Are Carbs and sugar rls triggers?

Here you can share your experiences with substances that are ingested, inhaled, or otherwise consumed for the purpose of relieving RLS, other than prescription medications. For example, herbal remedies, nutritional supplements, diet, kratom, and marijuana (for now) should be discussed here. Tell others of successes, failures, side effects, and any known research on these substances. [Posts on these subjects created prior to 2009 are in the Physical Treatments forum.]

Important: Posts and information in this section are based on personal experiences and recommendations; they should not be considered a substitute for the advice of a healthcare provider.
Rcure
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Are Carbs and sugar rls triggers?

Post by Rcure »

Are Carbs and sugar rls triggers? Or am I just going crazy

Yankiwi
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Location: West Coast, South Island, New Zealand

Re: Are Carbs and sugar rls triggers?

Post by Yankiwi »

They might be for some people but not for me, however I try to limit sugar and eat whole grains. I gave up on coffee years ago and more than one glass of wine is a trigger for me.

Rcure
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat May 28, 2016 2:39 pm

Re: Are Carbs and sugar rls triggers?

Post by Rcure »

I to try and limit carbs but I'm not perfect and every now and then I slip. I've started a vitamin regiment and have been eating a low carb diet For 2 weeks now, since then I'm completely off DA and have been feeling good except for today when a had a little bit of a binge and it flaired up my rls.

debbluebird
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Re: Are Carbs and sugar rls triggers?

Post by debbluebird »

I think it is possible. I'm always willing to try everything. I do know that I am so sensitive, that I can't have any form of caffeine, which includes chocolate. They say that when you crave something, it probably is one of the things that makes it worse. Oh, I also can't have any artificial sweeteners. I know that for a fact too.

Rcure
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat May 28, 2016 2:39 pm

Re: Are Carbs and sugar rls triggers?

Post by Rcure »

I read somewhere that a gut infection can worsen rls and carbs can cause the bacteria to grow. I think the term is "Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth " I have no idea if this information is reliable but it makes me wonder. Does anyone know of this?

badnights
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Re: Are Carbs and sugar rls triggers?

Post by badnights »

I was diagnosed with SIBO and have posted here about it (Search SIBO, top right)

I was told that I had bacteria in my small intestine that belonged in my large intestine, plus I had bacteria and yeast in my small intestine that didn't belong in me anywhere. It is the bacteria that don't belong that eat carbohydrates, and also make you crave them by excreting substances that end up in your bloodstream. They also can make your gut wall leaky, I was told, which allows larger molecules into your bloodstream that should not be able to get there, and this can trigger immune reactions and neurological issues. I was interested in all of this because WED is a neurological disease.

I was given a 3-month antimicrobial treatment but the antimicrobials were various herbs and I don't know how effective they were. I also was given a biofilm-breaking enzyme to take an hour before the antimicrobials, to break down the protective film that colonies of bacteria form around themselves. I did feel better after this treatment, but a few months later I had to go on a job where I ate freeze-dried food for 3 weeks, and it all came back - bloating and gut pains after eating.

I disliked the whole idea of the antimicrobial treatment, and perhaps would have disliked it even more if I had taken a pharmaceutical antimicrobial, so I Didnt want to do it again. The premise is to kill everything then re-populate with good bugs, but I was given only one species of good bug to populate with because apparently I had overgrowths of the other kinds. There are many species of bacteria in a healthy human gut, no one knows what they all are, they vary among cultures anyway. Why kill everything if you don't know what it needs to be replaced with?

I started eating raw fermented food. I make my own saurkraut, I ferment radishes and carrotts. I make sure I eat fermented food at least once a day. And without any more antimicrobials (if that's what those herbs actually were), I have eliminated a lot of the bloating and all of the gut pain that came back.

But through it all, my WED/RLS has not been affected in any noticeable way. When I first began changing my diet, I was able to reduce my medication almost by a half over a period of 3 months, after eliminating gluten, dairy, sugar, and heavily processed foods, adding 9 cups of vegetables (3 of sulfur-containing veg, 3 of colored veg, 3 of leafy green), cold-water wild fish, and organ meats. I have not really been able to reduce since then., and all that preceded the antimicrobial SIBO treatment, which as I said had no apparent effect on my WED.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
Click for info on WED/RLS AUGMENTATION & IRON
I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

Rustsmith
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Re: Are Carbs and sugar rls triggers?

