Chinese food affect RLS

[Beckonwood]

I was wondering if anyone is affected with certain foods. It seems that when I eat Chinese food my RLS symptoms seem worse. I am trying to keep a journal to see what foods I eat affect my RLS

[Madlegs1]

Good for keeping a food diary- it will help a lot in isolating triggers.

Chinese food in general should not be a problem, but it depends on who is making it.

I eat a lot of takeaways without a problem, but for some reason, Thai green curry is dynamite. There is probably msg involved. It is not always admitted in the ingredients.

Good luck.

[Bee27 in reply to Madlegs1]

Hi

Chinese food is definitely out for me. It’s the msg! I darent eat garlic mushrooms or any fish except cod or haddock. Pollock or basa gives me terrible legs! Weird!

[Ert223 in reply to Bee27]

believe it or not all large fish in the ocean are polluted by mercury it has something to do with burning coal excretes mercury which ends up in our ocean. If your going to

eat fish eat the smaller fish...sardines/oysters etc. There are sites that will give you the mercury levels of most fish. I try to stick to sardines/oysters...but i love trout/catfish/cod...farm raised fish is not much better. Because the roundup that they spray on the fields end up in the soil so unless the farm uses a plastic liner to protect the water from the pesticides not much better or worse than ocean fish.

=good luck

[Parminter]

Hello Beckonwood.

Yes, it is more than likely that Chinese food would worsen symptoms.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is an excitotoxin which leads to excessive stimulation of the nerves and can cause harmful neurological effects.

Because of our stange brain chemistry we are already 'hyper-glutamatergic', meaning we have too much excitatory glutamate in our brains, and too little adenosine, which calms the brain.

So Chinese food - or any food with MSG - adds fuel to the fire. Remember that many foods, particularity junk foods, contain MSG. Read the labels, and avoid.

[Vinyard]

Chinese food is famous for using m.s.g and high salt. Maybe that's not agreeing with you ! Just a thought !

[Eryl]

I'm not surprised to hear this. Glutamates have a reputation for causing a reaction in some people. Many Chinese restaurants use monosodium glutamate as a taste enhancer. Glutamate is also hidden in many other foods under many different names which you may find online. Many Chinese recipes also use sugar as a flavour enhancer, and that can make rls worse.

[Eryl in reply to Eryl]

Glutamate is a neurotransmitter.

[1stdoginohladdie]

It could be MSG. Check to see if it indicates MSG free or ask at the restaurant.

[Muftah36]

Chinese Food has to definitely off my list. I think it’s the MSG so I had to resign myself that it’s a no no. I had an extremely awful experience after eating it .

[jk3842]

Chinese and certified pizzas

[jk3842]

Certain pizzas

[mmb8083]

Oh boy, I ate at a Chinese buffet a few weeks ago and 2 hours later I was pacing and kicking terribly. This was in the middle of the afternoon, much sooner than its usual onset. So won't be eating there again. Huge trigger for me.

[lauraflora]

Yes, as other people are telling you on here, it's the MSG. There are other things that may also set off your RLS, some of which are foods, many of which are food additives. Those are the worst, I think, as they may be in a high concentration, or several of them put in. (One must read labels.) A rather long but interesting article can be found at holistichelp.net How to Increase GABA and balance Glutamate Toward the end of the article are lists (and explanations) of additives as well as foods that have more glutamate and can be problematic for RLS and other conditions. Altho it sounds as if you can't thus eat anything, you have to experiment with what, and how much, bothers you. (I have no problems with mushrooms, Small amounts of parmesan cheese, etc. But bone broth I found to be addictive - I craved it and drank it excessively - AND it was extremely excitatory. I haven't had any since, tho a small amount may not have the same affect.) Take a look.

[Woody4 in reply to lauraflora]

I have been drinking 12ounces of bone broth everyday and it seems to be making me feel so much better. Haven't really noticed any difference in my rls. What bones do/were you using?? I have been only using chicken paws.

[lauraflora in reply to Woody4]

It just goes to show how different people are affected by different things. Someone above can't eat mushrooms, garlic or fish, but I have no problem with them. The bone broth I had was from two different companies, altho both had 'clean' ingredients. (One chicken, one beef.) I had not made it myself. Over the course of about 3 days, I drank quite a bit of the two brands, and found myself over stimulated and unable to sleep much. (Could have been something else, I suppose.) I have not been wanting to repeat it as an experiment. Tho, truth be told, my husband made some bean soup in which he simmered a ham bone. Not only was it delicious, but it did not set off my RLS or keep me awake, and I had it more than once as he made a big pot. So one has to try things out for themselves to see. There is no hard and fast rule for everyone (excepting perhaps, MSG.)