Diet confusion

[Rsl1]

Is paleo diet good for easing rls?

Has anyone tried any diets and had any relief.

[Madlegs1]

In general, Paleo diet is good- I follow it loosely.

Avoiding all processed food is beneficial. Avoiding "white "food is a good rule of thumb- sugar, pasta, flour etc.

Some people find a vegan diet helps them.

You will have to experiment to find what works for you.

Basically ,it is all about avoiding inflamation in your body. We are all different, so react to different inputs.

Keep a food diary.

Good luck.

[Joolsg]

Everyone is different and responds in a different way. You have to see what works for you.

I was on strict paleo for over a year and it did nothing ( except make me lose a stone ). I then added in some cheese and stopped eating onion and garlic to make it a Low Fodmap diet and followed that for 6 months.

I then followed a vegan diet for 8 months and thought it was really helping but I had also increased ferritin to over 200 at the same time. I didn’t know if it was the vegan diet or the increased ferritin that had worked.

I began eating chicken and fish again in December and my RLS hasn’t changed.

My conclusion is that for me diet doesn’t make any difference to my RLS but getting ferritin high does.

Many people have had improvement by following specific diets but you’ll have to try them to see if they work for you.

Easier to keep a food diary and make a note of any triggers.

[Eryl]

Yes, although I've found it not nesessary to go to the extreme of a strict paleo diet. I just avoid most sources of sugar and restrict high carb foods. I've had very few (and those being mild) attacks of rlr since I've followed my regime. Basically it's a low carb diet, avoiding foods with a high glycemic index, like a diabetic might follow.

Result were quite marked in the first few weeks, but small benefits have been visible over a 12 month period. Like improved breathing, flatter tummy and toned body although my weight has only dropped by a few lbs. I've not found it necessary to avoid rice or potatoes, but I do avoid pasta and limit noodles, though I'm relaxing that limit gradually.

[Hidden in reply to Eryl]

Yep, me too. I have been avoiding grains in any form for the most part (still use corn starch to make gravy), along with sugar in any form and potatoes, though I do eat them very occasionally. I find the better I am at staying away from anything that turns to glucose the better RLS is for me. I am basically going low carb, not strict keto or paleo or anything like that. Like everyone says, you have to figure it out for your own body chemistry. Some react to dairy, others don't. Let us know if you find your triggers; it may help someone else down the road.

[Eryl in reply to Hidden]

Yes. A lot of people don't realise that the lactose in milk is a form of sugar. Lactose free milk just means that the lactose has been pre broken down, so that it is in the form of glucose and galactose. So drinking lactose free milk is likely to be worse for rls than normal milk.

[Hidden in reply to Eryl]

Yeah, I bought some "lactose free" milk just to find out it isn't at all. They really should change labeling requirements on that.

[robert1957]

If you eat food high in magnesium also research magnesium deficiency and symptoms of magnesium deficiency and look at research by science direct on magnesium and iron good luck

[involuntarydancer]

Diet really seems to help some people. I read glowing reports of a low oxalic acid diet and also the god map diet. I don’t notice a huge connection between what I eat and rls (save for red wine which reliably sets it off). reducing calorie intake generally seems to have a positive impact. So hard to do consistently though.