Nutrivore and Fibromyalgia

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I love research and evidence-based decisions. That is why the nutrivore food template works for me. In this post I’ll share how I came settle on a nutrivore pattern, what it is and how to get more information about it.

nutrivore and fibromyalgia

A nutrivore is someone who bases food choices on nutrient density. The term was coined by doctor Sarah Ballantyne of paleomom.com. She has created a wonderful calculation that assigns a nutrivore score to different foods.

The basic idea is that a great many illnesses are caused by nutrient deficiencies, so this way of eating seeks to remedy this. More on this shortly.

Please remember that nutrition is likely to be one part of the wellness puzzle for us. It’s a basic human need to eat well and fuel our body with nutrients needed for optimal wellbeing. It’s also true that some food intolerances and deficiencies can mimic fibromyalgia. Don’t start any nutritional changes thinking it will be a cure and please seek feedback.

My Research Into Nutrition and Fibromyalgia

The decision to try an eating protocol has been one long in the making.

I have researched, read many books, and watched countless YouTube videos by doctors.

I read about how all of the “red meat is unhealthy” research is weak. How vegetables have an important place in our diet. And got a bit confused.

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Here’s the gist: Eat real food. That our great grandparents would have grown up with.

I did consider a more strict eating plan like keto or The Wahls Protocol. There is research for both, here’s one example:

“The implementation of a whole-food diet that restricts ultra-processed foods is a valid pain management tool; however, a low-carbohydrate ketogenic diets may have potentially greater pain reduction, weight loss and mood improvements.” See this article here.

I just don’t love cutting entire food groups, with good nutritional value, for no good reason (personal intolerance would be one). I also have to be pretty careful with chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, existing nutrient deficiencies and four small children in the mix.

nutrivore and fibromyalgia

The dietary plans that most resonate with me are The Wahls Protocol, the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) and the Nutritovore approach.

The first two are still in my back pocket if I need to step up a level.

Enter Nutrivore

A nutrivore is someone who bases food choices on nutrient density. The term was coined by doctor Sarah Ballantyne of paleomom.com. She has created a wonderful calculation that assigns a nutrivore score to different foods.

The basic idea is that a great many illnesses are caused by nutrient deficiencies, so this way of eating seeks to remedy this.

This approach appeals to me!

Not restrictive. Personalised. Focused on nutritional value of food.

It can be overlayed with whatever eating plan or intolerances you have. So it’s more a guide for nutritional optimization rather than a dietary plan in itself. To my, untrained, eye, it’s essentially paleo plus legumes (as the nutrients offered by legumes are great). But if you can’t tolerate them, feel free to exclude them.

The Nutrivore Bundle is the best place to start. This includes the Nutrivore guide (ebook) and the meal matrix (with tutorial) to help you easily calculate your nutrients. I loved the introduction in the tutorial video, the ease of using the meal matrix to track my nutrients across the week and the ebook really enabled me to dig into the fascinating research around nutrients.

There are also a ton of free resources in Dr Sarah’s free membership, you can check that out here.

Paleo mom free membership

If you have more extensive health issues, autoimmunity, gut issues that are really troubling you, you may like to consider the autoimmune protocol first or alongside this. Dr Sarah provides an AIP version of the Nutrivore Meal Matrix in the Nutrivore package.

My Nutrivore Journey

I decided that the place to start was to focus on ADDING nutrient dense food.

Organ meat, colourful vegetables, seafood and healthy fats.

For the first two months I simply added meat and seafood as I had been operating for many years on the assumption that meat was bad for you.

I felt more satiated. And got my tanked iron levels (the iron stores were basically gone) to normal with no infusion or injection! It should be noted that I also began a medicine that reduced blood flow during my heavy periods.

The below video shares how the first two weeks went using the templates from the Nutrivore pack.

My first two weeks using the Nutrivore template video

Each meal I began questioning how to make simple swaps to make it more nutrient dense. Rather than homemade fish and fries, I baked kumara chips. Instead of throwing together another salad with the same ingredients, I experimented with vegetable bakes with many different veggies.

The Nutrivore Weekly Serving Matrix

What I love about the nutrivore template is the simplicity. Tick off the foods as you eat them, double check portion guide at the top and don’t sweat foods that aren’t on the list. There’s no “avoid” list. Only a prioritise list.

It was fun to see how much I managed anyway in terms of servings of good food. So there was no need to fuss with the different types of vegetables, in particular. It was like a challenge to add things like mushrooms and healthy fats.

I imagine it would be harder for those less inclined to eat vegetables and who have previously eaten a more standard dietary pattern. However the importance is in progress, not perfection. Dr Sarah says this several times in the tutorial. So start where you are and then challenge yourself to add one more good food a week (or a day).

Will it change my symptoms? I don’t know. But I will report back!

nutrivore and fibromyalgia

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