Curry spices

[MisterWilson]

I've noticed that my RLS is much worse after eating (some) curries – can anyone suggest which spice(s) or flavouring(s) might be responsible so I can try to avoid them?

TIA

[Madlegs1]

More than likely to be msg. Especially in Thai curry.

Msg can be present, even though not stated.

See previous posts on this contentious subject.

[MisterWilson in reply to Madlegs1]

Thanks for this tip – I'll check it out. I'd no idea MSG was a neurotransmitter!

[LotteM]

Remedy: make your own curry by mixing your own spices, such as ginger, cardamom, tumeric, clove, fennel seed, etc. Enjoy!

[Hidden]

The spices in curry stimulate endorphins. They're goodies! As Lotte says, if you make your own curry instead of using shop bought it might not be a problem.

[Eryl]

I doubt whether any spices are triggering your rls. As madlegs1 says, it could be msg, which is a neurotransmitter, or I would suggest sugar in the curry or in condiments like mango chutney or sweet chili sauce.

[Crazylegslewis in reply to Eryl]

What is the sugar connection with RJS? I cut way back on refined sugar in foods (mostly sweets) to <50 grams/day. I used to eat about 200 gems/day. My muscles and joints feel near perfect vs during sugar days. I still have attacks but only one “all nighter” since cutting back. My all nighters were 36-45 hrs w/no sleep.

I now have swim spa so trying to wein off the running endorphins.

[Crazylegslewis in reply to Crazylegslewis]

Sorry, RLS.

[Eryl in reply to Crazylegslewis]

See my reply below.

[MisterWilson in reply to Eryl]

Oh dear – chilli sauce is my favourite! I'll try cutting it out...

[Eryl in reply to MisterWilson]

I doubt that the chilli sauce is the culprit. I eat Thai curries or stir fries with Tom Yum paste about four times a week, and an Indian curry every Sunday night, and they don't cause me problems, as I make my own, and never add sugar or use sweetened condiments, and I've had very few attacks of rls since I started to avoid sugar, cut down on gluten and started taking daily kelp supplements to strengthen the myelin coating on the nerves which acts as an insulator and prevents miss functioning of the nerves.

[MisterWilson in reply to Eryl]

Thanks – I'll look into kelp supplements.

I wouldn't be surprised if sugar is my main problem, though – and since I'm Type 2 Diabetic anyway, I really should try harder to cut down.

I have SUCH a sweet tooth, though...

[Graham3196 in reply to MisterWilson]

Did you read the recent post on fructose? It provides a learned support for stuff I have read elsewhere. Briefly sugar and particularly fructose are as near as possible addictive, in the meaning that if you eat some you need more. Years ago I was putting on weight faster than I wanted to and read a book called "the Great Aussie Bloke Slimdown" can't remember the author at the moment. ( Here is a reference penguin.com.au/books/the-gr... )

His explanation is that fructose suppresses the body's system that reports to the brain that you have eaten enough, Hence you tend to eat a lot more than you need. Sugars also make you hunger for more sugar. I tried to cut out almost all sugar and after about a weeks craving for a kg of beautiful white sugar I lost interest in it and my desire for all foods dropped off noticably. A friend set the example for me by going off sugar as much as possible and dropping weight from 153kg to 120 kg in about a year and he is still losing weight. He said he lost the desire for sweet stuff and was fully satisfied with a modest serving of healthy food for meals. I don't think he made any change to the amount of excercise he did as he was already time short with a sedentary brain type job.

Do you realise that 50 grams of sugar are about 13 teaspoons of "pure white and deadly" refined sugar. If you stop this you might be able to get off your diabetes medicines altogether. It happens to some people. Good luck.

[KellyDBrille in reply to Eryl]

I'm curious where there's evidence or research to show that kelp (which can contain a lot of heavy metals) strengthens 'the myeline coating on the nerves'? Thanks in advance.

[Eryl in reply to KellyDBrille]

Kelp contains a lot of iodine. healthyeating.sfgate.com/my...

[Eryl]

Sugar causes inflammation in many tissues in the body including the nerves. Other things could be causing inflammation, like dairy products, gluten or nightshades (tomatoes, aubergines etc), so some curries containing tomatoes could be causing it. The inflammation causes sensitivity, which causes the rls. healthline.com/nutrition/su...

[MisterWilson in reply to Eryl]

Thanks for this – I didn't know Tomatoes or Dairy could be making things worse...

[Hidden]

Good grief, just about ANYTHING could be a trigger for someone out there, it seems. My mother swore cinnamon was a trigger for her. I always assumed sugar can be a trigger because it's a stimulant like caffeine, but now some people use caffeine to calm their legs! Too deep for me.

[lynnmcguire24]

Well right off I'm going to mention if curry has any red spices; those are bad for RLS. Red spices are considered as nightshades which as known to be bad for RLS. As well as any red sauces too.

[Sara_2611]

Hi MisterWilson That's a lovely picture of a curry Is that a chicken korma? Did you make that??

I've never heard of spices making RLS worse. I've eaten many Curries + my RLS doesn't appear so don't know the answer to that one my apologise

I hope you manage to sort it out soon. Love sara

[MisterWilson in reply to Sara_2611]

No, that's just a stock photo – it does look good though, doesn't it?!

[Sara_2611 in reply to MisterWilson]

Yes it does. I achieved something last night. Considering I still cant walk properly very well without my walking stick- I managed to get the meal I made to the table without spilling it all over the floor so a little bit of progress has been made on my right leg. I can only hope I haven't put the mockers on it & go & drop my tea tonight

[phantom388]

Yes gives me worse RLS, my wife calls it ‘Curry Legs’ but the price I pay for a good curry every now and then!

[Dustylee22]

I cooked some chicken curry soup because I was sick & thought it might be good nutrition, but my legs went crazy. I use top shelf spices & no msg so I don’t know what triggers it , but none of my med cocktails even made a dent in it. It might have been exacerbated by having an upper respiratory infection, but I was beyond miserable & not really able to exercise. Threw out remainder of soup & things have settled down. I hardly ever eat out because I don’t know what ingredients they use & my RLS is often aggravated afterwards. But clearly it can happen if I eat “complex” foods cooked at home. Back to salmon, rice & broccoli 😎

[Hidden in reply to Dustylee22]

Perhaps it was the stock? Or another one to be mindful of is "natural flavours".

"Natural flavor mixtures can contain more than 100 chemicals, including solvents, emulsifiers, flavor enhancers, and preservatives. In fact, some natural flavors, classified as safe, are made of more than 90% other substances used to enhance the flavor being created."

I have never had a problem with individual spices (i usually make curries from scratch), but we all have different triggers.