“Restless Legs Syndrome – Theoretical roles of inflammatory and immune mechanisms.” by Weinstock, Leonard B. et al.

Here is an excerpt from the study:

“The fact that 95% of the 38 highly-associated RLS conditions are also associated with inflammatory/ immune changes suggests the possibility that RLS may be mediated or affected through these mechanisms. Inflammation can be responsible for iron deficiency and hypothetically could cause central nervous system iron deficiency-induced RLS. Alternatively, an immune reaction to gastrointestinal bacteria or other antigens may hypothetically cause RLS by a direct immunological attack on the central or peripheral nervous system.”

Visit this web page to view the entire study: http://www.rlcure.com/rls_study.pdf

They include:

Parkinson’s
Acne
Acromegaly
Aging
Alzheimer’s
Amyloidosis
Anemia
Aortic Valve Stenosis
Arthritis
Asthma
Ataxia
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Cancer
Celiac Disease
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Chronic Sarcoidosis
Chronic Venous Disorder
Colitis
Crohn’s Disease
Cystic Fibrosis
Depression
Diabetes
Fibromyalgia
Heart Disease
Hodgkin Disease
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Kidney Disease / Renal Failure
Liver Disease
Lupus
Lyme Disease
Migraines
Multiple Sclerosis
Neuropathy
Obesity
Pancreatitis
Parkinson’s
Pregnancy
Psoriasis
Pulmonary Hypertension
Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)
Stroke
Tourette’s Syndrome

http://www.rlcure.com/othercond.html

There is also data from scientific studies showing that the following inflammatory conditions feature a significantly higher prevalence rate of Restless Legs Syndrome.

Acromegaly
Alzheimer’s
Amyloidosis
Anemia
Arthritis
Asthma
Ataxia
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Cancer
Celiac Disease
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Chronic Sarcoidosis
Chronic Venous Disorder
Crohn’s Disease
Depression
Diabetes
Fibromyalgia
Heart Disease
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Kidney Disease / Renal Failure
Liver Disease
Lupus
Lyme Disease
Migraines
Multiple Sclerosis
Neuropathy
Obesity
Parkinson’s
Pulmonary Hypertension
Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)
Stroke
Tourette’s Syndrome

It includes results from scientific studies that show that pregnant women and the elderly population (two demographics that display a higher than normal amount of inflammation) also feature a higher rate of RLS.
http://www.rlcure.com/linked.html

I’ve debated changing it, but I still believe with every fiber of my being that inflammation is the primary cause of RLS, and if you get rid of your inflammation, you’ll get rid of your RLS.

So, I’m keeping the word ABSOLUTE in the title because technically, it is an ABSOLUTE cure. This is based on the premise that if you change your diet and take the inflammation fighting minerals, herbs and supplements that I recommend (or any ones you choose to take on your own) you WILL eventually become free of your RLS.

The problem is that there is no set way to relieve the inflammation that is causing your discomfort. You can deal with the bulk of the inflammation by taking the recommended supplements and avoiding the obvious harmful foods. The difficulty is finding out which are the harmful foods that are unique to your system.

The plan that I’ve laid out should take care of 80% to 90% of your problem. After that it becomes a very personalized program, as each person has to find out how to deal with the remaining 10-20%.

For some people the remaining irritation may be caused by tomatoes, for others it may be bananas, for many, it may be the medication you’re on.

Finding out what is prolonging your RLS and induces an inflammatory reaction in your body is all part of the great experiment that you must be a part of.

I was tremendously grateful when I pulled out of my RLS horror. The hopelessness I suffered for so long was behind me. To escape the grip of RLS, I took my herbs, vitamins and supplements religiously every day. I was also forced to changed my diet in a huge way.

Still, even a couple years after starting my new regiment, sometimes my legs would flair up. I’d sneak in some chocolate cake and ice cream, or a big plate of pasta, or a bowl of  chips and a few diet cokes, and that would often result in some twitching.

