RLS - what cured me might work for you

[philjaq]

Just watched the RLS program on ch5. I had RLS for many years ( i'd estimate between 1991-2005 ). Felt a little like cramp in the back of my knee/hamstring, or like lemonade was bubbling below the surface of my calves, or ants crawling under my shins etc. Absolutely awful and i felt so helpless and frustrated. I (eventually) tried keeping a diet diary and a record of when it was good/bad and after a few weeks a clear pattern emerged: i'd get it soon after drinking drinks with sweetener in - particularly asparteme. I've since avoided all sweeteners and have had no RLS in 10 years. It's unlikely sweeteners are the root cause for everyone but it's worth trying.

[Hidden]

Good call, I use sweeteners, time to stop...

[philjaq in reply to Hidden]

If you google "restless legs and aspartame" there's plenty of others too it seems have made a connection. Good luck!

[Hidden]

You are right to avoid sweeteners - they can exacerbate RLS and are poison anyway. I avoid them like the plague - I've found my kids with sweets made almost entirely of sugar with sweeteners in them! You got to read the labels.

[Joolsg]

It's poison for most people with RLS along with caffeine, alcohol and chocolate. My son comes home from uni, looks in the fridge and laughs- We only have fresh fruit and veg and fish in there now. No dairy, soft drinks, processed food etc. God, how I wish I could eat any of that unhealthy stuff again, but it's just not worth it.

[Chancery]

I get this phenomenon with Sucralose, very clearly, as in - drink something with even a trace of Sucralose, x hours later there's the RLS.