I have been staying away from sugar because I think it does help with RLS. However, does that include all sugar? or just added sugar? For example, a piece of fruit has sugar in it, but not added sugar. Is that just as bad as eating the same amount of added sugar in another kind of food?
thank you!
Sugar is a trigger for a lot of people but not all. You will need to keep a food diary and monitor how you react to all sugars, including fruits and certain carbohydrates.I am not affected by sugars and carbs but many people report that staying off simple sugars, fruits, fruit juices and carbs eliminates their RLS.
You'll only know if it helps you by trying elimination diets.
Sugar is used to refer to "monpsaccharides" which are easily and quickly digested and absorbed. They have such names as dextrose,. fructose, lactose, maltose etc.
There are differences between them, but they all have the one disdavantage of being quickly absorbed.
So whether they're already in food or whether they're added doesn't make a big difference.
Monosaccharides are only one form of carbohydate (made from carbon hydrogen and oxygen), More complex carbohydrates, polysacharides aren't absorbed so fast so aren't as likely to affect RLS short term.
The speed at which a carbohydrate is absorbed is known as its "glycaemic index" Those absorbed faster have a high GI.
However, in the longer term, a diet high in even polysaccharides isn't advisable and can casue chronic imflammation and make RLS worse.
In general, the more refined or processed the sugar is ,the worse.But, as Jools says-- keeping a diary is the best way to ascertain exactly what tickles your toesies.
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Hi there, the answer is I don’t know. Regarding fruit, I personally stay away from grapes (and raisins), apples, pears, banana’s, peaches, mangoes and strawberries. They seem to aggravate my restless legs. Somehow raspberries, blueberries, cherries, pineapple and citrus fruit are OK for me.
that is food for thought! i usually eat just the berries and citrus, also, but i do like apples. i will keep track. thank you!
In addition to avoiding added sugar I also avoid refined starch especially when combined with gluten as found in bread made with white flour because the gluten speeds up the metabolisation of the starch and results in white bread having a higher GI than pure sugar. I also avoid refined seed oils because they cause oxidative stress and inflammation.
Artificial sugar is bad too
Thank you very much. I try to bake all my own bread and cookies so I can control the flour and sugar. I grind my own wheat!
You're going down the road of changing diets to assuage RLS - Keto which will limit ALL Carbohydrates to 30g/day or less and Paleo which stretches the carbohydrate limit to as much as 100g/day or less - both diets limit the amount of glucose available and rely more on fat and protein as the body's energy source. Most of what you read has to do with the diets weight loss capability. I've been advised by consultants to try Keto for sleep issues - but it is extremely restrictive. And there are plenty of reports of Ketone-Insomnia 'till your body adjusts to the new energy sources. i've got plenty of that right now! Just to give you an idea I had a can of soup for dinner last night - 30g of carbs right there. Good website to get started...
thank you for the idea and the website. i will check it out!
Hi Please tell me has cutting out sugar helped your RLS ?
Hello. I feel that reducing sugar has hepled. It is hard to say exactly because there are so many factors. But I am convinced it has helped (not eliminated!) my RLS. I find that a small amount of Stevia does not have a bad effect, but everyone is different.What have you experienced?
Hello sorry i took so long Idont have restless legs my partner does hes a dialysis patient in New Zealand .i think its great cutting the sugarone of the best things along with coffee .He takes oxy and CBD. oil we dont really know why he has got restless legs back it comes and goes drives him crazy he calls it restless body .Theres a product here called crampeze it s helped before its got Viburnum Opulas magnesium plus a few other ingredients its definitly helped but just he has a problem swallowing capsules at the moment .i brought a book on RESTLESS LEGS by Robert H Yoakum its very interesting and tells you what not to take to make RLB worse plus lots of other information .Have a nice day .
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