Vegan Mediterranean Diet Shows Benefits for Women With Fibromyalgia

A recent nutritional study found that women with fibromyalgia who followed a vegan version of the Mediterranean diet experienced significantly greater reductions in LDL cholesterol and triglycerides than those following a conventional Mediterranean diet. Participants in the vegan group also reported significantly greater reductions in pain.

The FIBROVEG study, a randomized, parallel-arm controlled trial conducted in Madrid, followed 22 women with fibromyalgia for six weeks. Participants were randomly assigned to either a vegan Mediterranean diet or a traditional Mediterranean diet, with 11 women completing each intervention.

The randomized, parallel-arm controlled trial followed 22 women with fibromyalgia in Madrid for six weeks. Participants were randomly assigned to either a vegan Mediterranean diet or a traditional Mediterranean diet, with 11 women completing each intervention.

Both diets provided similar amounts of energy and had comparable macronutrient distributions, allowing researchers to focus primarily on differences associated with the sources of food consumed. Assessments before and after the intervention examined cardiometabolic markers, body composition and fibromyalgia-related symptoms.

Fibromyalgia is associated with a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity. Although the precise nature of the relationship remains unclear, excess weight can exacerbate fibromyalgia symptoms, while symptoms of the condition can themselves contribute to weight gain.

Fibromyalgia is characterized by chronic pain, increased pain sensitivity, poor sleep, fatigue and reduced mobility and physical strength. Excess body weight has been associated with worsening of many of these symptoms and reduced quality of life.

At the same time, pain, fatigue and reduced mobility can discourage physical activity, potentially creating a self-reinforcing cycle in which symptoms and excess body weight compound one another.

Overweight and obesity are also associated with adverse cardiometabolic changes, including elevated triglycerides and LDL and total cholesterol. These factors can contribute to systemic inflammation and vascular dysfunction and may further aggravate fibromyalgia symptoms.

Given prior evidence linking both Mediterranean and plant-based diets with improvements in major cardiovascular risk factors, researchers sought to determine whether combining the two approaches could provide additional benefits.

The vegan Mediterranean diet retained extra virgin olive oil as its primary added fat, along with nuts and seeds and a high intake of legumes, fruits, vegetables and whole grains, while excluding meat, fish, dairy products, eggs and other animal-derived foods.

Compared with the traditional Mediterranean diet, the vegan version produced a 21.2-milligram-per-deciliter greater reduction in LDL cholesterol. Triglycerides also fell significantly more in the vegan group, with an estimated between-group difference of 27.4 milligrams per deciliter.

Women following the vegan Mediterranean diet also reported significantly greater improvement in the pain component of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire. Chronic pain is one of the condition’s most debilitating symptoms and can substantially affect daily activities, physical activity and sleep.

However, the researchers stressed that LDL cholesterol was the study’s primary outcome, while triglycerides, body composition and fibromyalgia-related symptoms were secondary exploratory outcomes. They also cautioned that the study involved a small number of participants and lasted only six weeks.

Larger, longer randomized trials will be needed to determine whether the observed improvements persist and are clinically significant over time.

Researchers also examined participants’ ability to follow the diets. While adherence was generally high during the intervention, participants following the vegan Mediterranean diet reported challenges associated with maintaining the dietary pattern, including self-discipline, meal preparation and perceived costs.

The findings nevertheless suggest that increasing the plant-based component of the Mediterranean diet may offer additional short-term cardiometabolic benefits for women with fibromyalgia while preserving olive oil as a central source of dietary fat.