It was frustrating, and I would react, but when I settled myself down I realized that yes my legs were twitching, but realistically, my RLS was still 90% better than it was before. This more realistic outlook helped me to deal with these minor incidents.

Still, I couldn’t help wondering why these foods were still causing a bit of twitching? Shouldn’t all the inflammation be gone by now? After a couple years of carefully watching my diet, and continuing my daily intake of inflammation-fighting herbs, minerals and supplements, why were my legs still reacting?

Then one day, while visiting the Self Nutrition Data website, I decided to check out the inflammation rating for two of my breakfast staples, orange juice and peanut butter.

I was surprised to see that both were negatives. Orange Juice was a -25 and my natural peanut butter was -18. I LOVE peanut butter and orange juice. They were an integral part of my happy breakfast.

I did some more research and tried to find another type of juice that had a positive inflammation rating. The good news … and the bad news, is that the answer was carrot juice, with an incredible inflammation rating of +424 per cup!

Carrot juice? My whole life I would cringe whenever someone  even mentioned carrot juice (usually it was someone that had just bought their first juicer and was trying to convert me). The idea of someone drinking carrot juice gave me the willies. It was a drink for old hippies and creepy health nuts.  Keep away from me you freaks!

But +424. That’s absolutely amazing!! How can I not at least try it out.

So, I bought a bottle of pure carrot juice and when I got home I tried it out.

It wasn’t an exciting experience, but the main thing is, it wasn’t a repulsive experience. It tasted exactly like carrots, but just in a form that I’d never experienced before. Gulping down liquid carrots was a little weird at first, but I’m now used to it, and don’t mind carrot juice at all.

Every day I drink a few ounces at breakfast, lunch and supper. Since I started doing that, my legs and my sleeping have never been better.

At the same time I did the research into the carrot juice, I searched for a replacement for peanut butter. I checked out a lot of websites, and it was unanimous that almonds were the best anti-inflammatory nut.

I like almonds, but not nearly as much as I like peanuts or peanut butter. But for the sake of trying to rid myself of that last bit of inflammation, I was willing to make yet another painful dietary sacrifice, and replaced my morning dose of peanut butter with almond butter. I also include a handful of almonds with my breakfast and supper.

Since removing the negative effect that orange juice and peanut butter were having on my body, and replacing them with the positive effect of carrot juice and almond butter & almonds, I have never felt better, and my RLS is completely gone. Even when I stray from my diet and load up on pizza and diet coke, my legs remain fine.

The formula for success is simple.

        Zero Inflammation = Zero RLS.

By following this formula, there is a unique, but absolute solution for every individual. It comes down to you asking yourself “what am I willing to consume to rid my body of inflammation … and what am I willing to give up?”

Thousands of different food are broken down into their nutritional components, including the inflammation rating for each one.

Based on the findings at Self Nutrition Data, here are the inflammation ratings for what could be considered a “normal” breakfast.

2 Eggs   -112
Bacon  -6
Rice Krispies -101 
Glass of Orange Juice -25
Toast (white) -93
1 Cup 2% milk  -70
1 Cup of Brewed Coffee +1

The grand total of the above foods is -406.

The irony of it is that the 2 foods that I expected to be the worst,  are actually not that bad … the bacon and coffee.

I promise I won’t show you the picture of that stomach ulcer again. Let’s  just assume that you do in fact have inflammation (damaged cells) in your legs. Imagine what kind of irritation is taking place when you start your day off with a breakfast similar to the one listed above.

Again, recovery is all about common sense, and the willingness to make some sacrifices.

On a health scale, the spectrum of breakfasts is vast, from the highly disturbing (just walk through the cereal aisle at your local supermarket) to the super healthy.

The issue when it comes to healing our RLS is that a lot of healthy “sounding” breakfast products, are not really that healthy, at least when it comes to inflammation.

