I received a lot of feedback about my belief that inflammation is at the core of Restless Legs Syndrome.
For those that are interested, I searched around for general articles to support this idea.
This list of articles doesn't go into condition-specific details (for instance Restless Legs and inflammation).
It's more of an bird's eye view to emphasize that inflammation being at the core of all medical conditions is now a very popular belief in the world of science. Studies into this have snowballed the last few years.
Thank you for that. I have been on an anti-inflammatory diet for 20 years and whilst it hasn't stopped RLS - it has delayed progression as I have had RLS for 50 years and can still manage without medication apart from cannabis. I also do not have any other aches, pains, can walk 5 kms a day and live a fairly active life. There is no doubt in my mind that avoiding seed oils (highly inflammatory) sugar, gluten, and having lots of raw smoothies and veggies with grass fed meats and fish, is keeping me quite well for a 75 year old. I feel it is definitely worth the effort to cook at home and avoid the fillers in commercially prepared take away foods.
Some people react to the pesticides (both artificial or natural) on or in some plants like glyphosate, oxylates or nightshades. Perhaps your consumption of raw smoothies is actually doing you more harm than good as I have completely eliminated my RLS by avoiding inflammatory foods without using any medication.
I avoid any veggies and foods that are super high in oxalates ie spinach, almonds, kale - though we do have bacteria that break down oxalates - I seem to be one of them as never had a problem. I don't eat nightshades. Unfortunately some people are deficient in those bacteria and the oxalates accumulate. I know some people are also sensitive to lectins (natural pesticides) in foods. I have read Dr Gundry on how to avoid high lectins and feel I have the balance right. It is interesting that there are now hundreds of doctors that have cured their patients by going on a carnivore diet for a few months as meat is the only food that does not contain lectins, oxalates and other plant toxins. It seems especially effective in autoimmune conditions. It isn't for me though. Overall apart from RLS I have very good health so I think what I am doing is pretty good but who knows I am always researching new information and could change again who knows. Thanks for you input.
Everyone is different. I have nightshade veggies almost every meal. They don't bother me. Same with spinach, almonds and kale. For someone else that would set them off.
It's always an experiment in process and it's very personal.
Have you ever tried the elimination method to tweak your diet?
Inflammation is at the heart of the healing process that's why it's at the heart of all deseases, and it is good for acute injuries like bruises or cuts because it is usually short lived. The problems occur when the causes are long lived like the inflammation caused by ingredients in our regular diet, then it can cause cell damage leading to disfunction or even damage to an organ like liver disease from regular consumption of large doses of alcohol or fructose or nerve damage as in the case of dementia, ms, Parkinson's etc. In the case of RLS and mental health problems (anxiety, depression etc) the inflammation causes disfunction rather than damage and the disfunction can be eliminated by removing the cause of the inflammation. Hopefully you won't haave caused permanent damage which might appear later in life.
I'm hoping that reducing weight will reduce the amount of visceral fat I'm carrying as this is widely reported to be a contributor to chromic inflammation. I also suspect some of peoples reactions to certain foods e.g. ultra processed foods is due to their inflammatory effect.
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