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"...increased gut permeability..." & "... sugar weakens the immune..."

Dr. Stoll:

I found this seaching for info on biobeedback on the WEB.
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When it comes to battling chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), supplements
are only part of the picture. Medical experts agree that the overall quality
of your diet also makes a big difference in how you feel. Here are a few
dietary changes that might prove helpful.

Go easy on sugar. "Eating too much refined sugar weakens the immune
system and may inhibit the ability of white blood cells to stay active," says
Allan Magaziner, D.O., director of the Magaziner Medical Center in
Cherry Hill, New Jersey. "Both of those factors play roles in CFS."

Some research suggests that people with CFS are deficient in an enzyme
needed to metabolize sugar, says Paul Cheney, M.D., a CFS specialist
and director of the Cheney Clinic in Charlotte, North Carolina. The result
is a buildup of lactic acid in the bloodstream, which can lead to muscle
pain, vascular headaches and neuropsychiatric disorders such as panic
attacks, all of which are associated with CFS.

"We recommend avoiding sugar as much as possible, but if you're going to
have an indiscretion, have dessert after a meal instead of eating something
sweet on an empty stomach," says Dr. Cheney. "That slows down the
absorption of the sugar, so you don't get a sharp elevation in lactic acid."

Don't depend on caffeine. When you're exhausted all of the time, there's
a great temptation to depend on caffeine to make you more alert. "But it's
also important to avoid or cut back on foods that may cause loss of
minerals. Caffeine is one example," says Dr. Magaziner.

Trim the fat. By now just about everyone has gotten the message that a
low-fat diet is essential for overall health. This advice takes on new
importance for the person with CFS, since fatty foods are difficult to digest
and can cause a general sluggish feeling, the last thing a person with CFS
needs. "There's also some evidence that too much fat in the diet can have
an adverse effect on immunity," says Dr. Magaziner.

Eat healthy. The optimum diet for a person with CFS is the same as for
anyone who's aiming for optimum health: high in fiber and complex
carbohydrates, with lots of fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains. Dr.
Magaziner also tells people with CFS to avoid processed foods, which are
often full of additives, preservatives and artificial colorings and flavorings.

Get tested for food allergies. People with CFS are particularly prone to
food allergies and often improve significantly when the allergies are
detected and treated, says Dr. Cheney. "It seems to be a combination of
difficulty digesting protein and increased gut permeability," he says. In
other words, he explains, often the intestines of a person with CFS
absorbs substances from foods that would pass right through the digestive
tract in a healthy person.

Dr. Cheney treats the problem with enzymes to improve protein digestion
and, in extreme cases, by eliminating the foods that cause the most
problems. "Generally speaking, red meat, wheat and dairy seem to be the
most problematic," says Dr. Cheney.

If you suspect that food allergies are making your symptoms worse,
discuss the problem with your physician.

Fighting Back with Coenzyme Q10. Coenzyme Q10 sounds like
something that might be prescribed in sick bay on Star Trek. But for those
doing daily battle with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), they just might
hear about it from their doctors, according to Paul Cheney, M.D., a CSF
specialist and director of the Cheney Clinic in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Coenzyme Q10 is available in supplement form in drugstores and health
food stores. This little-known nutrient isn't exactly a vitamin, although its
chemical makeup is similar to that of vitamins E and K. Experts believe
that like vitamin K, coenzyme Q10 can be manufactured by the body,
though it's also found in soybeans, vegetable oils and many meats.

Like vitamins C and E and beta-carotene, coenzyme Q10 is a member of
the antioxidant family, a group of nutrients that protect your body's tissues
from everyday wear and tear by disarming destructive free radicals. Free
radicals are unstable molecules that wreak havoc at the cellular level by
stealing electrons from your body's healthy molecules to balance
themselves.

Besides being a potent antioxidant, coenzyme Q10 has an important
function in energy production: It reacts with another enzyme to let cells
convert protein, fat and carbohydrates into energy.

While people with CFS aren't deficient in coenzyme Q10, they seem to
have functional shortages of the enzyme it reacts with, explains Dr.
Cheney. Taking extra coenzyme Q10 prompts the body to improve the
function of this partner enzyme. And the better the partner enzyme works,
the better the body's ability to convert food into energy.

Dr. Cheney prescribes large doses of coenzyme Q10 for his patients, who
are under his close medical supervision. For people with CFS who'd like
to try coenzyme Q10 on their own, he recommends a daily dose of 200
milligrams, taken in divided doses under the tongue. And since this nutrient
is fat-soluble, it should be taken with a little bit of fat or oil (although some
supplements are in an oil base, similar to vitamin E capsules).

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