It has been suggested to me that I should consider controlling my RLS with modifying my diet to avoid sugar, processed foods, carbs.
I have been messaged by one person on here that that is how they control their RLS. Is there anyone else on here who has also tried this or can testify to the same?
Thanks.
Complete control by diet has certainly been stated by various members. Some of the diets that have been suggested are quite arduous.
Firstly, while iron isn't an issue for me (my serum ferritin has only been below 200 once in the last 15+ years), if your iron is low a diet change may not completely eradicate RLS.
Secondly, I can't personally claim complete success over RLS by diet and exercise, as various meds will trigger RLS whatever I do and don't eat or drink. Particularly statins, but there are plenty of other triggers. Depends on what you're taking whether meds override diet.
For me, too much sugary food, the sweeteners in diet drinks (particularly Aspartame, but all others too), some varieties of crisps, caffeine (although this seems to help some), too much exercise, too little exercise, are all to be avoided.
On top of this, I use Magnesium Citrate 400-600mg a day which really helps me (can cause diarrhoea in some).
Indeed-- apart from checking ferritin levels, keeping an intake diary is the most important action to take for relieving RLS.You will quickly find relationships between something that has gone through your lips and an active night!!🥴
Ps--- artificial sweeteners have been definitely found to be carcinogenic. So all the more reason to avoid them.
Believe me-- you will do all your shopping with a magnifying glass in hand!👍😎
I spent 12 months on a very restricted paleo diet ( no carbs or sugars), 9 months on low Fodmaps & 6 months vegan.Made zero difference but I wanted to prove to myself beyond doubt.
If diet is going to help, you'll know within 2 months so try it and if it makes no difference, you've only wasted 2 month's of your life.
I have no triggers. Sugar, carbs, coffee, caffeine, alcohol etc don't trigger RLS and coffee and caffeine actually improve any breakthroughs I used to get.
I have tried low FODMAP, gluten free and a short stint on low carb, healthy fats diet. And i've always had a reasonably healthy diet.
None seemed to make any difference. Over the past 18 months or so, i have moved towards a "cleaner" diet whereby i'm really careful about foods i eat, especially later in the day. I try to avoid high glutamate foods. I don't have sugar during the week and only a minimal amount at the weekend. I have increased my intake of vegetables.
There are certain foods that definitely trigger RLS for me (eg ice-cream, beer, parmesan cheese, fermented foods).
I don't eat anything after dinner (which i have around 6 or 7pm and I then retire around 11pm or midnight). I also don't eat again until around 9.30am the next day.
Being more attentive to triggers, minimising processed food and not eating after dinner definitely seems to have made a difference.
I take medication and haven't changed the dose for several years so it is possible for me to ascertain the impact of other lifestyle changes.
In a nutshell, i thought diet didn't make a difference for me, now i believe it may.
Thank you. May I ask, is ice-cream a trigger even when you have it in the afternoon, or in the morning?
I have completely eliminated my rls by avoiding processed food and refined seed oils. I still eat brown rice and potatoes but keep their amounts down otherwise I get mild symptoms of rls. I only use coconut oil, olive oil or animal fats for cooking. I count fruit juices and white flour as processed foods.
Did you ever take any medication for rls?, Just wondering as although I rarely get any symptoms now I still take gabapentin. Don't know if I'm brave enough to come off it, though I'd like to
No, I've never taken medication as they only hide ths symptoms, not tackle the cause and I'd previously realised the power of diet for anxiety and stress. I only take vitamins and minerals because of my age, the ones that specifically address rls being magnesium, vit B12, and for myelin strength, weekly iodine (seaweed or sea kelp suplement) and selenium (brasil nuts).
Thank you. I wish I'd gone down that path before starting medication. It seemed the easiest option at the time to go with doctors advice but looking back I wish I'd taken time to explore other options first
Why do you want to come off it?
Although I'm really grateful the gabapentin is keeping my rls under control I still think it is better to control conditions with diet etc if possible and feel I could have done more in the beginning before going down that route.
OK - you will want to come off it very lowly to avoid withdrawal effects. If you do, you won't have any.
No medication is always the goal if there are other possible options.
Diet modification did not help my RLS except for avoiding alcohol.
