Keto diet and healthy gut biome

[SleeplessinNC]

I have RLS, PLMD all my life, and other complex health problems being worked up now. So far the immunologist, endocrinologist, neurologist, neurosurgeon, sleep neurologist and PCP have asked about my diet and gut biome and a few have recommended trying keto for RLS……yet not one of them can /will/have given me anything specific. Has anyone had luck with keto ? A secondary issue for me has been unexplained weight loss and I’m fearful keto will be depleting and not super healthy. Anyone??

[Joolsg]

I spent 9 months on a strict paleo diet that was 'keto' as my RLS was very severe on 150mg pregabalin and 25mg Oxycontin. I was desperate and determined to try a strict diet.I lost 16 pounds. At the time I was very slim and it made me look ill/skeletal.

It made absolutely ZERO difference to my RLS. In fact, I would say it made it worse because there were no treats at all, so no pleasure. Pleasure in eating produces dopamine, which helps RLS.

I then followed a low FodMaps diet for 6 months. Then a vegan diet for 6 months.

I can safely say that diets made no difference for me.

However, there are a few people with MS who DO have food and drink triggers. So it is worth trying one of the restrictive diets to see if they help. But try them for 4 to 5 weeks.

RLS seems to have many different causes. If spinal or brain injury, or low serum ferritin has caused RLS, then diet won't make any difference ( unless it's low in iron).

[Bantamdyno]

Hi, my daughter lost 4.5 stone on Kelly diet and it solved her other problems,but your under weight ? Myself I'm on the Hate diet helped a lot ,our internals are the same as a cave man so keep your protein separate from carbs(Google Haye diet)🤔

[SleeplessinNC in reply to Bantamdyno]

Thank you. I’ll look into that.

[Munroist]

If you have unexplained weight loss then it may be worth having a comprehensive blood test which checks many aspects of health. The results aren't always useful for RLS, in particular for ferritin which the medical establishment tend to say is normal even if it's at the very low end of the range and for RLS sufferers it is generally better at 100µg/L or more, but the test may identify other issues.

[DicCarlson]

Best resource for Keto is...

ruled.me/

Keto is very challenging to stay on. Do consider a version called Keto 2.0 (which is not really a Ketogenic diet, as it adds carbs at various times.)

eatingwell.com/article/8067...

[Hidden in reply to DicCarlson]

Keto is very challenging however i suspect that the OP (original poster)'s specialists are recommending a keto diet for the same reasons as it is recommended for people with epilepsy. And in order for it to work, it must be true a ketogenic diet (i.e. where the body goes into ketogenesis).

[SleeplessinNC in reply to Hidden]

Thank you. I was aware that it really only works if you truly go 100% keto. It will be difficult to maintain but worth a try. I’m out of medication options.

[DicCarlson in reply to Hidden]

There is a popular book authored by Dr. Christopher Palmer called Brain Energy. He explores Keto for many mental health conditions. Some of his patient stories are amazing!

hubermanlab.com/episode/dr-...

[UsableThought]

I agree with other folks who’ve already commented about the difficulty with a keto diet & its lack of effect on RLS - I tried keto about 7 years ago & it did nothing for me & I was glad to get off it.

As for your unexplained weight loss: You should certainly get bloodwork done as Munroist suggests. But another possibility is weight loss due to the natural tendency to lose muscle as we age; this can be exacerbated by not eating enough protein. In fact research has shown that many of us will need to increase our protein intake as we age, simply because we no longer metabolize protein as well. Age 60, which I see you are, is old enough for this to be a possibility.

In my case, starting a few years ago at age 64, I started losing a lot of weight & I had no idea why. My weight dropped below what I had weighed when I was in college, back when I was strong and slim. I looked absolutely gaunt and it was quite worrying.

I stumbled across a book for older persons who wanted to lose weight that was showing up as fat - but the book also described the paradox of some persons losing weight due to losing too much muscle. It prescribed increasing protein & I began doing so. I also realized that I had gotten so depressed about sleep issues that I had lost my appetite, which didn’t help.

At first eating more protein seemed to make no difference. But then, at a certain point my metabolism seemed to change & I began putting on weight. I am now back to a more normal weight for me & look much better. I still want to add strength exercises to my weekly routine but haven’t gotten around to it yet; but I do make sure to walk a good deal, which is a recommended form of exercise at any age.

So you might look into your eating habits & protein in particular. The book that helped me is called “The Whole Body Reset” by Stephen Perrine; or you can look for articles in the subject. The technical term for age-related weight loss is “scaropenia” so you can search for that also.

Randy