Lots of people who have M.E. consider changing their diet or taking supplements like vitamins and minerals. It can be very confusing to know what to do and whether your day to day diet is adequate.
Some people have problems with their appetite and struggle to get a good enough intake of food. Other people find that because their activity levels have gone down due to the illness, they have put on extra weight. Others find they have lost weight - maybe in the early stage of their illness or if they have had a relapse and then find it difficult to put weight back on. If you are feeling very weak it may be really hard to feed yourself.
Everyone should aim to eat a daily balanced diet so try and have three balanced meals a day. If you are underweight try and have snacks between meals.
There are four different food groups that you need in your daily diet:
There is probably no harm in taking a multivitamin/ mineral supplement everyday. Think very carefully and talk to your doctor if you are thinking about changing to a special diet or starting a nutritional supplement and be very wary of people who insist that a certain approach will make you better. If this was the case Action for M.E. would be shouting it from the roof tops!
If you have stomach or gut problems that seem to be part of your M.E., some people find that it is because they have become intolerant of certain foods. The most common problems are not tolerating higher fibre diets (cereals, brown bread, etc), wheat or sometimes dairy products. It may be worth trying to avoid these (one at a time, each for a few weeks) to see if that makes a difference. If you plan to cut something out of your diet long-term, talk to your doctor as it is really important to make sure that you are still getting all the essential nutrients.
If eating and nutrition is a big issue for you, talk to someone you trust and go and see your GP for further advice and support. If you think you may have an eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia it is really important to get some help. See our links section for organisations that can help.
Information produced July 2003
Updated June 2004
