Increase salt intake??

[Liz625]

After suffering for a few years with rls, I mentioned it to my mum. She simply said eat more salt. So I did: I add salt to my daily breakfast omelette and my rls has 95% gone. The effect was almost immediate. My personal thoughts on this are : reducing salt in your diet is one of the easier "healthly" lifestyle choices to make. I certainly never added salt to food and don't eat much processed food so my sodium level is going to be on the low side.

Additionally, I exercise a lot and sweat a lot and wasn't actively replacing lost salts.

Finally, some research suggests you g potassium levels to maintain a healthy sodium-potassium ratio but if you're not consuming enough sodium then I 'd imagine extra potassium is not going to be used: perhaps give it a go if you can....

[Madlegs1]

Liz- that's very interesting-- I have always found high salt has triggered rls- but what you are saying seems to make some sense.

As always on this site- everyone seems to have a different experience - so the need for trial and experimentation.

Thanks for posting your experience.

Cheers.

[Liz625 in reply to Madlegs1]

Hi. I certainly don't have high salt intake: literally just a pinch a day has made a huge difference.

[Nightingale-5 in reply to Liz625]

Worth a thought, I have high BP so i don't add salt when cooking or at the table.

[LotteM]

To add to the others..

Reminds me also of the "adrenal cocktail"? of OJ, cream of tartar and (Himalayan pink) SALT!

You have to realise, though, that your salt levels were probably on the low side, given your 'salt-behaviour'. So, sure something to try: to up your salt consumption a bit if your heart and BP allows and if your salt consumption has been low.

[Pippins2]

All my life I have been lectured by family, friends and medical professionals because I use too much salt.

Yesterday I went to an anniversary in a retirement village and there was a lovely buffet but no salt. It took 15 minutes to locate some and if they hadn't found some I wouldn't have had anything to eat

Anyway what I am saying is I have loads of salt but have had RLS for nearly 40 years.

However as we say we are all different x

[Eryl]

I've cut down my salt intake because of high blood pressure but haven' noticed that it's affected my rls. My main trigger is a food preservative, namely potassium sorbate, so I'd be wary of increasing my salt intake.

[DicCarlson]

Let's be clear - salt should be sea salt - not regular table salt. Celtic sea salt has the most complete mineral profile. I have been experimenting with this "adrenal cocktail" pretty much 1/4 tsp of sea salt and 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar (potassium) mixed with juice (I use carrot juice). I also take 1/4 tsp in a 20 oz. water bottle daily. Helps dramatically with cramping. I don't believe the "low salt" hypertension link - I think it's bunk - my BP is quite low even with extra sea salt daily. gotmag.org/the-adrenal-cock...

[Liz625 in reply to DicCarlson]

So anyway, for those people without blood pressure issues and other medical complications and whose lifestyle leads them to lose salt(s) through exercise and have an otherwise low salt diet and who aren't dabbling in cocktails already, I was just suggesting a simple addition of a little extra salt in your diet. Apologies in advance for everyone else with more complex triggers. (To be clear)

[Lash65]

I think it helps some.

[Gibbliturtlbitz]

Both very high sodium levels AND very low sodium levels can trigger RLS, especially if you have a more severe case. Gotta be in that sweet spot. Plus, every body is different. People sweat more or less, have more or less active kidneys, are more or less active, etc. Also, certain medications can cause low sodium levels that are bad enough to trigger RLS episodes. Ie. I am on Effexor and don't normally eat a lot of salt out of preference, plus I take Vyvanse that causes me to sweat a lot AND it's summer. I had so many nights of kicking and twitching and uncomfortable legs... and then the fainting and flank pain happened. Lol. Being educated the hard way sucks. Low sodium absolutely triggers RLS. I am glad you are finding relief. <3