his company plans to improve the region's water quality, the family quickly learns that they're right in the middle of a political uprising. Armed rebels attack the hotel where they're staying, ordered to kill any foreigners that they encounter. Amid utter chaos, Jack must find a way to save himself and his loved ones from the violence erupting all around them.

​After the 2014 Somerset floods, a young woman returns to the family dairy farm following the tragic death of her younger brother.

Being a mother can definitely be a very joyous experience, but it can also be difficult if you have to deal with fibromyalgia while simultaneously raising your children.

Is it possible for you to raise your kids while also trying to cope with your fibromyalgia?  The answer is yes, and we’ll go over some of the ways that any mother with fibromyalgia will be able to balance her chronic pain with her responsibilities as a parent.

Energy

The most challenging aspect of being a mother and living with fibromyalgia is that you’ll find it difficult to get the energy to handle both. You should be able to keep informing your family of how you feel so that they don’t expect too much or too little from you on any particular day.

If you’re feeling more energized today, let them know and maybe you as a family can do something fun.  If you’ve never felt in so much pain before, lay down on the couch.

​Spending Time with Your Kids

You should take your kids out whenever you feel great. But should you take them out when you feel bad and are trying to get through another lousy day?  A good way to cope with this is to run on errands only for essentials when you don’t feel well, and to take your children out to the park when you do feel well so that you’re good days aren’t spent on getting things such as groceries.

In the event that your kids are dying to go out when you aren’t feeling well, you may have to alternative things to do, such as giving them an art project, a toy or a game of some kind.  There’s nothing wrong in pushing things off when you feel bad, but remember not to make any promises that you can’t keep to your kids.

​Multi-Tasking

In our culture today, multi-tasking seems to have been accepted as a part of daily life. Mothers especially have to learn to multi-task.  Unfortunately, the more you multitask, the slower things will get done and the less organized you will be.  You’ll become significantly less stressed out if you take things one step at a time.
This means taking breaks when you need them and focusing on getting one task done.  Once that task is done, you can move on to the next.  Yes, this is a challenge especially if you’re trying to juggle around a bundle of different responsibilities, and it’s even more of a challenge if you have children to care for.   You have to learn to live without multitasking.  But is this possible?

If your kids are old enough, you can give them certain chores. Not only does this free up time for you to focus on one task at a time and get the stress out, it teaches your kids responsibilities.  Right now, all you may be focusing on is raising your kids, getting them fed properly, and work at your job.  There’s nothing wrong with that, but you must try to get as much of the stress out as possible.

Additional Tips
Here are some additional tips that you can go over for trying to balance your fibromyalgia symptoms with motherhood.

​1- The first tip is to get plenty of exercise. Yes, it is true that people with fibromyalgia do find difficulty in getting sufficient exercise due to the pain, but exercising is still a great way to energize your body and get your muscles to heal themselves.  A major reason why you are in so much pain is due to your muscles, so exercising stimulates them.  You also don’t need to put a lot of time into exercising each day.  Twenty to thirty minutes of exercise per day will drastically improve your strength.
2- You should also a void smoking. This is because nicotine is bad to the muscles by decreasing blood flow to them, which in turn lowers the amount of oxygen your muscles receive and increases the pain that you feel.
3- If you haven’t looked into fibronomics, you probably should now. Fibronomics is not only useful for mothers, it is for mothers to be as well.  Fibronomics is manipulating your body in order to minimize the pain as much as possible and result in being able to complete tasks more efficiently.  There’s so much information related to fibronomics that we can’t go into all of it now, but it’s still something worth looking into.
4- Remember to get as much rest as you can. Fatigue is a common symptom of fibromyalgia, so getting the sleep at night that you need can be tough.  Nonetheless, being rested will reduce your chances of developing illness and stress, and thus allow you to cope with your fibromyalgia better while raising your children.  Another way to get plenty of stress is to schedule some time each day to your personal hobbies, such as listening to music or reading a book.
5- The last thing we’ll go over is coping with fibromyalgia while in a pregnancy.  Most pregnant patients with fibromyalgia report feeling more pain towards the pregnancy’s end.  This is because each factor that can cause pain all join together at that time.  It will be very difficult for a mother-to-be to be able to get comfortable at this point.

In order to get as comfortable as possible, you can participate in a physical therapy program that will provide heat and massages to your lower back.  An alternative would be to get trigger point injections, but you should carefully review this with your fibromyalgia doctor to make sure that it will have no negative effect on your pregnancy.
​
While suffering from fibromyalgia while late in your pregnancy will be difficult, just know that you’ve almost reached the end.  With help from treatments and physical therapy, hopefully you can get as comfortable as possible. - Fibromyalgia Treating

Filmmaker Kip Andersen uncovers the secret to preventing and even reversing chronic diseases, and he investigates why the nation's leading health organizations doesn't want people to know about it.

