Dietary effects on RLS?

[Sunny070]

It's well documented that caffeine and alcohol can have a negative effect on some RLS sufferers, but has anyone ever found that eating red meat has had a negative impact? I have taken 2.5mg of Ropinerole for many years and on the whole it keeps my RLS in check. However I occasionally get really bad nights when the medication doesn't work as well. I don't eat a lot of red meat but I've noticed that when I do, particularly if I have a late dinner in the evening, that's when I have a bad night. Has anyone else experienced a similar problem with eating red meat or is it just coincidence?

[ChrisColumbus]

As you've found, diet can have a big effect on RLS - although it's not universal in its effects - e.g. some find caffeine helps their RLS. Digestion problems can also have an effect, and gut health and the microbiome is an important area of study.

Digesting red meat eaten late in the day could be an issue: it could be the meat, or it could be the timing that is the problem. If your problem *only* seems to be caused by red meat eaten late, you may have a solution!

But moving to an anti inflammatory diet can help in difficult cases: Canadian David Wimble - see his website rlcure.com - is a firm believer in diet and supplements:

" I radically changed my diet and continued to take supplements. I rarely eat meat now and my sugar and fat intake is way down. I also keep away from starches as much as I can including rice, potatoes and pasta. I switched from regular milk to almond milk to pour on my cereal and make my smoothies... I recently learned about the importance of probiotics and are now taking them to help my digestive system function properly."

Others, such as Eryl on this forum, also report great success with an anti inflammatory diet.

It doesn't sound as though you need to go this far at present. But "we're all different" and don't all respond the same to dietary triggers!

[Sunny070 in reply to ChrisColumbus]

Thanks for your comments. I shall keep monitoring my diet!

[ChrisColumbus in reply to Sunny070]

Beware of augmentation on Ropinirole, where eventually the majority of users find that they have to take more until it just makes RLS worse rather than better. This and other Dopamine Agonists such as Pramipexole and Rotigotine are no longer the first line of treatment for RLS because of this. Also, have you had a full panel iron blood test, taken in the morning after fasting overnight and 48 hours after your last iron supplement (if taken)? IF your serum Ferritin is low, boosting it to over 100, even better 200, helps the majority.

[Sunny070 in reply to ChrisColumbus]

Thanks again, my ferritin was over 100 last time I had it checked so perhaps I'll get it checked again. So far, fortunately, augmentation hasn't been an issue for me. It's something I am aware of and if the bad nights increase I will change my medication.

[SueJohnson in reply to Sunny070]

If you have taken it for more than 10 years you are unlikely to suffer from augmentation. If you do though, don't just "switch medicine" because going cold turkey off ropinirole is not only horrible but could be even dangerous.

[Sunny070 in reply to SueJohnson]

Thanks for your reply Sue. At present I don't think it's augmentation. But I'm keeping an open mind.

[Eryl in reply to ChrisColumbus]

As you say we're all different e.g. I have not found fat, red meat or coffee to affect me but avoiding refined seed oils has

[Tanker1 in reply to ChrisColumbus]

I'm interested to know what probiotics you've tried at what dose and how well do you think it worked. I've tried: Physicians choice 60 billion probiotic (1 capsule), innovixlabs Mood probiotic (supposedly helpful for mood, Swanson L Plantarum (supposedly good for aiding iron absorption). I have no idea if they work because there are to many other variables.

[ChrisColumbus in reply to Tanker1]

I've not tried probiotics: I was reporting the words of David Wimble from his website rlcure.com/. I don't know whether he details what he tried there....

[jilk in reply to ChrisColumbus]

chris have you looked at dr bergs "vit b1 deficiency the imitator of other illnesses"

[ChrisColumbus in reply to jilk]

I may get around to it!: m.youtube.com/watch?v=rjVXF...(Not working as expected?)

I've not as yet seen convincing reports that B1 helps RLS, but I guess there's no harm in trying!

[Butterflysun1]

when my RLS wasn’t as bad as it is now ( when it’s impossible to tell what is doing what ) I used to find that eating anything late & especially something rich & heavy and which might take a long time to digest definitely gave me a bad night. I’ve also seen it written somewhere that eating late caused problems. A friend of mine used to have it particularly on Christmas night after over feasting

[Sunny070 in reply to Butterflysun1]

I think eating a rich meal late at night definitely is not a good idea.

[Seaview20]

Hi. I can't say I have noticed a red meat issue, but I am certainly aware that I can't eat late in the day without my RLS going crazy. As much as possible I try to eat earlier in the day and only very lightly in the evening. Good luck.

[Simkin]

I have tried every diet under the sun over the last 40 years and sadly nothing has worked for me.

[jilk in reply to Simkin]

i have found a prescriptive diet not appropriate but food diary which also records BP helpful and factore like vit b1 which helps process carbs proteins and fats, and restless legs helpful

[Simkin in reply to jilk]

Thank you. A dietician put me on one of those fodmap diets but it did not work for me.As everyone says we all react differently.

