Investigating the Effectiveness of a Carb-Free Oloproteic Diet in Fibromyalgia Treatment

Nutrients. 2024 May 25;16(11):1620. doi: 10.3390/nu16111620.

Abstract

Fibromyalgia (FM), a chronic disease with a high incidence in women, poses a significant challenge for diagnosis and treatment, especially due to the absence of specific biomarkers and the multifaceted nature of its symptoms, which range from neuromuscular pain to mood disorders and intestinal dysbiosis. While diagnosis currently relies on rheumatological clinical evaluations and treatment options mainly focus on symptom management, FM seems to have possible links with systemic metabolic dysfunctions with a common inflammatory root. In this context, a new therapeutic avenue emerges: could a therapeutic nutritional approach be the missing piece of the puzzle? Indeed, diet therapies employed particularly for metabolic syndromes proved recently to be efficacious for correcting systemic dysmetabolism and a high number of chronic inflammation conditions. In particular, the very-low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD) demonstrated therapeutic benefits in many disorders. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the specific effects of two dietary interventions, namely the oloproteic VLCKD and the low-glycemic insulinemic (LOGI) diet, on two groups of female FM patients (FM1 and FM2) over a 45-day period. Utilizing clinical and laboratory tests, as well as non-invasive NMR metabolomic analysis of serum, urine, and saliva samples, we sought to uncover how these dietary regimens impact the metabolic dysfunctions associated with FM.

Keywords: 1H NMR metabolomics; biomarkers; fibromyalgia; very-low-calorie ketogenic diet.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Biomarkers / blood
  • Biomarkers / urine
  • Diet, Ketogenic* / methods
  • Female
  • Fibromyalgia* / diet therapy
  • Fibromyalgia* / therapy
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Biomarkers

Grants and funding

The “National Biodiversity Future Center” (identification code CN00000033, CUP B83C22002930006) on ‘Biodiversity’, financed under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4, Component 2, Investment 1.4 “Strengthening of research structures and creation of R&D ‘national champions’ on some Key Enabling Technologies”—Call for tender No. 3138 of 16 December 2021, rectified by Decree n.3175 of 18 December 2021 of Italian Ministry of University and Research funded by the European Union—NextGenerationEU; Award Number: Project code CN_00000033, Concession Decree No. 1034 of 17 June 2022 adopted by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, CUP—solo per CNR CUP B83C22002930006—Project title “National Biodiversity Future Center—NBFC”.