​Overtaken by the death of her beloved, a grieving woman decides to take a spontaneous trip to visit her friend and get her life back on track.

Based on the fascinating, true-life story of Michael Glatze (James Franco), a gay activist who becomes an anti-gay Christian pastor.

​Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton), a rancher who once trained to be an astronaut, decides to fulfill a lifelong dream: He builds a rocket in his barn and plans to pilot it into space. Though he faces foreclosure on his ranch, the disbelief of his neighbors and threats from the government, Charles remains determined to reach for the stars.

​Five year old Saroo gets lost on a train which takes him thousands of miles across India, away from home and family. Saroo must learn to survive alone in Kolkata, before ultimately being adopted by an Australian couple. Twenty-five years later, armed with only a handful of memories, his unwavering determination, and a revolutionary technology known as Google Earth, he sets out to find his lost family and finally return to his first home.

"Take your shoes off they'll make you sick," is a powerful message depicting the notorious effect shoes have on every day life. Clint Ober offered this insight in the short documentary of What is Grounding.

​Have you ever noticed how good it feels to walk barefoot on a sandy beach, or in a forest? There is a reason for that—it’s called the grounding effect. The reason for this sense of well-being is due to the fact that you’re receiving a surge of potent healing electrons from the ground.

The earth has a slightly negative charge, so when you stand barefoot on that sand, electrons from the earth flow into your body, giving you a virtual “transfusion” of healing power.

The featured documentary, The Grounded 2, is a sequel to the film The Grounded, released in 2013. The sequel features Step Sinatra, the son of cardiologist Stephen Sinatra MD, astronaut Dr. Edgar Mitchell, and yours truly, among many others.

Step was a Wall Street trader until his health suddenly began to decline, bringing him to the brink of death. He credits his ultimate recovery to learning about grounding, along with a switch to an all-organic diet.
In 2010, his father, Dr. Stephen Sinatra released a book on the healing power of grounding called Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?, co-authored with Clint Ober, one of the pioneers in this field.

The Ultimate Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory

Grounding or Earthing is defined as placing one's bare feet on the ground whether it be dirt, grass, sand, or concrete (especially when humid or wet). When you ground to the electron-enriched earth, an improved balance of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system occurs.

The earth is a natural source of electrons and subtle electrical fields, which are essential for proper functioning of immune systems, circulation, synchronization of biorhythms and other physiological processes and may actually be the most effective, essential, least expensive, and easiest to attain antioxidant.

Modern science has thoroughly documented the connection between inflammation and all of the chronic diseases, including the diseases of aging and the aging process itself. It is important to understand that inflammation is a condition that can be reduced or prevented by grounding your body to the Earth, the way virtually all of your ancestors have done for hundreds if not thousands of generations.

How the Modern Running Shoe May Be Destroying Your Health

Materials such as metals are electrical conductors. They contain free or mobile electrons that can carry electrical energy from place to place.

Your body is somewhat conductive because it contains a large number of charged ions (called electrolytes) dissolved in water. Your blood and other body fluids are therefore good conductors. Free or mobile electrons can also move about within your body

Other materials, called insulators, have very few free or mobile electrons. Plastic and rubber are good insulators and are used to cover electrical wires to keep the conductors from touching each other and from touching your skin, which could otherwise give you a shock.

Traditionally, shoes were made of leather, which actually conducts electrons and therefore maintains a conductive contact between the earth and your feet. However, modern day rubber and plastics are electrical insulators and therefore block the beneficial flow of electrons from the Earth to your body.

Grounding Is a Foundational Aspect for Optimal Health

Free radical stress from exposure to mercury pollution, cigarettes, insecticides, pesticides, trans fats, radiation, and many others, continually deplete your body of electrons.

This is one of the primary reasons why antioxidants are used, which actually donate electrons back into your body, to help ward off free radical damage to your tissues.

You can also get these electrons by going outside, barefoot. Touching the earth helps neutralize the damaging positive charges of free radicals in your body.

According to Clint Ober, this lack of grounding appears to be an underlying thread in most chronic disease—a phenomenon he calls “electron deficiency syndrome.” - Dr. Mercola

“Fire is what set us apart. But that fire is on the verge of burning us.”

Living in the modern world is making us sick. That’s the conclusion drawn by Dr. Pedram Shojai, OMD after many years of treating patients for the same lifestyle-induced illnesses, over and over again. This realization inspired him on a four-year mission to produce a film that might help “wake us all up.”

Dr. Shojai partnered with South American filmmaker Mark van Wijk to produce the documentary “Origins,”1 a broad exploration of the intrinsic connection between our health and the vitality of our planet, and how our modern lifestyle is out of synch with our DNA.