[Munroist]

I find eating late makes RLS worse. Recently I have reduced my intake overall, reduced carbs, especially in the evening and I try to finish my evening meal by seven at the latest and ideally closer to 6. I am definitely sleeping better, although I still wake a couple of times and have to move for a short while, but overall it’s a big improvement.

[hausbauer]

I find that eating very late is generally not a good idea . But eating pork in the evening is worse than eating beef or veal. If I eat pork then the Temgesic does not help much.

[Seaux]

Yes, I have noticed this too. Maybe before quitting red meat altogether you could try organic red meat. If this also exacerbates your RLS, check to see if a lot of foods with medium and high histamine levels in them also worsen your symptoms. Red meat has a lot of histamines in it. You can find lists of foods with medium and high histamine in them on the internet.

[Sunny070 in reply to Seaux]

Thanks I'll check online.

[Heavyd65]

I’ve had RLS as long as I can remember. I have never heard anyone say that red meat can have a negative impact on RLS symptoms…but anything is possible as everyone is different. I believe in healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle. I don’t smoke..I don’t drink. I believe everything in moderation. I never eat late. I rarely have coffee in the afternoon as the caffeine does have a major impact on my symptoms. I try to minimize anything that can affect me negatively..sometimes I fall short and then pay the price. Progress not perfection. I know how to manage my disease so I can have a reasonable happy life. I typically sleep all night. I control my symptoms with 6 capsules of Kratom and half dose of Pramiprexel. The Kratom is fast acting and the Pramiprexel takes over for the later part of my sleep. Rarely do I wake up. If I do I’ll take 4 capsules of the Kratom. This works great for me.. I don’t know if it would work for anyone else. I just started taking Gabapentin last week. I’m hopeful that it’ll work and I can stop taking the Kratom for awhile just for a brake on my system.

[jilk]

This is also puzzling me some nights i have a restless free night . different people with all sorts of conditions seem to be helped by for a while going vegan or carnivore. A type blood group, vegan; O blood type carnivore. I am told by dentist ,that there are 30 more subtypes of blood groups so everyone is individual. I am sure tweaking foods , are clue because food makes the gut bacteria , and that is where the neurotransmitters are made..

[TajarTales]

I've found that MSG is a trigger for me. It is present in many processed foods, meat tenderizer, soups, etc. It is hidden under many names in the ingredients (google names for MSG). One common one is natural flavor.

[Sher78]

Having suffered with RLS for almost 30 years I haven't found anything, apart from Tonic water ironically, that actually exasperates my RL so I think while dietary triggers can be a factor for some people, it isn't for everyone. Having said about the tonic water, now that I regularly take ferrous fumarate for my RL, I can even drink tonic water without repercussions if I choose to. Just to add (simply because I found ChrisColumbus post quite interesting), my gut is in an awful shape (had most of my ilieum & colon removed which has left me with severe scar tissue in the remaining bits and IBD), I eat a very high protein diet (lots of meat & fish), very low carb, and I still have as much dairy, caffeine, alcohol, fizzy etc as I like. I rarely eat sugar. I have followed this diet on and off for years but it's only in the last 12 months (since being regularly on the FF) that my RL seem to have gone into remission.

[Reb0013 in reply to Sher78]

What is FF please?

[Amrob in reply to Reb0013]

Ferrous fumarate

[Reb0013 in reply to Amrob]

aahh.. of course, thank you!

[jilk in reply to Sher78]

well done sher 78 congratulations you deserve a medal as i know how much effort is required to achieve results like yours

[Sher78 in reply to jilk]

Thank you! Just hope that others manage to find something that works for them too. Not quite sure how long it will last (not being pessimistic, just realistic) but just hope that the Ferrous Fumarate continues to work it's magic for me. Still anaemic though 🤣 Always will be though due to not bring able to retain iron due to all the gastro stuff. At least it's one less issue for me to deal with 😀

[restlessstoz]

Hi, I can only think there may be a link to glutamate... I know that a high load of glutamate can set my legs off and perhaps because you're eating it late in the day it could exacerbatea the problem. Sufferers of RLS already tend to have over excitable brains due to high glutamate so maybe this could be an explanation. ???

[Sunny070 in reply to restlessstoz]

You could be right. I need to eat earlier!

[Eryl]

You don't say how you eat your red meat whether it's plain or marinated in a sauce or not. A sweet barbecue sauce will worsten RLS much more than the meat would do. With time of eating, i try to eat my evening meal between 6 and 8,so that any food is digested before I go to bed and keep eating to an eight hour window (intrmittent fasting or time constrained eating) which is supposed to be healthier as it allows insulin levels to reach baseline. of course this is difficult if you're on a high carb diet which promotes the release of thhe hunger hormone ghrelin@.