Because the first objective in healing our RLS is the lessening of inflammation, breakfast plays an important role in how our day is going to play out. We can either start the day by moving in a positive direction (working towards less inflammation) or in a negative direction (helping the inflammation to spread and deepen).

If you suffer from RLS, then starting your day with highly inflammatory foods is like a person with an ulcer starting their day off with a slice of pizza.

This picture of a stomach ulcer  clearly demonstrates that starting you day off with a slice of pizza would further irritate an existing health problem. You don’t have to be a doctor to realize that this is true. It’s just common sense.

Unfortunately I can’t show you a picture of inflammation, but if I could, and put it beside this stack of pancakes drowning in butter and syrup, it would bring upon the same realization – that certain foods MUST be avoided if healing is to ever take place.

It’s also fairly obvious that taking Requip or any other dopamine agonist is not going to repair your inflammation problem. Sure, in some cases you get a bit of relief (along with the occasional wacky side effect) but these drugs are strictly a band-aid solution. They will never (nor will any other RLS pharmaceutical) lessen your RLS. They will only mask what is truly happening beneath the surface.

Monica Reinagel  has written a book called The Inflammation Free Diet Plan.  www.inflammationfactor.com

Included in this book is a complete listing of IF Ratings for over 1600 foods.

The IF Rating™ system makes it easy by estimating how various foods and combinations of foods are likely to affect inflammation in the body. Foods with negative ratings may contribute to inflammation, especially when consumed in excessive quantities. Foods with positive IF Ratings support the body’s anti-inflammatory processes. The higher the number, the stronger the effect.

For instance, a half cup of chocolate ice cream is -127.  It’s just like it sounds … bad. Not very helpful for someone trying to become free of the inflammation that is causing their twitchy legs. A raw carrot is +99, so an excellent vegetable to eat lots of if you suffer from RLS.

In the next while I’m going to list some positive and negative foods that may surprise you.

This is where the rubber hits the road when it comes to making changes in your diet – changes that will begin the healing process of your RLS (inflammation).

What are you willing to give up in order to become healthy?

Here is an excerpt from a New York Times article that supports the idea that inflammation is the primary cause of Restless Legs Syndrome.

The key words in the above excerpt are “NSAIDs work well” and “long-term use can cause problems.”

NSAIDs is an acronym for “Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs.” These are the pharmaceutical anti-inflammatories that Doctors prescribe.

What this excerpt is telling us is that Doctors treated RLS patients with anti-inflammatory drugs, and they worked well to lessen the patient’s inflammation and RLS. Unfortunately the dangerous side effects that NSAIDs create eliminate them as a viable remedy over an extended period of time.

NSAIDs are not an option because of their dangerous side effects. This isn’t a reason to ignore the obvious evidence that inflammation is a key component of RLS.

It’s an important clue that Doctors and Scientists seem to be skipping over, simply due to the fact that they don’t have an effective drug that deals with chronic inflammation.

Even though a proper diet and a few vitamins, minerals and herbs can quickly heal your inflammation (and RLS), the chances of your Doctor recommending any of these is zero.

Therein lies the problem.

For some, this is the ultimate sacrifice. For some it’s impossible to even consider.

According to the statistic below, the average person is supposed to consume no more than 30 grams of sugar a day. There is 24 grams of sugar and 200 calories in a bowl of Cap’n Crunch … so if you’re starting the day off with a boost from Cap’n Crack, that doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room for the rest of the day. You pretty much have to pull the sheets over your head to avoid going over the recommended amount.

There’s even sugar in table salt. Glucose is a sugar (the main sugar in corn syrup), and is added in small amounts (0.04%) to salt to prevent the potassium iodide from breaking down into iodine, which evaporates away (sublimes).

“Table Salt.” Science Toys sci-toys.com/ingredients/table_salt.html

When it comes to RLS, it’s not a matter of cutting out ALL sugar in all of its excellent tasting forms forever. It’s simply a matter of cutting back while the inflammation is healing in your legs.