The film features 24 great minds in the fields of anthropology, medicine, ecology and health, including David Wolfe, Jeffrey Smith and Sara Gottfried, M.D. Not only is it very informative but also beautifully filmed. “Origins” takes us back to our human roots when we lived as one with the earth.

Plugging Back into the Earth

“The bushman lives his life in nature... the earth, the sun, the wind. This is a wilderness person who respects nature. This is where we make our lives in order to live together with nature.” -!’Aru Ikhuisi Piet Berendse, Bushman and Activist

While we were developing as a species, we lived in tune with the earth, but that connection has been all but lost. Once we plugged into technology, we unplugged from our planet.

Most people feel profoundly different when they leave the city to spend just a few days in nature, gaining an appreciation of just how disengaged they’ve become. This is why grounding is so powerful.

We are besieged by constant messages that in order to be happy, we need more stuff, but in reality, we have only four basic human needs: water, fire, food, and shelter.

The modern world wants to brainwash you into thinking you need much more than that, but in reality, the rest are only “wants.” All of this “stuff” has weakened your relationship with the earth.

The Native Americans were highly attuned to nature. They took care of the earth and it took care of them. They lived symbiotically with the planet instead of as parasites upon it, with reverence rather than disregard.
They would sit in one spot listening to the noises the birds were making, sensing the direction of the wind, atmospheric changes and so on, and this mindfulness informed them of what their next move should be.

As Above, So Below

What allowed us to pull to the head of the pack was fire, making it possible to grow bigger brains that gave us tools, then eventually science and technology. Our ability to wield fire put us into orbit and gave us the internet and all its benefits.

We became Top Dog—but also Top Bully. The unfortunate corollary to humanity’s greatness has unfortunately been tendencies toward arrogance and shortsightedness.

Technology has vastly outpaced our common sense, and we’ve developed a dangerous disregard for long-term consequences for ourselves and the ecosystem in which we live. Both are sounding alarms, and it’s questionable whether we’re hearing them.

Greek philosopher Hermes Trismegistus had a famous axiom: “As above, so below.” This can be applied to the relationship between humans and the earth—microcosm and macrocosm are reflections of each other. What we see on a large scale will inevitably show up on a small scale, and vice versa.

Our ailing bodies, ailing soils, disappearing species and their habitats are all symptoms of one pervasive problem: a planet that’s becoming more toxic with each passing day. Ignoring its warning calls may place humans next in line for extinction.

​Humanity and Earth Cry Out... But Is Anyone Listening?

The US is now producing and importing 74 billion pounds of chemicals each day--that’s 250 pounds per person, per day.And that figure doesn’t even include pharmaceuticals, pesticides, fuels, and food additives. Most of these chemicals have never been tested for their effects on human health, yet we consume them daily. What on earth are we doing to ourselves?

In 2013, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization (WHO), deemed air pollutants a class 1 carcinogen.2 It’s projected that air pollution will be the number one cause of death globally by 2050, largely because of our dependence on fossil fuels.

Six billion pounds of bisphenol-A (BPA) is produced each year, leaving our planet literally choking on plastics. BPA, phthalates, and other pseudo estrogens are hijacking our hormones, disrupting the endocrine function of our entire species.

The average baby is now born with 287 chemicals in their body—before they even takes their first breath. We’ve reached the point at which the signals from endocrine disrupting chemicals in our children’s bodies are louder than the signals they’re getting from their own natural hormones.

We used to be naturally lean and strong but have become progressively more obese and weaker. Our bodies are so busy detoxifying that they frequently lack adequate resources to perform basic biological processes. Is it any wonder that humanity has become so sick?

When a species is healthy, nature rewards it with fertility, but studies show that human fertility is waning. One of every four couples worldwide is unable to conceive due to problems with conception and miscarriage. Fertility is a leading indicator for the health of an organism, so the fact that one in eight of us are not healthy enough to reproduce is a major clue.

Your Inner Ecosystem: The Interface with the World

There is no more poignant illustration of your connection to the world around you than your microbiome, or “inner ecosystem.” The long tube running through you from your mouth to your anus is the interface between you and the outside world, and the seat of your immunity—health and disease start in your gut. But this vital system is being severely disrupted by our modern lifestyle.

Infants are literally bathed in beneficial microorganisms during childbirth, which they receive from their mothers as they pass through the birth canal—it’s a baby’s “first inoculation,” potentially providing lifelong immunity.

However, babies born by C-section do not receive this natural inoculation. Kids who were deprived of a vaginal birth are showing all kinds of diseases, including asthma and autoimmune disorders. Infants receive another microbial boost from breast milk, but of course those fed infant formula miss out on this too.

