It’s another fabulous Fibro Friday, and I’m excited to bring you another protocol that may offer you (and me too, hopefully) some additional insight into how to best treat and minimize your fibromyalgia symptoms. Last week, I shared the Liptan Protocol, as promoted by Dr. Ginevra Liptan. This week, we’ll examine the protocol of another health expert.

The Singh Khalsa Protocol is the recommended routine as taught by Karta Purkh Singh (KP) Khalsa, former president of the American Herbalist Guild. He is a dietitian-nutritionist and herbalist, with over 45 years of experience as an herbalist. Within herbalism, his specialty is ayurveda, and many of his teachings reflect ayurvedic principles, especially when it comes to personal constitution (whether someone is vata, pitta or kapha) and conditions within the body (dampness, dryness, etc.). Singh Khalsa is also a published author, focusing on healing the body and improving overall quality of life.

I first learned about Singh Khalsa through a free webinar as published by the American Herbalist Guild. Since it was designed as instructional material, it is quite a bit longer than the video posted about the Liptan Protocol. Due to the length of the video, I will highlight some key takeaways from the video, as well as share a briefer interview with Singh Khalsa, where he discusses the treatment of neurological disorders (which most experts agree covers fibromyalgia).

As noted by Singh Khalsa, some aspects of his approach to treating fibromyalgia are as follows:

• Understand that fibromyalgia IS NOT an inflammatory condition in and of itself (though there may be some concurrent inflammation that makes pain symptoms worse).
• An elimination diet can help reduce food allergies and food sensitivities, which can exacerbate symptoms. He recommends an oligoantigenic diet to start the food elimination journey.
• Fibromyalgia is considered a “cold” disease per ayurveda.
• Symptoms can be improved through a variety of herbal preparations, including extracts from meadowsweet, hops, notopterygium root, kava root and others.
• Effectively managing fibromyalgia requires a total lifestyle change.
• His approach addresses treating the nervous and endocrine systems, where the actual dysfunction (disorder) is rooted. He remains adamant that treating the syndrome like a musculoskeletal issues ensures a far less effective treatment results.
• His treatment approach is THRIVE: Touch (massage and bodywork), Herbs and hormones, Rest, rebalance and sleep, Immunity, Vitamins and nutrition, and Exercise. He prioritizes sleep over all other treatments, and recommends that people with fibromyalgia “bank” sleep (sleep more than the amount that the patient feels is needed), because more sleep helps to heal the body.

As you can see, many of the aspects of the Singh Khalsa Protocol are similar to the Liptan Protocol (especially as regards the emphasis on sleep and overhauling the patient’s lifestyle). I love that both protocols complement one another, and there are no points that are in conflict. I’ve taken some notes from Singh Khalsa (as well as Dr. Liptan) and I’m encouraged by the fact that he and Dr. Liptan both seem fairly confident that, by adhering to their protocols, it is possible to restore the body to it’s pre-fibro level of functioning, though, as Singh Khalsa mentions, the person may be a bit more “fragile” after recovery. The overall end goal is to live a full and happy life without pain, and it is possible according to Singh Khalsa.

Here’s the lecture taught by Singh Khalsa at Loyola Marymount University:

Reviewing this protocol has given me much food for thought: it’s a good thing that this is a holiday weekend! I hope you all have a safe and fun Fourth of July (for my USA friends) and a great weekend, no matter where you are. Take care, and I’ll talk to you all on Monday!