Once the inflammation heals to a certain degree, you won’t have such severe reactions when you do consume sugar, msg, gluten etc. There will likely be some quivers as a result of consuming a big piece of chocolate cake and ice cream, but the irritation will be a FRACTION of what it was when your legs were fully inflamed.

So, again the key to recovering from your RLS is to make the BIG sacrifice for the first few months, and then develop a diet that suits your needs.

After a couple of months of valuable discipline, you’ll know that the decision is yours alone as to your level of your RLS discomfort. You’ll no longer be able to scream at the sky cursing that you have been burdened with this incurable disease. You’ll know after a short stint of taking this remedy’s collection of vitamins, minerals and herbs … and watching your diet carefully … that there is a cure, and that it lies solely in your hands.

If you’re a big sugar lover, and NEED to have your daily sugar fix, record the effect that it creates.  That should make the connection between inflammation, sugar and RLS more real for you, and should also make the decision to back away from your favorite treats a little easier.

Sugar is an informal term for a class of edible crystalline  substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose characterized by a sweet flavor. In food, sugar almost exclusively refers to sucrose, which primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet. Other sugars are used in industrial food preparation, but are usually known by more specific names—glucose, fructose  or fruit sugar, high fructose corn syrup, etc.

Excessive consumption of sucrose has been associated with increased incidences of type 2 diabetes, obesity and tooth decay.

In September 2009, the AHA (American Heart Association) released new limitations on added sugar intake. Their results show that women are to consume no more than 25 grams of added sugar daily and men are restricted to 37 grams. The average American consumes between 3 and 5 pounds of added sugar a week, adding up to 200+ pounds of added sugar a year per person. A 12 ounce can of regular soda alone contains 39 grams of added sugar, far exceeding the recommended limit for adults.

“Sugar.” Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar

IUPAC. Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the “Gold Book”). Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford (1997). goldbook.iupac.org/S06088.html ISBN 0-9678550-9-8. doi:10.1351/goldbook.

Joseph Wuebben and Mike Carlson. “Sugar: What Kinds to Eat and When.” Men’s Fitness www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/vitamins/114

Caroline J. Cederquist, “Sugar Free Diet: Overdoing Dietary Sugar is No Sweet Deal for Your Body.” Bistro M.D. www.bistromd.com/SugarFreeDiet.asp

From the Lab: Sugar’s Negative Effect on Inflammation

“One of the biggest offenders of inflammation is ingestion of sugar. By sugar I mean table sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, turbinado sugar, honey (even raw), maple sugar, corn sweetener, dextrose, glucose, fructose and any other word that ends in an “ose”, barley malt, rice syrup, liquid cane sugar, concentrated fruit juice and others. Don’t be fooled by the name organic when it applies to sugar. Sugar is sugar, organic or not.”

Nancy Appleton, Ph.D.,”The Relationship between Sugar and Inflammation.” LowCarb Monthly Magazine. (2007). www.lowcarbmonthly.com/general-health/the-relationship-between-sugar-and-inflammation.html

“The faster the foods show up as sugar in our blood, the faster inflammatory responses occur. This is dangerous for a diabetic, but slow or fast, the inflammation is destructive to all of us. High blood sugar damages the nervous system, the blood vessels, (which then get “repaired” by cholesterol deposits), and since our blood vessels go everywhere in our body, every part of our brain and body gets gradually eroded. Name a disease, it is related to this process.”

Dianne M. Buxton, “Shocker – Sugar and Inflammation Make Life Less Sweet.” SearchWarp.com (July 8, 2008) searchwarp.com/swa349728.htm

“The study shows that high glucose can increase levels of key proteins that result in inflammation. The inflammation process in blood vessels and the kidney can lead to a build-up of cells (atherosclerosis) and damage to tissues that can constrict the passage of blood through vessels.”

