SIBO

From siboinfo.com a site that deals with small intestine bacterial overgrowth, a possible cause of RLS:

"The Problem

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The bacteria interfere with our normal digestion and absorption of food and are associated with damage to the lining or membrane of the SI (leaky gut syndrome, which I prefer to call leaky SI in this case).

They consume some of our food which over time leads to deficiencies in their favorite nutrients such as iron and B12, which can cause anemia or chronic low ferritin..."

Chronic low ferritin. RLS is closely associated with ferritin levels. The gut HAS to have something to do with all this.

[DicCarlson]

Of course, you are right. This study (brilliant, BTW) details the mechanism that causes a Keto diet to reduce seizures in epileptic children. They have known of the anti-seizure effects of this diet, but never knew of the mechanism. The diet actually changes the gut bacteria: “The bacteria increased brain levels of GABA — a neurotransmitter that silences neurons — relative to brain levels of glutamate, a neurotransmitter that activates neurons to fire." It is curious to me that many anti-seizure meds are used off-label for RLS (gabapentin, and others). newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/...

[Hidden in reply to DicCarlson]

Thanks for the link. It's just amazing to me how much diet affects us and how incredibly complicated the whole gut system is.