A new lesson about broccoli

[notnowdad]

Recently I made a post on this discussion board about the miraculous relief from RLS symptoms which I have achieved by eating raw broccoli. In that post I shared that, by daily eating 4 ounces of raw broccoli with 1 tsp. of vinegar and 3 tsp. of olive oil, I have been able to achieve complete relief of RLS symptoms which were strongly affecting me every day. This relief has been virtually constant for more than two months with one exception. That exception has led me to understand that there is another critical component necessary to my obtaining relief.

Several days ago my “remedy” seemed to be losing its effectiveness. I was concerned because, although I was able to work at my desk all day, I began to have the old discomfort in bed at night. The day before yesterday I ate more than my usual amount of broccoli in an effort to stave off the increase in discomfort. That afternoon I was unable to continue working in my chair. By bedtime my discomfort was as bad as it ever was. I was writhing my legs in bed and had to use all my old coping strategies to fall asleep. When I woke up several hours later I was still in extreme discomfort but I managed to get back to sleep. When I woke up again at 4am I gave up on trying to sleep and got out of bed. I spent the rest of the night trying to figure out what could be happening.

It seemed unlikely that I had become resistant to the beneficial effect of the broccoli because a complete change in response over a few days seemed to be too rapid. It also seemed highly unlikely that I had acquired a chemically deficient bunch of broccoli. I considered the fact that I had, beginning about 5 days before, changed my supper time beverage from red wine to white wine. I then thought about a friend of mine who takes a very strong medicine for a different medical condition. He is under doctor’s orders to have a glass of red wine every day to enhance the effectiveness of his medicine. Although it seemed unlikely that some chemical in red wine is required for my broccoli “remedy” to work, I decided to give it a try. For the first (and hopefully last) time in my life I had a glass of red wine with my broccoli for breakfast. Within several hours I had complete relief of symptoms with no trouble sitting all day and no discomfort in bed last night. As I write this in the morning I’m still feeling perfectly OK sitting for a long period.

I believe the beneficial chemicals persist in the body for several days so it is not necessary to consume the red wine at the same meal with the broccoli. My next experiment is to go back to white wine with supper and use red wine vinegar instead of the white wine vinegar I had been using on the broccoli. It will be interesting to see if this provides enough of the mystery catalyst to help the broccoli keep my symptoms away. I will let you know how it goes.

The terrible discomfort I experienced the night before last was a reminder to me what an awful affliction this is and how important it is that I share my information in the clearest possible way. I do sincerely wish you all wellness and joy in your lives.

[Polar Bear]

Good luck in your 'test trials'

[Betty/WV]

Hi Notnowdad: This monster of a syndrome is weird isn't it. We are always trying to solve some mystery associated with it.

I was just thinking, while reading your post. Before my RLS got really bad. It would come and go. I would have it bad for a while and then it would disappear. Then at some unexpected time it would come back. Then it got to the point where it was there almost every night and sometimes in the day. Do you suppose this is what is happening to you. I hope it is the broccoli helping you. Or could it just be coincidence?

I don't know if I could eat that much broccoli and that often. Let me know what happens. You may have all of us on a broccoli diet. If it works, go for it. I don't like taking the meds but I can't stand to suffer like I do with out them. I don't do perfect with the meds.

I to wish you all a pleasant life, and lots of refreshing sleep.

BETTY/WV

[bekull]

I'm enjoying following this experiment and have upped my broccoli intake to twice a day, lunch and dinner - but cooked not raw, also not using the vinegar and oil. I used to use alcohol to manage my RLS, but since starting meds I don't use the alcohol anymore. Still, I am very interested in following your trials.

[notnowdad]

Well, I tried switching to white wine with my evening meal and using red wine vinegar (only 1 teaspoon) on the broccoli. My symptoms returned within a couple of days. A little red wine in the evening and I was back to "normal".

Two days ago I switched back to the white wine with supper, but I added a large glass of unsweetened purple grape juice during the day. Last night I was reading in bed and the discomfort was coming back. I really didn't want another glass of wine, but I didn't want to wake up feeling bad either. So I had a glass of red wine (about 5 oz.) and within an hour I was feeling normal again and that was great. Today I have been symptom free.

The fact that my symptoms come back with full strength when I break my regimen for a few days makes me realize that I am not now, and I may never be, cured. I have been experimenting with broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables for over 7 months. After getting used to being symptom free, I was a little hopeful that I would get a little better and might be able to decrease the size of the required portion. For now I intend to stay with the 4 oz. portion and at least 1 glass of red wine a day.

Best wishes to all of you.

[notnowdad]

Betty/WV, To answer your question: In recent years my suffering has been almost constant. I had taken to reading the morning newspaper walking around. I got a laptop computer so I could work standing up, at least some of the time. The only days I had some relief were those I was more physically active, not spending most of the day sitting and driving the car.

[Polar Bear]

Reading and walking is something I can relate to very well. Helps a lot with the reading if the print is not too small.