Re: Food Triggers and Vascular Dilation
Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 5:47 pm
Reporting in on my personal lab rat experiments:
1. It is becoming increasingly apparent to me that food triggers play a far larger role in my RLS than I had previously imagined. On the days that I restrict my food intake to foods which I am reasonably confident are "safe", I sleep better, I sleep longer, I am up fewer times, and I have minimal RLS breakthrough symptoms. While foods high in nitrates and nitrates might have the effect of better circulation and increased oxygen to peripheral tissues, they are not by themselves enough to compensate for the effects of eating a food trigger.
2. I found this comprehensive spreadsheet of potential migraine food triggers, which I've been using as a base for potential trigger foods: http://www.headaches.org/wp-content/upl ... dation.pdf
3. My food triggers are beginning to sort themselves into the following categories: dairy (including milk), food additives, fermented foods, chocolate, citrus fruits. Processed sugar, while not acting as a trigger, will give me a sufficient buzz if I eat it after about 4:00 pm then I have trouble falling and staying asleep. Honey is a definite trigger, so I am currently regarding all foods high in fructose (mainly in the fruit category) as being suspicious until I test them further. Caffeine is a tricky one for me. I find that an espresso first thing in the morning will actually calm any residual RLS I might have; I never have it in the afternoon or evening, which I believe is the more difficult time for food sensitivities.
4. While my food triggers don't perfectly align with the headache diet, it comes far closer than any of the other diets I have looked at.
5. I believe there is a temptation for those of us who are susceptible to food triggers to find a handful of safe foods and then stick with them, rather than subjecting ourselves to the testing process. I was reminded by a recent online article that an overly restrictive diet can lead to other health problems (a young boy was put on a very restrictive diet by his mother to improve his eczema, and started going blind because of lack of basic nutrients). We should always keep our doctors in the loop as to what we are doing, and seek appropriate advice about supplements when we have to eliminate entire categories of food.
Cheers!
1. It is becoming increasingly apparent to me that food triggers play a far larger role in my RLS than I had previously imagined. On the days that I restrict my food intake to foods which I am reasonably confident are "safe", I sleep better, I sleep longer, I am up fewer times, and I have minimal RLS breakthrough symptoms. While foods high in nitrates and nitrates might have the effect of better circulation and increased oxygen to peripheral tissues, they are not by themselves enough to compensate for the effects of eating a food trigger.
2. I found this comprehensive spreadsheet of potential migraine food triggers, which I've been using as a base for potential trigger foods: http://www.headaches.org/wp-content/upl ... dation.pdf
3. My food triggers are beginning to sort themselves into the following categories: dairy (including milk), food additives, fermented foods, chocolate, citrus fruits. Processed sugar, while not acting as a trigger, will give me a sufficient buzz if I eat it after about 4:00 pm then I have trouble falling and staying asleep. Honey is a definite trigger, so I am currently regarding all foods high in fructose (mainly in the fruit category) as being suspicious until I test them further. Caffeine is a tricky one for me. I find that an espresso first thing in the morning will actually calm any residual RLS I might have; I never have it in the afternoon or evening, which I believe is the more difficult time for food sensitivities.
4. While my food triggers don't perfectly align with the headache diet, it comes far closer than any of the other diets I have looked at.
5. I believe there is a temptation for those of us who are susceptible to food triggers to find a handful of safe foods and then stick with them, rather than subjecting ourselves to the testing process. I was reminded by a recent online article that an overly restrictive diet can lead to other health problems (a young boy was put on a very restrictive diet by his mother to improve his eczema, and started going blind because of lack of basic nutrients). We should always keep our doctors in the loop as to what we are doing, and seek appropriate advice about supplements when we have to eliminate entire categories of food.
Cheers!