Fish and Fibromyalgia

admin — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 18:40:57 +0000

Dear Dr. Ruth,
My question: I listened to your program on the radio this past Sunday & you were talking about poisoning from fish which contributes to fibromyalgia (FMS). I was diagnosed with FMS in 1999. Could you tell me more about this? What kind of poisoning is it? How does one get tested for it? What is the treatment?
Thank you.
Irene

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Dear Irene,
Thank you for your question and it makes me happy to know that someone is
listening!Your question brings up just one of the many reasons fish should not be known as a “health food.” Although ciguatera poisoning was not directly linked to FMS, but to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), I suspect both are very much related and difficult to differentiate.

As far as specifics are concerned, this is cutting edge research so doctors won’t know much about this yet. This was a fairly recent discovery by Dr. Hokama at the University of Hawaii and was published in a couple of psychiatric/neurologic journals.

The treatment is to stop ingesting the ciguatera toxin which, of course, means quit eating fish of all types. The toxin originates in the algae which is eaten by small reef fish which are then eaten by larger fish — and larger fish, until you get to the tuna, or whatever fish is being caught for consumption by humans. So it’s impossible to say which fish have it or which don’t because the testing is difficult and expensive. It can even be in fish oil capsules.

The diagnostic testing was actually done here at the University of Hawaii from blood samples from all over the country. They measured the levels of ciguatera toxin in the blood of patients with CFS, hepatitis, and controls (those with no symptoms) and found toxic levels in 97% of those with symptoms. The researchers are also suspecting links to Alzheimer’s Disease.

Recovery, which, of course, can only start after the stopping of eating contaminated fish, may take a long time, in fact, years. Large doses of Vitamin B-12 may be helpful in regenerating nerves.

You can read the original UH paper by Dr. Hokama at
www.ncf-net.org

Hope this helps,

Dr. Ruth

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Beans, Soy, Weight gain and B12

admin — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 17:56:25 +0000

Dear Dr. Ruth,
Is it possible to be a healthy Vegan/Vegetarian without eating beans/legumes/soy? If yes, should I avoid grains if I don’t eat beans and only eat nuts/oily seeds/vegetables/fruit? I’m an underweight male hgt 5’7″ wgt 52 kg who would like to gain weight.

I currently eat :nuts (almonds,cashews,walnuts) seeds (sesame, sunflower,pumpkin,flax) whole sourdough spelt bread, Vegetables, and Fruit spirulina + seaweed. I’ve started eating a coddled egg twice weekly instead of a B12 supplement.
Shane

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Dear Shane,
I also don’t eat beans, legumes, or soy and I consider myself a very healthy vegan. Usually people eat those foods in the mistaken belief that you need them for protein. Actually, you get plenty of protein in fruits and vegetables. And I don’t eat any grains, either. Your best nutrition is in raw fruits and vegetables. The only food from the nuts/seeds category that I eat is flax seed for the omega 3s. So I don’t really think you need other nuts and seeds except for possibly getting more calories.

As far as being underweight, the real question is “what is your body fat percentage?” The scales don’t give a clue as you could be all muscle and no fat or vice versa! A look in the mirror and your athletic strength should be your best clues as to your best weight. The weight you want to gain is muscle, not fat, and that comes from resistance training. So lift more weight to get more muscle.

And lastly, I do recommend some source of B-12 other than eggs which don’t have that much B-12 but too much saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein which causes another set of problems. I get Red Star Nutritional Yeast with B-12 which I sprinkle on my morning meal.

Read some of my articles pertaining to this at www.RuthHeidrich.com or my book, A Race For Life.
Let me know if you have further questions.
Dr. Ruth

The post Beans, Soy, Weight gain and B12 first appeared on Ruth Heidrich, Ph.D.

B12 - Ruth Heidrich, Ph.D

Fish and Fibromyalgia

Beans, Soy, Weight gain and B12