Making matters worse, infants and children are prescribed antibiotics periodically throughout childhood, are discouraged from playing in the dirt and then doused in hand sanitizer. This “sanitized childhood” prevents kids from developing natural immunity, and their bodies fail to populate with the beneficial microbes that grow into an army of protection from illness. Antibiotics have essentially led to the “mass extinction” of our beneficial gut flora, resulting in dysbiosis (an imbalance in your microbiome) and all of the health problems that accompany it.

Your DNA Is Largely Controlled by Your Gut Flora

An abnormal microbiome is a factor behind inflammation, food cravings, obesity, type 2 diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and many of the other chronic diseases seen today. When your gut flora is unhealthy, leaky gut syndrome can develop whereby food particles leach into your bloodstream where they can trigger allergic and inflammatory responses. An abnormal microbiome can also lead to depression and other emotional and physical problems, because your gut bacteria provide a significant source of your amino acids, vitamins and other important compounds. Three major ones are ATP, tryptophan and serotonin.

Beneficial bacteria also play an enormous role in your genetic expression—continuously helping flip genes off and on as you need them. Your genetic expression is 50 to 80 percent controlled by how you eat, think and move, and your genes change daily—if not hourly. You may be surprised to learn that 140 times more genetic influence comes from your microbes as from the DNA in your own cells. Your genes control protein coding, which determines your hormones, weight, fertility, mood and others.

Which Do You Choose—Food or 'Edible Manufactured Products?

'Our biology adapted to a diet of wild plants and animals—wild vegetables, berries, nuts, roots, and game, which were MUCH higher in nutrients than our foods today. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors consumed nearly 100 grams of fiber every day, compared to the eight to 15 grams now consumed by the average Westerner. Food can be medicine or poison... the processed foods found lining grocery store shelves are not the foods we were designed to eat. Ninety percent of the average American diet is fake food out of a box, can, jar, or tube.

The foods many react adversely to are relatively new in our food supply—soy, gluten from hybridized wheat, corn, sugar, and highly pasteurized dairy, for example. These modern foods are foreign to your body, so it’s common to have problematic reactions, including inflammatory and autoimmune responses, which can lead to allergies, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and the list goes on and on. One of every four Americans now has type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes.

Americans have shunned fats for the last 40 years after being told they cause heart disease, when the real culprit is sugar. The epidemic of brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, and the like are evidence of what happens when your brain is starved of beneficial fats while being bombarded with toxic insults over time. Your brain is made up of fat, so it’s no surprise that low-fat diets have been linked to depression and suicidal or homicidal behavior.

We have outsourced the making of our food to corporations that have cut corners, added chemicals, and altered the genetic makeup of what we eat—it’s not food anymore but rather “edible manufactured products.” Our children pay the heaviest price, becoming biochemically enslaved to sugar. This is not an exaggeration as studies have shown sugar to be eight times as addictive as cocaine. Would it be okay if the government began marketing and subsidizing cocaine? Of course not, but that’s exactly what they’re doing with sugar with their subsidization of the corn and fructose industry and manipulative marketing campaigns.

Adding a sedentary lifestyle to a massively unhealthy diet creates the perfect storm for “diabesity.” Our ancestors were in constant motion, hunting, building and carrying things, escaping from predators, etc. Today, people barely move. Sitting for more than eight hours a day is associated with a 90 percent increased risk of type 2 diabetes. For optimal health, you need to move near-continuously throughout the day, or at least avoid sitting down for more than three hours a day. And, to keep your body strong, you hunter-gatherer genes want you to exert an all-out effort occasionally, such as high intensity exercises, but few of us actually do this.

Your Health Depends on Soil Health, and Our Soils Are Dying

​Just as your gut houses a microbiome that’s critical for your health, our soils contain a microbiome critical to the health of the planet. Your health is directly related to the quality of the food you eat, and the quality of your food depends on the health of the soil in which it’s grown. As above, so below. In the rhizosphere, microorganisms form nodules on the roots of plants to help them take up minerals and other nutrients from the soil. Unfortunately, modern industrial agriculture (monoculture) destroys much of the soil’s microbiome. Heavy agrichemical use and GE crops rapidly destroy once-fertile soils that took centuries to develop. Removing the stress on a plant by dousing it with chemical fertilizers and insecticide cocktails causes it to become weak, producing less of the natural phytochemicals so vital for your health.

Although arrogant molecular biologists believe they know, the reality is that we really don’t know what effects tampering with the genetics of our food supply will have on your health and your children’s health over the long run. I expose their fraud in my fascinating interview with Steven Druker, slated to be published next month. Many experts believe GE foods are contributing to the growing chronic disease epidemics seen today. Despite what industry says, GE foods are not the answer to world hunger. On the contrary, sustainable agriculture that works in harmony with nature instead of against it has been proven to double crop yield
.
The United Nations published in a study in 2010 concluding that if the world were switched to agroecological techniques, on the same farming footprint existing today, we could double world food production in about 10 years and begin to heal many of the insults of the chemical era. We must rekindle our relationship with food, go back into our kitchens and start cooking again. In 1900, only two percent of meals were eaten outside of the home, but today it’s more than half.