I believe that changes to diet can help and have helped me although it’s difficult to prove as I don’t tend to live in controlled laboratory conditions. However the following few things definitely seem to have reduced the intensity of nighttime movements and the number of times I wake which now averages 2, down from about 4. Basically I have started eating less to avoid putting on weight but it seems to have benefited the RLS. I now try not to eat in the evening after 6 or 7 pm, I only have real coffee in the morning and my second or third are usually decaf, I have reduced carbs in my meals and increased green vegetables and fibre, and I try not to drink alcohol at home although I’m quite happy drinking socially so generally I drink less. Interestingly the positive effects seem to remain even if I occasionally depart from this healthier regime.
I haven't found a relationship to diet, and I'm curious how long a person would have to maintain that diet to prove or disprove the connection. Do people get an immediate reaction from, for instance, eating cake and ice cream? If not, how do they know?
I think it's possible to distinguish between 'triggers' whereby one feels an immediate worsening of symptoms (ie within two or three hours), and 'diet', being the typical food one eats habitually. Being able to identify triggers is far easier than identifying the effects of dietary changes on RLS.
Refined sugar us an almost instant trigger.
I have made changes to my diet and noticed a difference in my RLS symptoms. I’m currently taking methadone with good success. However, if I deviate from my dietary habits, RLS kicks in. My diet consists of no processed foods, no carbs, little sugar( still a difficult one to stop), NO chocolate, ever!,oily fish and fresh vegetables. I also take iron patches, B vitamins and magnesium citrate.
Thank you for all the replies. Very interesting. I have already identified that alcohol sets my RLS off. One holiday, I had a few drinks with a meal and didn’t sleep for 2 nights. I don’t drink at all now.
I’ve also noticed that refined sugar affects me. Apart from the obvious sweets, cakes and pastries, they’re so much in processed foods that I’m now trying to avoid them as much as possible.
I try to eat as few carbs as I can but it takes a lot of effort.
TBH, shedding a few stone would also help a number of other ailments.
Cheers all.
Curious to me that a Keto Diet (very low carbs, high fat) is used to control Epilepsy as is the drug Gabapentin (the first line treatment for RLS). Both RLS and Epilepsy are neuroligical conditions. It was advised to me to control RLS and Sleep dysfunction with Keto Diet. But, keto is very hard to administer. The best website for Keto is ruled.me/
That’s very interesting. May I ask how effective you have found following a Keto based diet?
The closest I have come is a grain-free Paleo type diet (pretty much vegetables and protein with some fat) which I did for about 2 weeks recently. It positively affected my cholesterol #s, but my sleep issues continued. RLS is under control w/iron supplements which I rarely take any more. I have a friend that has put her Rheumatoid Arthritis into remission with a strict keto diet.
I have a similar experience to many here. I've tried many different diets suggested by people on this forum for 1 to 2 months and actually tried their opposite for a few weeks thereafter. I found no noticeable difference in my RLS.
The only consistent nutrition-related RLS triggers I have are eating late and alcohol. So I eat dinner early, around 5, and I've not had a sip for 2 years. On a side note, I already ate a non-processed food diet and exercised regularly before RLS started showing. Iron, magnesium and all the other plethora of supplements made no difference for me.
To keep my symptoms in check and actually manage sleep, I take 5mg Methadone and 150mg Pregabalin every night.
have you included low glutamate diet, also valerian , taurine and banana before going to bed. of course are magnesium vit b6 etc all knock down glutamate
Yup, low glutamate was one of the diet I tried to no avail. I did try Valerian and organic banana peel, magnesium and B complex vitamins. None of those made a difference for me. Did not try taurine supplements, but I eat fish and chicken and they have plenty of it.
thank you it is good to hear what others have tried as well
i have tried eliminating all the usual indicators mentioned -- caffeine, carbs, sugar etc from my diet at different times and have found no difference in my RLS symptoms at all. I am not susceptible to caffeine, for instance.
The only thing that actually makes RLS noticeably worse for me is alcohol so I drink very little. I can take a glass of wine or two occasionally but that's about it. I keep my sugar intake under control for different reasons and I have not found that statins worsen my symptoms.
I tried no sugar, keto for 4 months, lost a ton of weight and had no effect on my RLS. Certainly helped my health. I have also tried homemade keifer (probiotics) and sourkraut.
I cut out coffee (for two weeks). No effect. I still drink two or three cups a day.
Diet changes didn't seem to help me.
Sugar IS a factor. Try to stay on the low glutamine diet too.
Sugar IS a factor
Anxiety & RLS 
RLS
Anxiety and RLS 