Armen Hareyan, “The Pathway Linking High Glucose to Inflammation That Can Cause Diabetes Complications.” eMaxhealth.com www.emaxhealth.com/23/4424.html

Williams MD, Nadler JL. “Inflammatory Mechanisms of Diabetic Complications.” Eastern Virginia Medical School. Current Diabetes Reports. 2007 Jun;7(3):242-8.

Word from the Street

http://www.ei-resource.org/illness-information/
related-conditions/restless-leg-syndrome-and-periodic-leg-movement
Restless Leg Syndrome and Periodic Leg Movement
by Jacob Teitelbaum M.D.
Natural remedies
For RLS focus on diet and nutritional supplementation. Avoiding caffeine is important. Because RLS may be associated with hypoglycemia, eating a sugar-free, high-protein diet with a protein snack at night may decrease episodes of cramping and RLS at night.

http://www.accupunture.info/ear-acupuncture/rls-any-effective-alrenative-treatmentganerd
Subject: Sugar
June 21, 2009 at 9:39 pm
By changing my diet, I am now free from all the poisonous prescription medications. My diet has little or no cane sugar, low in bad fats (saturated, hydrogenated, no fried foods!) high in good fats (omega 3 and 6).

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/healthy-living/natural-health/
alternative-clinic/conditions-treatments/restless-legs-syndrome
Alternative Treatments for Restless Legs Syndrome
Date updated: August 15, 2007
James Keough
Anyone with RLS should also limit alcohol intake, quit smoking and eliminate sugar, caffeine and refined foods from her diet. A small Dutch study, published in December 2006 in the Dutch journal Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde, even found a connection between saccharine and RLS.

http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/message-boards/viewtopic.php?t=8184
Stanley
PostPosted: September 28 2002
Post subject: SUGAR & RLS
Throughout my life there has seemed a large correlation between night, or evening, consumption of sugar and a RLS event. Even a cookie or a soda could set it off. Has anyone else noticed this?

http://bb.rls.org/viewtopic.php?t=6329
jojojojo
Location: UK
PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 7:23 am
Post subject: sugar is not always sweet …
Hey I did an experiment earlier, and i noticed that if i cut as much sugar out of my diet as possible, the restless legs eases considerably.

I had a bit of a sugar fest yesterday, and worried that i would be ‘dancing’ all night, I had some cinnamon tea. (cherry and cinnamon). Cinnamon regulates the blood sugar, and I did NOT have restless legs AT ALL!!!!

http://bb.rls.org/viewtopic.php?t=5319
VinnyButch
Location: New Jersey
PostPosted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 9:48 pm
Post subject: Has anyone else noticed…?

What I have noticed is that when I stick to a healthy diet, my RLS symptoms seem to flare up much less frequently than when I eat junk foods, especially sugary snacks shortly before bedtime. If I have a sweet donut or two at night, I’m done. It will be hours before I can get to sleep. I assume that’s the amount of time it takes for my body to process the sugar. Any sort of sweet food will do it to me. Last night I finally fell asleep as the sun started to rise. I didn’t know whether to give sleep one more chance or just hop in the shower and start the day. Has anyone else noticed a correlation between sugar and RLS?

http://www.forumromanum.de
Anni Bergman
24 Jan. 2010 17:13
RE: Our diet and the Restless Legs Syndrome
I noticed that I react very strongly to sugar. If I eat fruit or sweets in the evening my legs become restless. Sometimes it is so bad that I can no longer remain seated. My sister also has RLS and has the same problem. Maybe this info will help someone. Anni

http://bb.rls.org/viewtopic.php?t=4994
KBear
Location: Wisconsin USA
PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 9:00 pm
Post subject: What’s working for me
I eliminated caffeine and started taking vitamin/mineral/amino acid supplements. I also revamped my diet to include only “whole foods” fruits, veggies, raw nuts, some dairy, whole grain bread, lean meats, eggs, and lots of filtered water. No processed foods, white flour, sugar, etc. As a moderate drinker I have also cut back to being a “light” drinker. I also take epsom salt baths a couple nights per week and lotion my feet every night before bed.