Your Future Depends on Your Choices Today

Many inroads have been made improving access to local and sustainable foods, but we still have a long way to go. Building a food system that relies heavily on locally grown foods is the answer to many of our global problems, from environmental destruction to hunger and disease. The most powerful tool you have for change is your fork—you vote with your fork three times a day! Are you going to support the companies that are poisoning you and your children, or will you support the people who are raising food in a way that’s a win-win for you and the earth and everyone?

Real food may seem more expensive, but it’s your primary health care, and cheap food isn’t cheap when you consider the risk of extinction. As you’ve seen, nature isn’t “out there”—it’s in your own body, in your own home and all around you. All life on earth is inextricably linked. Every time you make a choice, you’re changing the world and influencing our future. The goal isn’t to abandon technology and return to ancient times, but rather to harness technology for the betterment of all and proceed with mindfulness and reverence. As stated in the film, “The wisdom of the ancients is the medicine of the future.”

Your health is under siege from every direction. Environmental toxins, ultra-processed foods, EMFs, government-subsidized GMOs and a host of other threats surround us. It is simply not possible to protect yourself unless you are armed with cutting edge health information.

It may seem that health and wellness are no longer the norm. An opioid epidemic sweeps the country, the obesity rate is skyrocketing, life expectancy is dropping and chronic diseases are rampant. Our communities are being damaged at every level and the only way to reverse these trends is through education and personal example. My 30-tip plan provides you with the tools you need to take control of your health. The time is ripe for revolution — a health revolution. - Dr. Mercola

The role of inflammation in fibromyalgia has been the topic of debate for decades. In fact, the condition used to be called “fibrositis,” which means “fibrous-tissue inflammation.” Due to an apparent lack of inflammation, the name was replaced with fibromyalgia (fibrous tissue and muscle pain) because it was believed to be more accurate. But now many researchers are finding connections with chronic inflammation that may contribute to the pain and fatigue of fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia is frequently referred to as an arthritis-related condition. However, it does not cause joint damage or inflammation, as arthritis does. Nor does fibromyalgia cause damage to muscle and other tissues. Because of this, it was believed that fibromyalgia was not an inflammatory condition.

In recent years, multiple studies have revealed several markers of inflammation in people with fibromyalgia, including high levels of C-reactive protein and pro-inflammatory cytokines.

C-reactive protein is produced by the liver. The level of C-reactive protein can be measured in your blood and increases when there is inflammation in your body.

​Cytokines are proteins that are produced by cells which act as communicators in the immune system. There are both pro-inflammatory cytokines and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Pro-inflammatory cytokines promote systemic inflammation and play a key role in persistent and exaggerated pain states.

What Is Inflammation?

Inflammation is part of the body’s healing process. Without inflammation, infections and wounds would not heal. But inflammation can also be potentially harmful. There are two types of inflammation, acute and chronic.

Acute inflammation comes on suddenly from an injury or infection. It presents classic symptoms such as swelling, redness and pain. Acute inflammation is temporary, lasting from a few days to a couple of weeks, depending on the cause of the inflammation.

Chronic inflammation is long-term inflammation that lasts for months and years. It comes about slowly and sets the stage for chronic diseases. Heart disease, autoimmune diseases, neurological diseases, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, arthritis and many other conditions are linked to chronic inflammation.

The causes of chronic inflammation include poor diet, stress, lack of exercise, chronic infections, and allergens or toxins from food or the environment.

Inflammation In Fibromyalgia

For decades it was believed that fibromyalgia was not an inflammatory condition because it doesn’t appear like most inflammatory disease. Joints don’t look swollen and typical tests for inflammatory markers generally reveal normal or only slightly elevated levels in fibromyalgia. Whereas, diseases such as lupus and arthritis present high levels of inflammatory markers.

Fibromyalgia research has been focusing on the possible contribution of inflammation to disease progression, and is finding some interesting results. We now have evidence suggesting inflammation may play a role, after all.

These are some of the findings:

• Skin Cells – A study from 2010 showed elevated levels of mast cells – which release inflammatory chemicals in response to various triggers – in the skin of people with fibromyalgia.
• Fascia – Another study in 2010 suggests that it could be the fascia (a thin layer of connective tissue) that’s inflamed in fibromyalgia. The research concludes that fascial dysfunction and inflammation may be what leads to central sensitization, which is believed to be a core feature of fibromyalgia.
• Stress Response – In 2012, researchers found that there was an inflammatory state that seemed to be tied to an abnormal response to stress. They were unable to determine whether inflammation leads to stress dysfunction or stress dysfunction leads to inflammation.
• Mitrochondria – In 2013, Spanish researchers theorized that inflammation in fibromyalgia could be the result of dysfunction in the mitochondria (cells that break down nutrients to create energy).
• Brain Inflammation – Scientists have discovered that brain inflammation caused by chronic nerve pain can affect signaling in the regions of the brain associated with mood and motivation. This discovery suggests there is a mechanism that connects chronic pain with symptoms of depression and anxiety.
• Poor Sleep – Poor sleep quality and short sleep durations are associated with higher levels of inflammation. Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, found in a study that sleep deprivation or poor sleep quality raises inflammation.

