If you have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia you need to be sure all the issues underlying the disorder are being addressed. One of those issues is nutrient deficiency. Most fibromyalgia patients are on several medications and I have had one patient who was on 17 medications!

Did you know that medications always cause nutrient deficiencies? It's true. So if you are on any medications you should find out what deficiencies you have. One particularly effective way to detect nutrient deficiency is with SpectraCell Micronutrient Testing. I use this special test to help many people find the deficiencies that are holding them back from the vibrant health and energy they long for.

Modern medicine has given us many new technologies that have brought better health and longer life to many. However, modern medicine has also increased our reliance on the latest drugs for our maladies. Instead of finding the root causes of our illnesses, we simply treat the symptoms with pharmaceuticals.

Chronic pain and autoimmune illnesses rank among the top health concerns that we often treat with drugs rather than look for the underlying cause. These medications do not make illnesses go away. They merely mask the symptoms and can have serious side effects of their own leading to yet more drugs to treat those symptoms. And the cycle goes on and on. It seems there must be a better way to approach chronic pain and autoimmune illnesses than the rows and rows of pill bottles stacking up in our medicine cabinets.

Chronic pain reaches into every aspect of your life. It affects how and even if you can work. It affects your relationships with family and friends. It affects your mood and your outlook on life. Chronic pain becomes an ever present companion, accompanying you wherever you go no matter what you do.

Many who live in chronic pain spend a lifetime trying to find the cause of their pain. Traditional medicine often treats the symptoms, addressing each ache and pain as it's own illness. Take this drug for this pain. Take another drug for another ache. You may often get conflicting advice as well. Try increasing your activity. No, you need to rest. Try ice. No, try heat. Well-meaning friends and family offer all kinds of advice and old wives' tales and maybe even accuse you of making it all up.

At what point do you give up on all the misguided medical advice and give in to a life of chronic pain?

Before you give up and give in, you need to know about a common cause for chronic pain and a problem that can be solved relatively simply. A sneaky culprit may have quietly been wreaking havoc on your body for years. Gluten.

What is Gluten?
Simply put, gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, malt, rye and some oats. People with a gluten sensitivity often have no idea the kind of destruction this protein is wreaking on their bodies. The traditional medical community has only recently started to acknowledge how gluten can cause damage.

People with a gluten sensitivity cannot digest this protein. As the protein travels through their digestive systems, it damages the villi in their intestines, the part of your intestines that gather nutrients from your food. Over time, you lose the ability to absorb nutrients into your body leading to a host of health problems including:

So you've wisely committed to changing your diet and lifestyle in order to put the odds in your favor to stop or slow down the autoimmune process that is plaguing you. You deserve credit for adopting health supporting dietary changes! Few people put in the effort that can pay off handsomely with great dividends. Sometimes you run out of creative ideas for delicious food to eat, especially ones that are easy to eat on the go, or that your children will like.

I going to explain the difference between Celiac Disease and Gluten Sensitivity. Celiac Disease is one kind of gluten sensitivity. It is not the only kind of gluten sensitivity.

Below is a list of various nutrients that affect a person's ability to gain or lose weight.

• Zinc - reduces leptin, a beneficial hormone that regulates appetite, which is reversed by zinc repletion.

• Asparagine - this amino acid increases insulin sensitivity which helps the body store energy in muscle instead of storing it as body fat.

• Biotin - boosts metabolism by improving glycemic control (stabilizes blood sugar) and lowering insulin, a hormone that promotes fat formation.

• Carnitine - carries fatty acids into cell so they can be burned for fuel; Helps reduce visceral adiposity (belly fat).

• Calcium - inhibits the formation of fat cells; Also helps oxidize (burn) fat cells.

• Lipoic Acid - improves glucose uptake into cells, which helps a person burn carbohydrates more efficiently.

• Chromium - makes the body more sensitive to insulin, helping to reduce body fat and increase lean muscle.

• Vitamin B5 - taking B5 lowers body weight by activating lipoprotein lipase, an enzyme that burns fat cells. One study linked B5 supplementation to less hunger when dieting.

• Magnesium - low magnesium in cells impairs a person’s ability to use glucose for fuel, instead storing it as fat; Correcting a magnesium deficiency stimulates metabolism by increasing insulin sensitivity. Magnesium may also inhibit fat absorption.

• Glutamine - reduces fat mass by improving glucose uptake into muscle.

• Cysteine - supplementation with this antioxidant reduced body fat in obese patients.

• Inositol - supplementation may increase adiponectin levels.

• Vitamin B3 (niacin) - treatment with B3 increases adiponectin, a weight-loss hormone secreted by fat cells; Niacin-bound chromium supplements helped reduced body weight in clinical trials.

• Vitamin A - enhances expression of genes that reduce a person’s tendency to store food as fat; Reduces the size of fat cells.

• Vitamin E - inhibits pre-fat cells from changing into mature fat cells, thus reducing body fat.

• Vitamin D - deficiency strongly linked to poor metabolism of carbohydrates; Genes that are regulated by vitamin D may alter the way fat cells form in some people.

• Vitamin K - poor vitamin K status linked to excess fat tissue; Vitamin K helps metabolize sugars.