I am pleased to say that my RLS symptoms have subsided and I am sleeping well on most nights.

http://bb.rls.org/viewtopic.php?t=3834
Critter
Location: Montana
PostPosted: Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:14 am
Post subject: Sugar Connection
Hi Folks, like many of you I have been living with this for many years and am always looking for an answer!!! Someday!! I was wondering if anyone else notices increased rls symptoms after eating sugar? Seems to me it causes episodes to happen. Maybe just in me. Thanks, Chris

http://bb.rls.org/viewtopic.php?t=3834
Location: Illinois
PostPosted: Wed Feb 14, 2007 1:27 am
Post subject: re: Sugar Connection
I do, Chris. When I gorge on sweets, my legs go nuts. As a result, I don’t eat nearly as much, which is good all the way around. Jan

For more information about RLS antagonists (and remedies) that people have discovered through their own personal experience, visit www.RLcure.com/world.html

From the Lab: Sugar’s Negative Effect on Dopamine Levels

“After a few days, the rats were “hooked” – wanting to drink more each day. Their brains created more dopamine receptors. After a month of this schedule, when the sugar was removed, or the dopamine was chemically blocked using a drug, anxiety increased, to the point that the rats’ teeth audibly chattered — a sign of withdrawal, Hoebel said. What was especially interesting was that rats got a dopamine high even if they didn’t actually digest the sugar. One set of rats had drains placed in their stomachs that made all the fluid secrete out. Even in that group, the rats craved sugar.”

Joy Victory, “Studying the ‘Sweet Tooth’: Rats Given High Sugar Diet Show Strong Urge to Have More and More.” ABC News (May 25, 2006). abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/story?id=2001298&page=1 BG Hoebel, P. Rada and NM Avena, “Evidence for sugar addiction: behavioral and neurochemical effects of intermittent, excessive sugar intake”. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Review 32: 20-39. PMID 17617461 (2008).

“Recent behavioral tests in rats further back the idea of an overlap between sweets and drugs. Drug addiction often includes three steps. A person will increase his intake of the drug, experience withdrawal symptoms when access to the drug is cut off and then face an urge to relapse back into drug use. Rats on sugar have similar experiences. Researchers withheld food for 12 hours and then gave rats food plus sugar-water. This created a cycle of bingeing where the animals increased their daily sugar intake until it doubled. When researchers either stopped the diet or administered an opioid blocker the rats showed signs common to drug withdrawal, such as teeth-chattering and the shakes. Early findings also indicate signs of relapse. Rats weaned off sugar repeatedly pressed a lever that previously dispensed the sweet solution.”

Leah Ariniello, “Sugar Addiction” Brain Briefings, Society for Neuroscience (October 2003).

“We made a fake bee and let it fly over the blue and yellow flowers” with variable amounts of sugar, Dr. Montague said. Each time a virtual bee landed on a flower, its dopamine neuron was alerted. As in most animals, the dopamine neuron at rest fires signals at a steady, base-line rate. When it is excited, it fires more rapidly. When it is depressed, it ceases firing. The virtual bee’s neuron was designed to give three simple responses. If the amount of sugar was more than expected (based on what the bee knows about similar looking flowers), the neuron would fire vigorously. Lots of dopamine meant lots of reward and instant learning. If the amount of sugar was less than predicted, the neuron would stop firing. Sudden lack of dopamine, going to other parts of the brain, told the bee to avoid what had just happened. If the amount of sugar was the same, as predicted, the neuron would not increase or decrease its activity. The bee learned nothing new. This simple prediction model — the dopamine neuron “knows” what has just happened and is waiting to see if the next reward is greater or smaller or the same – offers one explanation for how the bee behavior might arise, Dr. Sejnowski said. When the dopamine neuron encounters an empty flower, it throws the bee brain into an unhappy state. The bee, in fact, cannot stand hitting so many empties. It would rather play it safe and get more numerous, smaller rewards – or no rewards at all – by sticking to the yellow flowers.”

