Glutamate triggers!

[wantokporo]

First line treatment goes after how the body absorbs glutamate. Not surprisingly foods high in glutamate are triggers for me, and I assume would be triggers for others (yes, we are all different). The reason I mention this is some of the foods high in glutamate, like parmesan cheese (all aged cheeses actually) and walnuts and soy sauce, are not ones that I would have guessed I needed to stay away from. MSG is obvious. You can google "foods high in glutamate" and this may help. (For me also I need to stay away from "natural flavor" additives in general.)

[Hidden]

Thanks, I never knew there were high glutamate foods!

[wantokporo in reply to Hidden]

As you know, we are often treated with similar drugs to epileptics. The ketogenic diet, that is a very difficult diet to adhere to, has been proven to successfully treat intractable epilepsy. It is aimed at changing the way the body handles glutamate. Glutamate is in everything and very difficult to eliminate from anyone's diet. But high glutamate foods--not so hard.

[Hidden in reply to wantokporo]

Thanks again.

I take gabapentin.

[WideBody in reply to wantokporo]

Thank you for this post, I am now going do this rabbit hole. Guess what, I drink a lot of protein shakes. Whey isolate being number 5 on the high glutamate list. So much so, it is listed on the label. So here we go restricting foods again. Thanks for the tip.

[Goldy700]

I have kept 2 very interesting links on this subject which you might like to read

holistichelp.net/blog/how-t...

medicaldaily.com/restless-l...

[involuntarydancer in reply to Goldy700]

Having read the two links Goldie provided, I am driven to wonder if the glutamate theory refers to some rls sufferers and not others. Although I relate to the report of sufferers feeling disproportionately awake after chronically and severely broken nights, I do not find that I suffer from insomnia if my rls is under control. In fact, typically I sleep very well when I don’t have symptoms BUT I was also one for whom gabapentin type drugs did not work well (in terms of getting rls under control). Now I am wondering could the two be linked and relate to glutamate production? Is it that gabepentin/pregabalin are more effective for those who suffer from raised glutamate levels courtesy of their rls?

[wantokporo in reply to involuntarydancer]

I would guess so.

[Goldy700 in reply to involuntarydancer]

Some people convert glutamine to glutamate as well. I have copied and pasted some information about Gaba and Glycine which could be of interest."Your body has two sorts of neurotransmitters; one that excites you (keeps you awake) called Glutamate and one that relaxes you called GABA.

GABA is your body's main relaxing neurotransmitter. Your body's main excitatory neurotransmitter (Glutamate) is most active during your waking hours. So when you fall asleep your brain Glutamate levels should drop and your brain GABA levels should rise. This facilitates a great restful nights sleep.

People who have trouble sleeping, or more specifically are unable to switch their minds off, generally have lower than normal levels of GABA with elevated Glutamate levels. These people generally make the comment that their minds are always racing and that they are unable to fall asleep or when they wake up they are always thinking and are unable to get back to sleep.

Glycine is also a special case neurotransmitter. If the balance in your body is towards glutamate, glycine will be excitatory. If the balance is toward GABA, it will be inhibitory. So if you tend toward glutamate excess, avoid glycine.

The number of glutamate receptor sites on your neuron surfaces are an important determinant of the level of glutamate in your cells. The more glutamate receptor sites you have, the more glutamate you take in. Your resting level of glutamate is higher. Your balance tips to favor excitotoxicity. Glutamate excitotoxicity produces nerve damage or death. It does this by setting off inflammation.

Increased numbers of glutamate receptors have been associated with certain neurologic disorders. Lou Gehrig's Disease or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Fragile X, schizophrenia, and seizure disorder are among them.

Increased glutamate produces insomnia, decreased eye contact and may lead to too much acetyl-choline which can lead to bladder contraction and abnormal eye movements called strabismus. And increased glutamate causes an increase in self-stimulatory behavior (stims)."

rlcure.com/glutamate.html

[WideBody in reply to Goldy700]

That page is gonna take me a week to get through... Lot's of good information. Thanks Goldy700, if this works I owe you.

[Mum007]

I take a protein shake that has glutamic acid as one of its ingredients. Is this the same as glutamine and can that affect my RLS?

[wantokporo]

Sorry. I have looked into this question and I hesitate to say I do not think so. But I think glutamine, glutamate, and glutamic acid are different. Personally I stay away from high glutamate foods and forget about the others. Check wikipedia and see if you can figure it out. Although of course if I have a really bad night I would check ingredients or the foods out more carefully after the fact to see.

[Goldy700 in reply to wantokporo]

"The same supplements that have a reputation for increasing "pep" also seem to be the ones most likely to provoke some sleep problems. L-glutamine, one of the amino acids, can be converted in the brain into either GABA (gamma amino butyric acid) or glutamic acid. GABA is relaxing while glutamic acid is one of the most stimulating neurotransmitters. Most people tend to produce GABA from glutamine, and thus glutamine would help them sleep, but for someone who is prone to convert glutamine to glutamic acid, a glutamine supplement late in the day would actually interfere with sleep. This has been observed clinically but has not been researched."

austinchronicle.com/columns...

[WideBody in reply to Goldy700]

@Goldy700 You seem to have done a lot of research in this area. It really has me written all over it. Can you please tell me what has helped you the most in this area of Glutamate? Were you able to find relief with it?