Post by Rustsmith »

A couple of years ago I went on a reduced carb diet for endurance athletes with the hope that it would help both my RLS and my migraines. I believe that it has been beneficial for my migraines but I cannot say that there was any improvement in my RLS. However, I was experiencing augmentation for much of that time, so I cannot be sure that the reduced carbs would not have provided benefits under better circumstances or if my RLS had been of a milder variety.
Steve

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

ViewsAskew
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Re: Are Carbs and sugar rls triggers?

Post by ViewsAskew »

I haven't tried all possible diets by any means; have been gluten, soy, dairy, egg, nut, sugar, corn free; have done low-carb (several types), low fat, intermittent-fasting, and who knows what else - I started dieting when I was 13/14 because I thought I was fat at 5'9" and 135 pounds - each diet ended up with me heavier. At some point I stopped dieting for weight issues, but to help other health issues, including a GI issues and migraines. For me, none have ever affected RLS/WED or PLMS, but as with Steve, they have definitely helped the other conditions. Very rarely when I eat sugar late at night my symptoms worsen slightly for about 20 minutes (it starts within about ten minutes). But, it rarely happens - I don't do it often for one, but even when I do I get a varied response.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

stjohnh
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Location: Palo Alto, California

Re: Are Carbs and sugar rls triggers?

Post by stjohnh »

I'm on a ketogenic diet, very low carbs. Generally the ketogenic diet certainly seems to help my RLS (that is, I sleep better, I am able to take lower doses of mirapex, and if I have jumpy legs, they start later in the evening). That said, on the occasion that I cheat and eat a significant carb load it doesn't consistently seem to increase my RLS symptoms at the time.
Blessings,
Holland

badnights
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Re: Are Carbs and sugar rls triggers?

Post by badnights »

I was in ketosis for 3 months, confirmed by blood test, and possibly for 5 months. I did not notice any particular benefits. I may not have been in a proper state to judge because I had just started going to a high-intensity interval training gym, and without carbs I couldn't recover from the workouts. I was burnt out for 4-6 hours afterward. I kept that up for 3 months, then started bringing carbs back in, at first just before and after a workout. I am a bit freer with them now, but still lowish carb. Not keto, though.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
Click for info on WED/RLS AUGMENTATION & IRON
I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

Stainless
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Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2015 9:30 pm

Re: Are Carbs and sugar rls triggers?

Post by Stainless »

I've known for over 40 years that ice cream can trigger bad rls in me. Way before I had ever heard of rls. Not always a trigger but enough times that we don't keep it in the house. I always assumed it was the sugar. And I love ice cream!

67java89
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Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2016 3:35 pm

Re: Are Carbs and sugar rls triggers?

Post by 67java89 »

I'm thinking about cutting out refined sugars/excess carbs but food is the only thing that comforts me during severe RLSWED, the sugarier the better. The need to eat something sweet while I'm walking the floors is almost primal. Any thoughts?
Sleep is a basic need.

ViewsAskew
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Re: Are Carbs and sugar rls triggers?

Post by ViewsAskew »

It's worth a try. If it helps, then you won't need the comfort :-). It's also worth it to look at the other diets used. Many people have had minor to major success.

I do find that fruits, nuts, and proteins work better for me as snacks. I am less likely to overeat them and they are more likely to sate me. I keep hard boiled eggs in the fridge, a delicious jerky that I like, and several variety of nuts. I always have grapes and snackable fruits.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

67java89
Posts: 38
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2016 3:35 pm

Re: Are Carbs and sugar rls triggers?

Post by 67java89 »

ViewsAskew wrote:It's worth a try. If it helps, then you won't need the comfort :-). It's also worth it to look at the other diets used. Many people have had minor to major success.

I do find that fruits, nuts, and proteins work better for me as snacks. I am less likely to overeat them and they are more likely to sate me. I keep hard boiled eggs in the fridge, a delicious jerky that I like, and several variety of nuts. I always have grapes and snackable fruits.

I like to crunch on carrots. Even though they're not sweet the crunch is really satifying. And grapes (for iron)? Who knows :?:
Sleep is a basic need.

Yankiwi
Posts: 548
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2014 7:20 am
Location: West Coast, South Island, New Zealand

Re: Are Carbs and sugar rls triggers?

Post by Yankiwi »

Carrots can be sweet. Look for a different brand. I, too, like raw carrots and pay more for a sweeter package. Some seem more like horse carrots.

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