​Fibromyalgia Inflammation Treatment Options

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID’s) and steroids are the primary treatments for inflammation. Unfortunately, anti-inflammatory medications have been tested in people with fibromyalgia and do not improve symptoms.
The options we have to lower our inflammation are listed below:

• Massage – Manual therapies that target the fascia may be effective. That includes trigger point therapy (myofascial release) and a deep-tissue manipulation called rolfing.
• Exercise – Exercise can suppress the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. In separate studies, gentle exercises such as warm-water exercise and yoga have been shown to reduce cytokines in people with fibromyalgia.
• Supplements – Anti-inflammatory supplements include:
  • Ginger
  • CoQ10
  • Omega-3 Fatty Acids
  • Rhodiola rosea
  • Turmeric (curcumin)
• Diet – Many doctors recommend an anti-inflammatory diet for inflammatory conditions. Although we don’t have research on whether it works for fibromyalgia. I have been following an anti-inflammatory diet for the couple of years and it has helped me.

Conclusion

Although there is no visible inflammation in fibromyalgia, the inflammatory factors are there and they are measurable. Multiple studies have revealed several markers of inflammation in people with fibromyalgia. Preliminary evidence suggests excess cytokines may be responsible fibromyalgia symptoms. These findings are uncovering new possibilities for fibromyalgia causation, as well as treatment options. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, we will have more answers and treatments that actually work. -Shared by FibroDaze

Are you getting enough vitamin D? According to recent studies, there’s a good chance you aren’t. In 2009, researchers reported levels of vitamin D in the U.S. population had dropped between the years of 1988 and 1994, and then again between 2001 and 2004. Not only had average levels dropped, more than 75 percent of the people studied had inadequate levels of vitamin D in their blood.

Vitamin D deficiency is linked with an increased risk for serious diseases. Reduced levels of the vitamin are associated with cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, and autoimmune disorders. Deficiency is also linked with multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, depression, fibromyalgia, and more. That’s why it’s so import to get enough vitamin D. But identifying vitamin D deficiency can be tricky.
Our bodies don’t make vitamin D, so we have to get it from our environment. The primary source of vitamin D is the sun, but we can also get it from some foods. Lifestyle, race, age, and other factors can put you at risk for vitamin D deficiency

The truth is that it’s extremely difficult to tell whether you have a vitamin D deficiency. The only way to be absolutely sure is to take a blood test. Most people with a vitamin D deficiency won’t be aware of it. It doesn’t usually produce noticeable symptoms. However, symptoms are possible. If you are vitamin D deficient, you may experience:

• muscle/joint pain and weakness
• bone pain
• tiredness or fatigue
• depression

​Your body is designed to get the vitamin D it needs by producing it when your bare skin is exposed to sunlight. The part of the sun’s rays that is important is ultraviolet B (UVB). This is the most natural way to get vitamin D.

​Large amounts of vitamin D3 are made in your skin when you expose all of your body to summer sun. This happens very quickly; around half the time it takes for your skin to turn pink and begin to burn. This could be just 15 minutes for a very fair skinned person, yet a couple of hours or more for a dark skinned person.
You don’t need to tan or to burn your skin in order to get the vitamin D you need. Exposing your skin for a short time will make all the vitamin D your body can produce in one day. In fact, your body can produce 10,000 to 25,000 IU of vitamin D in just a little under the time it takes for your skin to turn pink. You make the most vitamin D when you expose a large area of your skin, such as your back, rather than a small area such as your face or arms.

The assumption that vitamin D supplements will protect you against diseases associated with low vitamin D levels is incorrect, according to Australian researchers. The report found that vitamin D supplements are immunosuppressive and may actually make diseases worse. 

Vitamin D Nuclear Receptor (VDR) influences the expression of over 1,000 genes, including those associated with diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis. According to the new study, supplemental vitamin D actually blocks VDR activation, which is the opposite effect to that of sunshine. Instead of positively impacting gene expression, vitamin D supplements appear to suppress your immune system.