Sandra Blakeslee, “How Brain May Weigh the World With Simple Dopamine System.” New York Times (March 19, 1996).

For free information about the cause and cure for Restless Legs Syndrome visit www.RLcure.com This remedy for RLS is completely natural and features NO side effects.

It’s pretty basic logic. You can worry about the smoke damage, your melted toaster, the ruined curtains and whether or not your insurance covers the damage … after the fact.

But until you put that fire out, nothing else matters.

You must take the same approach when taking on your RLS. You must first PUT OUT the fire that is causing your restless legs.

Nothing else matters. You can switch medications all you want, philosophize about why your legs are rustling … and why only at night, read articles on how RLS is kind of like Parkinson’s Disease, and how it’s kind of like Crohn’s Disease, post on RLS discussion boards about your dismal side effects and how profound your RLS is compared to other people’s … but until you shift your WILL, and make a CONSCIOUS decision to PUT OUT the fire that is causing your pain … nothing is going to change.

We put out the fire by taking natural anti-inflammatories – as MANY of those from this remedy that you are able to take.

Look at each anti-inflammatory as a different firefighter with a firehose. The best way you can attack the inflammation is from all angles with as many firefighters as you can round up. This will speed up the healing process immeasurably.

Again, it’s crucial … absolutely essential that you begin to watch your diet. You need to at least pull back a bit from your regular intake of the most common RLS antagonists (caffeine, gluten, aspartame, sugar, salt, MSG and alcohol).

Taking the natural anti-inflammatories while you continue to consume a diet FULL of RLS antagonists, is like spraying 3 hoses of water on the kitchen fire, and 2 hoses of gasoline.

A little progress will be made, but the healing will not be as nearly as quick and effective as it could be.

For free information about the cause and cure for Restless Legs Syndrome visit www.RLcure.com This remedy for RLS is completely natural and features NO side effects.

Doctors throw around the words “placebo effect” the same way that athiests throw around the word “coincidence.” They can’t explain something, so they beat it back into the dark with this never-failing label. In their minds, everything goes back to the way it was.

So, I had to do some more digging to prove to these people that there is a connection. I put on my detective hat and went back to the dark and scary world where the mice torturers torture the mice, to find if there is any sort of proven connection between dopamine levels and inflammation.

It turns out that there is a profound connection!

Below you’ll find scientific proof showing that inflammation has a direct negative effect on dopamine levels.

I also found scientific proof that most of the supplements in this RLS remedy help to stabalize or increase dopamine levels. And I found scientific proof (to no one’s surprise) that the most common RLS antagonists (gluten, sugar, msg etc.) ALL have a negative effect on dopamine levels.

You can read more about that here: http://www.rlcure.com/dopamine.html

From the Lab: SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE PROVING THAT INFLAMMATION HAS A NEGATIVE EFFECT ON DOPAMINE LEVELS

“Why dopamine neurons are especially vulnerable to this inflammatory insult is still unknown. Dr. Glass noted that astrocytes and microglia are more concentrated in the substantia nigra than in other parts of the brain – it could just be a concentration effect, he said. It’s also possible that dopamine neurons are more sensitive to whatever toxic factors are produced. The culprit toxic molecules are still unknown, but there are plenty of candidates, including cytokines, death pathway triggers, and others. It’s a complicated problem to sort out.”

