Hello to you fellow RLS bearers,
I have not read on this discussion board extensively, just some, but have not come across the subject of DIET and RLS. So I will throw in my ideas, perhaps they might help someone here.
Years before I knew that I had RLS/PLMD (and sleep apnea) I discovered by keeping a food diary and careful observation of when I ate sugar (or anything with sugar in it or any form of sugar (honey, fructose, maltodextrin, corn syrup etc you get the idea) that I could not sleep well that night. And some nights not at all. I was in my 30's when I gleaned this insight. I am in my 60's now. So I gave up eating sugar entirely. That helped.
Eventually I used the artificial sweetners such as Equal, Splenda, and others so I could have the "sugar-free" products to satisfy my sweet tooth. What I found was that using these products increased my cravings for carbohydrates and caused me to gain weight. Plus I believe they caused me "brain stress" which contributed to my sleeplessness. So I gave them up too.
About four years ago I went on the Atkins Diet (low carb). I lost 25 lbs over a period of 5 months. My cravings decreased, yeah! And I was thinner two yeahs! I strictly avoided all sugars even fruit and most starches. BTW in the news recently I read women on a low carb diet had less risk of developing breast cancer than those on a high carb diet.
More recently I have been on a modified Atkins adding more carbs back into my diet. I have read that sleep deprivation causes an altered glucose metabolism and I wonder if this was a factor in why I could not process carbohydrates in a "normal" manner. Since I have been treated for OSA and PLMD, I have observed I can handle a few more carbs, such as one piece of fruit a day, or one serving of starch, such as bread, potato, rice, grain. Eating has become a little more enjoyable.
Another thing I notice is that if I have almost no carbs, I wake up in the night and cannot go back to sleep, unless I get up and eat. I assume it is low blood sugar. Yes I have LBS (low blood sugar). Hypoglycemia and Diabetes run in my family. If I eat my carbs near bedtime, that seems to help with my sleep. So sometimes I have a bowl of cereal (rice milk) near bedtime.
So this is something perhaps you may not have thought of and might be influencing your rls symptoms. It does with my dad, but he will not give up the sugar (he's addicted), so he continues to suffer with rls and poor sleep. And he takes Ambien, and still has to get up many nights and eat. For awhile when I talked him into avoiding sugars, guess what, he slept better. Then stress crept in and he started on sugar again. I am sympathetic to him, since I know from my own experience how hard it is. And he's 86! So I don't say anything.
I know this is getting long, but here is something I copied from the NSF newsletter (sleepfoundation.org). I have found this site helpful.
Sleep and Eating Disorders Explored
An article in the April 2004 issue of Sleep Medicine Reviews explores the subject of sleep and eating disorders. "There has been increasing interest in physiological aspects of the complex relationship of sleeping and eating," says David Neubauer, MD, of Johns Hopkins University. "This includes an understanding of their regulation in normal circumstances, in stressful conditions (such as sleep deprivation or starvation), and in the context of sleep disorders and eating disorders. Disruptions of sleep, whether from the deprivations from one's schedule or from a disorder like sleep apnea, can have metabolic consequences, such as impaired glucose utilization. It has been argued that this can contribute to obesity. The recent article in Sleep Medicine Reviews by Lauer and Krieg focuses on the opposite direction; that is, how disorders of eating influence sleep. Clearly, much remains to be learned about how eating and sleeping behaviors interact and how they may influence each other." For more on sleep and eating, see the special NSF feature, "Sleep Related Eating Disorder."
Until next time,
Diet and RLS
Diet and RLS
Thanks for listening, Sue
Hi Sue,
Excellent information! Thank you for offering it. Yes, diet has been discussed, on occasion. You can find some of the threads in the Non-Pharm forum.
I'm on the Atkins Diet too. Over all, I feel much better when I eliminate sugar and flour from my diet. It's just like poison to my system. Does it help my RLS. Not directly but it does increase my energy level, which helps me be more active...which SOMETIMES helps the RLS. It's very individual. For some, a proper diet and exercise is all they need. For others, like me, it helps sometimes and for others it doesn't matter what their diet is, the RLS remains.
That's why posts like yours are important because we need to hear as many people's experiences as possible. Then we have more choices! Thanks again for the thought provoking post!
Excellent information! Thank you for offering it. Yes, diet has been discussed, on occasion. You can find some of the threads in the Non-Pharm forum.
I'm on the Atkins Diet too. Over all, I feel much better when I eliminate sugar and flour from my diet. It's just like poison to my system. Does it help my RLS. Not directly but it does increase my energy level, which helps me be more active...which SOMETIMES helps the RLS. It's very individual. For some, a proper diet and exercise is all they need. For others, like me, it helps sometimes and for others it doesn't matter what their diet is, the RLS remains.
That's why posts like yours are important because we need to hear as many people's experiences as possible. Then we have more choices! Thanks again for the thought provoking post!
Sole
"If you ever drop your keys into a river of molten lava, let'em go, because, man, they're gone."
"If you ever drop your keys into a river of molten lava, let'em go, because, man, they're gone."
Suger and RLS
Hi, this is Jan
I, too, have tried Atkins. It didn't work for me. I was on it for approx. 3 months, and although I had the Atkins vitamin pack, I had terrible leg cramps, even while driving. I opted to go to a nutritionist. BUT, I do think there is a direct connection between eating too much sugar and RLS flareups. I posted something about that under ORP (Our Research Project) in a question format under this General heading. I noticed that when I eat too much sugar, my RLS really acts up, and I DO have a tremendous sweet tooth. Thanks so much for the info and taking the time to post it. It was really interesting and very helpful. I also keep a food diary, which helps me keep on track. However, it is a vicious circle, is it not? Stress makes my RLS worse, therefore I don't sleep as well regardless of my meds. Lack of sleep causes me to crave sweets (in my case anyway) which, when I eat, makes my RLS worse, which causes my RLS to flare up, therefore effecting my sleep patterns. And, sometimes, no matter how hard we try, life brings us stress. Thanks again, Sue. You'll be a valuable member of our "family".
Jan
I, too, have tried Atkins. It didn't work for me. I was on it for approx. 3 months, and although I had the Atkins vitamin pack, I had terrible leg cramps, even while driving. I opted to go to a nutritionist. BUT, I do think there is a direct connection between eating too much sugar and RLS flareups. I posted something about that under ORP (Our Research Project) in a question format under this General heading. I noticed that when I eat too much sugar, my RLS really acts up, and I DO have a tremendous sweet tooth. Thanks so much for the info and taking the time to post it. It was really interesting and very helpful. I also keep a food diary, which helps me keep on track. However, it is a vicious circle, is it not? Stress makes my RLS worse, therefore I don't sleep as well regardless of my meds. Lack of sleep causes me to crave sweets (in my case anyway) which, when I eat, makes my RLS worse, which causes my RLS to flare up, therefore effecting my sleep patterns. And, sometimes, no matter how hard we try, life brings us stress. Thanks again, Sue. You'll be a valuable member of our "family".
Jan
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jennygirl531
diet
Hi Sue. I think I asked about diet in relation to rls somewhere else here too. Last year I went on the South Beach Diet (very briefly) and noticed a tremendous difference in my rls symptoms while I was on it. I began to question if my problems were sugar/carb related somehow because that was essentially what was cut out of my diet as well, and I've always had a horrendous sweet tooth! Anyway, as soon as I went off it, my symptoms returned full-force. I haven't been able to muster my will-power to return to this diet and try it again and test it out, but I do want to get back to this and see if it helps again. Thanks for sharing your experience...
Jenny
Jenny