Vitamin D has a remarkable role to play in your health, influencing nearly 3,000 of your 25,000 genes, and playing a critical role in your immune response. Vitamin D could rightly be described as a “miracle nutrient” for your immune system, as it enables your body to produce well over 200 antimicrobial peptides, which are indispensable in fighting off a wide range of infections.
​

Your body is capable of generating electricity, and this ability is actually a key part of your achieving health. Electricity allows your nervous system to send signals to your brain. These signals are actually electrical charges that are delivered from cell to cell, allowing for nearly instantaneous communication.

The messages conducted via electrical signals in your body are responsible for controlling the rhythm of your heartbeat, the movement of blood around your body, and much more.

Your biological clock even uses electrical activity in order to help keep your circadian rhythms in order.1 You are, quite simply, an electrical being. If electrical activity stops in your body, you cannot survive. But how, exactly, does this electrical activity take place?

How Does Your Body Produce Electricity?

The video above, from The Medicine Journal,2 gives a concise explanation of the complex process your body uses to generate electricity. Inside your body are atoms that are made up of positively charged protons, negatively charged electrons, and neutrons (which are neutral).

An atom with unbalanced charges will become either positively or negatively charged, and the switch from one charge to the other allows electrons to flow from one atom to another. This is what is referred to as electricity.3
​
Your cells generate electrical charges via electrolytes like sodium and potassium using a mechanism known as the "sodium-potassium gate." As Discovery Health explained:4

"When your body needs to send a message from one point to another, it opens the gate. When the membrane gate opens, sodium and potassium ions move freely into and out of the cell.

Negatively charged potassium ions leave the cell, attracted to the positivity outside the membrane, and positively charged sodium ions enter it, moving toward the negative charge. The result is a switch in the concentrations of the two types of ions -- and rapid switch in charge.

This flip between positive and negative generates an electrical impulse. This impulse triggers the gate on the next cell to open, creating another charge, and so on. In this way, an electrical impulse moves from a nerve in your stubbed toe to the part of your brain that senses pain."

It is because of your body's electrical activity that defibrillators, which deliver an electric shock to your heart, may work to restore heart rhythm and why receiving the wrong type of shock, like an electric shock or lightning strike, can essentially "fry" your body's electrical system. The opposite also holds true in that you can actually harness the electrical charge of the Earth to positively influence your health in numerous ways.

Your Body Can Absorb Free Electrons from the Earth

The Earth carries an enormous negative charge. It's always electron-rich and can serve as a powerful and abundant supply of antioxidant and free-radical-busting electrons.

Your body is finely tuned to "work" with the Earth in the sense that there's a constant flow of energy between your body and the Earth. When you put your feet on the ground, you absorb large amounts of negative electrons through the soles of your feet.

The effect is sufficient to maintain your body at the same negatively charged electrical potential as the Earth. This simple process is called "grounding" or "earthing," and its effect is one of the most potent antioxidants we know of.

Grounding has been shown to relieve pain, reduce inflammation, improve sleep, enhance wellbeing, and much, much more. When you wear rubber- or plastic-soled shoes, however, you are effectively shielding yourself from this beneficial influx of electrons from the Earth.
​
​Why It's So Important to Stay Grounded

Grounding's potent antioxidant effect helps alleviate inflammation throughout your body, a potentially life-saving benefit since inflammation is at the root of most diseases, including heart disease.

According to Dr. Stephen Sinatra, a prominent cardiologist, inflammation thrives when your blood is thick and you have a lot of free radical stress, and a lot of positive charges in your body. Grounding effectively alleviates inflammation because it thins your blood and infuses you with negatively charged ions through the soles of your feet.

Grounding helps thin your blood by improving its zeta potential, which means it improves the energy between your red blood cells. Research has demonstrated it takes about 80 minutes for the free electrons from the earth to reach your bloodstream and transform your blood.

Hypercoagulable (thick, slow-moving) blood contributes to chronic inflammation, because when your blood does not flow well, oxygen can't get to your tissues. Grounding's effect on blood thinning is so profound that if you are taking blood thinners, you must work with your health care provider to lower your dose otherwise you may overdose on the medication. 

​Grounding Helps Neutralize Free Radicals

Interestingly, grounding research has now discovered that if you place your feet on the ground after an injury (or on a grounded sheet, or place grounding patches on the balls of your feet), electrons will migrate into your body and spread through your tissues. Any free radicals that leak into the healthy tissue will immediately be electrically neutralized. This occurs because the electrons are negative, while the free radicals are positive, so they cancel each other out. As noted by Dr. James Oschman, an expert in the field of energy medicine:

"So really what is happening with grounding or earthing is that you're protecting your body from -- I call it, collateral damage… Damage that was not intended to take place but does take place because we have disconnected ourselves from the Earth by putting rubber and plastic on the bottoms of our shoes."

