Reversing fibromyalgia by Dr. Joe M. Elrod

This is part 1 of a 2 part series of books I've read on how nutrition is used to treat various health conditions.

Dr. Joe M. Elrod wrote Reversing Fibromyalgia back in 1997 and so it is a bit dated. Still, I wanted to learn more about fibromyalgia and how nutrition could help. Unfortunately, Dr. Elrod adds other conditions into his topic such as chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, and weight management. These may be associated condtions, but by reading the cover the reader would assume Dr. Elrod had found a miracle cure for a lot of ailments.

There are other instances in which Dr. Elrod makes statements that made me pause and wonder about his credibility. One thing I agreed with was his statement about pharmaceutical drugs. He explained that medications have serious side effects which may make a problem worse or exceed the original problem to begin with.

Unfortunately, I found the book pretty lightweight. There was not very much discussion on fibromyalgia at all. He quickly reviewed some studies which suggested possible causes for the disease and quickly claimed he had validated the cause and come up with a cure. There was little evidence to prove that was actually the case. The rest of the book was Elrod's cure, including exercise, and psychological helps.

Not to be too hard on Elrod, but his nutrition suggestions are not that unusual. Many of his suggestions can be found in other books on nutrition. He focuses on the use of some herbal supplements that he has found to help manage fibromyalgia symptoms, though he doesn't exactly explain in depth how or why. The nutritional supplement information is repeated in the book at least 2 more times. His suggestion to reduce fat laden foods and to exercise more is something we could all benefit from. I found the positive-thinking suggestion rather boring, but it may be helpful to some.

It is possible that Dr. Elrod has helped many people find relief from their symptoms. I would be hard pressed to call it a cure, but focusing on better nutrition and exercise is a good thing for every one.

Book Rating: 2 stars, there are probably better books on the topic.