Diet and RLS

What dietary products to avoid

[Madlegs1]

Everyone has different dietary triggers.

Mine are msg, high salt, phosphates as in processed meats. In fact almost all processed foods. Artificial sweeteners and rising agent-- biscuits, Crunchy bars etc.

Basically keep a diary and watch for reactions. You need to be forensic with this as so many foods have mixtures of various ingredients, but you will see a pattern emerge.

Various diets have been helpful for some-- such as Fodmap.

Good luck.

[Accipiter]

Success is as you would expect, variable.

If you are very lucky, oxalates are the cause and can be sorted. Most who try low oxalates become symptom free.

Also, symptoms build quickly and resolve slowly so it can be challenging to identify triggers.

Placebo is also an issue, I have certainly been there.

[Joolsg in reply to Accipiter]

Most? I think that is overstating the position. Diet helps a minority and different diets help different people. As Madlegs says, everyone has different triggers.

[Accipiter in reply to Joolsg]

I would say all, but for one individual who I think did it wrong.

People are generally very conservative when it comes to RLS treatments as pharmaceuticals are presented as the first line. If I wasn’t such a disagreeable person I probably would have done the same, as well as the fact that my first perspective being that this as a physical condition.

So it is a small minority that are truly open to experiment and all possibilities. This isn’t good or bad, it just is; no judgements. So it was one anonymous man back in 2016 who suggested oxalates, who I bow and feel humble before, and it has slowly been taken up by some. I stupidly ignored my first hearing of oxalates, but when I found the original post which is still ongoing, I was in. I’m at the final stages of oxalate clearing and symptoms are now minor. No more RLS to come soon.

As for different triggers for everyone, that is a complex. It is a yes, and a not in the way people think as an answer. Oxalates for every body is unlikely, but majority looks possible.

I will start a new post if anyone is interested, but there is a clear mechanism for RLS and it is easy to test if they are an issue. In fact a Google of RLS and oxalates brings up this site but as you would expect, the conversation goes straight to pharmaceuticals. Oxalates are mentioned on other sites and their posts.

All are success stories; but for one.

[Joolsg in reply to Accipiter]

I followed a very restrictive paleo diet for a year and adapted it to exclude oxalates, low FODMAPS diet for 6 months and as neither made the slightest difference to my RLS I then followed a strict vegan diet for 9 months.

Believe me, I’m open to trying strict diets.

None worked.

So I can personally confirm that diet does not work for me.

There clearly is not one single cause for RLS. Mine is caused by scarring in the brain and spinal cord ( MS lesions). Others find the cause is low iron and raising levels helps about 50%.

A lucky percentage find something as simple as Magnesium relieves their RLS.

Others, like you, have found oxalates cause their RLS.

Some find low FODMAPS diet helps their RLS ( and bear in mind it contains oxalates so clearly those people are the complete opposite to you).

We are all different. We have different triggers and different diets work for different people.

None of us on here want to be on meds but we have no choice.

Most of us have tried many, many different diets, exercises, alternative therapies, devices and even the bar of soap under the bed sheets.

I’m delighted that excluding oxalates has resolved your RLS.

[Accipiter in reply to Joolsg]

Thanks for sharing your story with me.

I'll add you to the 'no' column, and I hope I can get some better numbers on those it didn't work for.

[restlessstoz]

I spent most of last year on FODMAP and didn't get anywhere as far as my legs went! I stopped gluten and dairy the year before and did notice less flatulence. My trouble was having such severe RL that nothing I did eased it and I couldn't get to a point when I had no/few symptoms to try to challenge certain foods. I had withdrawn from pramipexole and couldn't find another drug that relieved any symptoms. Once I back on the prami. after 6 months without, I had great success with it and initially slept and had no symptoms. Sadly that didn't last and now augmenting on it with symptoms 24/7 and need to change to something else. What I did notice was that once successfully medicated, I could eat most things and have no idea if anything does upset my legs. Apart that is from refined or any quickly absorbed sugar like maple syrup or honey, rice malt etc. They can be a big trigger for me, salt, alcohol and msg. All you can do is to try illuminating some foods, then challenge yourself one food at a time. Wish I could wave a magic wand and give you a simple answer. Good luck.

[Parminter]

Caffeine, sugar, MSG, alcohol.

[Eryl]

Mine are sugar and anything with added sugar, and E202 preservative. I also avoid fruit juices and limit whole fruit to one a day and only drink one pint of beer once or twice a month.

[Hidden]

Most diets suggested for RLS appear to be saying what you should avoid. What you should avoid is anything that might trigger your RLS.

It's also a good idea to think about what your diet should include, not just exclude.

There are things which can help your RLS not trigger it

There are minerals and vitamins which are important for our nervous system and sufficient protein is also very important and it's quality.

RLS can benefit from increasing the levels of some minerals/vitamins. If deficiency is moderate then supplements may help. however dietary sources can help maintain levels.

So don't just think about what you shouldn't eat, also think about what you shoukd eat more of.

[Graham3196]

The problem of identifying foods that the patient can't tolerate is common for dieticians and it is suggested that a methodical approach is most efficient.

If you start with a full menu and then try to eliminate foods one at the time it can take a long time to find the foods that you can't tolerate. One problem is that several foods might contain the same product that you can't tolerate so if you eliminate one food you might be still getting the same product, and the same reaction, from the rest of your diet. Hence the proposed method is to work the other way.

First you adopt an exclusion diet where you exclude almost everything. You eat only a selection of foods that are known to be well tolerated for some period and see if your symptoms go away. If they don't then food intolerance might not be your problem or your dietician has to work harder. If they go away then you can gradually reintroduce foods to see which ones cause your problem. The advantage of this is that there is usually a small number of products that cause your intolerance and the types of food that contain these products is well known. So if you reintroduce food A and it causes you a problem then your dietician will be able to identify a list of other foods that contain the same product you don't tolerate.

If you're lucky the list of intolerable products is short and you know what you can't eat if you want to remain symptom free.

Examples are the Monash University low FODMAP diet and the Royal Prince Alfred Low Chemical diet.

If you decide to do this it is really worth finding a dietician with a good reputation and a knowledge of both diets.

In my case I found the low FODMAP diet gave me great relief but its not perfect so I will try the low Chem Diet. It's possible that as I age my intolerance grows a bit so I might have to adjust my diet to match my body. I have now found a dietician with years of experience with the low chem diet. I have postponed my appointment with him until the Covid-19 plague has passed.

If you want to try the low FODMAP diet there is a good App available for your phone. I also avoid caffeine, lactose, gluten and alcohol. I can usually tolerate a little alcohol but who wants to open a bottle of wine for half a glass? I suggest you try eliminating lactose and gluten while you line up a dietician to get serious. It might not help but in my case just eliminating gluten was a great help after only a week

Good Luck

Graham

[Joolsg in reply to Graham3196]

Good advice Graham. Unless you start with an elimination diet you’ll never find your triggers. You may not even have any triggers and the RLS is caused by faulty wiring in the brain and CNS.

[Felicity21]

I avoid grapes, raisins, currants and sultanas, apples, pears, bananas, mayonaise and margarine, food or drinks containing artificial sweeteners. Also balsamic vinegar. Triggers galore, but I agree with Manerva that we must make sure we include foods which give us the necessary vitamins and minerals, particularly with this Coronavirus going around.

[Omegadcuj]

Interesting conversation in beginning to think that my problems worsened whilst losing weight. I switched to a LOT of artificial sweetened/low sugar stuff. I'm in the process of reducing that and introducing real sugar in a more controlled way! May not help, but from what I have read about artificial sweeteners it isn't going to do any where as much harm long term !