Free radical stress from exposure to pollution, cigarettes, insecticides, pesticides, trans fats, and radiation, just to name a few, continually deplete your body of electrons. Simply by getting outside, barefoot, touching the Earth, and allowing the excess charge in your body to discharge into the Earth, you can alleviate some of the stress continually put on your system. Walking barefoot can help ameliorate the constant assault of electromagnetic fields and other types of radiation from cell phones, computers, and Wi-Fi. It's also thought that grounding may actually facilitate the formation of structured water in your body.

Furthermore, grounding also calms your sympathetic nervous system, which supports your heart rate variability. And, when you support heart rate variability, this promotes homeostasis, or balance, in your autonomic nervous system. This is important because anytime you improve your heart rate variability, you're improving your entire body and all its functions. If you want to learn more, check out the Grounded documentary (in which I actually appear). You'll hear first-hand accounts from residents of Haines, Alaska who have overcome chronic pain, sleep apnea, and much more simply by getting grounded.

How to Reconnect with the Earth's Electrical Charge

Many Americans spend most of their waking hours wearing shoes with rubber or plastic soles. These materials are very effective insulators, which is precisely why they're used to insulate electrical wires. Yet, they also effectively disconnect you from the Earth's natural electron flow. Wearing leather-soled shoes will allow you to stay grounded with the Earth, as will walking barefoot, but you'll need to do so on the proper surface.

Good grounding surfaces include:

• Sand (beach)
• Grass (preferably moist)
• Bare soil
• Concrete and brick (as long as it's not painted or sealed)
• Ceramic tile

The following surfaces will NOT ground you:

• Asphalt
• Wood
• Rubber and plastic
• Vinyl
• Tar or tarmac

Like eating right, exercising, and sleeping, grounding can be described as yet another lifestyle habit that supports optimal health by supporting your body's "electrical" connection with the Earth. It's supported and backed by prominent medical doctors, scientists including Dr. David Suzuki, NASA astronauts, and was used by ancient civilizations who placed strong value on their relationship to the Earth.

As mentioned, simply taking off your shoes as much as you can when you're outdoors will help you take advantage of natural grounding opportunities. When indoors, using a grounding pad or sheet is an excellent way to stay grounded while you're working or sleeping. (For frequent travelers, I typically bring a grounding pad with me when I fly, too.) - Dr. Mercola

Overloaded toxicity could be a major contributor to fibromyalgia.  We store everything in plastic.  Plastic containers from fast food restaurants are harvested and reused to keep our leftovers organized.  Yet, are you aware of the chemicals made to produce these items?  And, sadly, we reheat our leftovers in the microwave allowing the basic components of plastic to leach into our food.  It's no wonder there are so many individuals being stricken with auto immune disorders. We intentionally sell our systems short!

Toxins, Endocrine Disruptors And Carcinogens That Migrate From The Molecules Of  Different Plastic Containers To Their Contents

PET: Polyethylene Terephthalate 
Used for: Soda Bottles, Water Bottles, Peanut Butter Jars, Cooking Oil 
  BottlesWhat migrates from plastic container to contents: Acetaldehyde 

HDPE: High-Density Polyethylene 
Used for: Milk Jugs, Detergent bottles, Plastic Bags, Yogurt Cups
What migrates from plastic container to contents: Antioxidants, BHT, 
Chimassorb 81, Irganox PS 800, Irganix 1076, Irganox 1010 

PVC: Polyvinyl Chloride 
Used for: Water Bottles, Salad Dressing Bottles, Detergent Bottles, Cooking 
Oil Bottles, Shampoo Bottles, Mouth Wash Bottles, Meat Wrap, Also: Babies’ 
Teething Rings, Pacifiers, Nipples and Toys (Barbie for example). 
What migrates from plastic container to contents: Plasticizers (Lead, 
Cadmium, Mercury, Phthalates and the carcinogen, Diethyl Hexyphosphate) 

LDPE: Low-Density Polyethylene 
Used for: Produce Bags, Food Storage Containers 
What migrates from plastic container to contents: Antioxidants, BHT, 
Chimassorb 81, Irganox PS 800, Irganix 1076, Irganox 1010 

PP: Polypropylene 
Used for: Bottle Caps, Drinking Straws 
What migrates from plastic container to contents: BHT, Chimassorb 81, Irganox 
PS 800, Irganix 1076, Irganox 1010 

PS: Polystyrene 
Used for: Meat Trays, Foam Take-Out Food Containers & Cups (not in 
Berkeley!), Foam Packing Materials 
What migrates from plastic container to contents: Styrene (traces found in 
nearly everyone’s body fat) 

Other 
Used for: Laminated Containers requiring properties of more than one type of resin. 
What migrates from plastic container to contents: Depends on plastics used. 

If you must store in plastic containers, by all means ensure the food you tote to and fro is contained in glass when you are out.  Pyrex glass containers are an excellent source to transport your food and ensure no compounds are leached into your fare.  Simply remove cap, microwave, and enjoy!  No health hazards in these containers.