Richard Robinson, “To Protect Dopamine Neurons, Turn on Nurr1, Turn Off Inflammation.” Neurology Today: 21 May 2009 – Volume 9 – Issue 10 – pp 21,23. doi: 10.1097/01.NT.0000354539.50613.77

“Evidence suggests that chronic inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress play significant and perhaps synergistic roles in Parkinson’s disease (PD), where the primary pathology is significant loss of the dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra.”

RL Hunter, N. Dragicevic, K. Seifert, DY Choi, M. Liu. HC Kim, WA Cass, PG Sullivan and G. Bing, “Inflammation induces mitochondrial dysfunction and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in the nigrostriatal system.” Journal of Neurochemistry. 2007 Mar;100(5):1375-86. Epub 2007 Jan 23.PMID: 17254027

“We tested the effects of inflammation on renal dopamine D1 receptor signaling cascade, a key pathway that maintains sodium homeostasis and blood pressure during increased salt intake. Inflammation was produced by administering lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 4 mg/kg ip) to rats provided without (normal salt) and with 1% NaCl in drinking water for 2 wk (high salt). Our results suggest that LPS differentially regulates NF-kappaB and Nrf2, produces inflammation, decreases antioxidant enzyme, increases oxidative stress, and causes D1 receptor dysfunction in the RPTs. The LPS-induced dysfunction of renal D1 receptors (dopamine receptor) alters salt handling and causes hypertension in rats during salt overload.”

M. Asghar, G. Chugh and MF Lokhandwala, “Inflammation compromises renal dopamine D1 receptor function in rats.” Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2009 Dec;297(6):F1543-9. Epub 2009 Sep 30. PMID: 19794106

“Children with ADD have a much higher Silent Inflammation Profile than normal children. Therefore, the problem of ADD is much more complicated than simply the lack of dopamine in the brain.”

Barry Sears, Ph.D., “Brain Drain Due to Silent Inflammation: ADD to Alzheimer’s Disease” The American Chiropractor (May 2006).

“Alterations in dopamine receptor function have been reported in human and rodent hypertension. Essential hypertension is associated with dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) gene polymorphisms that result in reduced D2R density. Mice with disruption of the D2R (D2-/) have elevated blood pressure. The D2Rs regulate the inflammatory reaction and are implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. We hypothesized that deficient D2R function increases the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in the kidney and results in renal inflammation and injury that contribute to the development of high blood pressure. Our results show that the D2R, by mechanisms other than increased oxidant activity, regulates the expression of inflammatory factors in the kidney and suggest that altered D2R function may result in renal inflammation and injury.”

Ines Armando, Annabelle M. Pascua, Xiaoyan Wang, Yanrong Zhang, Van Anthony, M. Villar, Yu Yang, John E. Jones, Laureano Asico, Crisanto Escano and Pedro A. Jose, “Deficient Dopamine D2 Receptor Function Results in Renal Inflammation and Injury.” Children’s Rsch Institute- Children’s National Med Cntr, Washington, DC. (Circulation. 2009;120:S1165.)

“Several lines of evidence point to a significant role of neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other neurodegenerative disorders.”

Rosario Sanchez-Pernaute, Andrew Ferree, Oliver Cooper, Meixiang Yu, Anna-Liisa Brownell and Ole Isacson. “Selective COX-2 inhibition prevents progressive dopamine neuron degeneration in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease.” Journal of Neuroinflammation (2004). 1:6doi:10.1186/1742-2094-1-6

“A massive degeneration of dopamine-containing neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) in the midbrain is characteristic of Parkinson’s disease. Inflammation in the brain has long been speculated to play a role in the pathogenesis of this neurological disorder.”

Bin Liu, Jian-Wei Jiang, Belinda C. Wilson, Lina Du, San-Nan Yang, Jiz-Yuh Wang, Gen-Cheng Wu, Xiao-Ding Cao and Jau-Shyong Hong, “Systemic Infusion of Naloxone Reduces Degeneration of Rat Substantia Nigral Dopaminergic Neurons Induced by Intranigral Injection of Lipopolysaccharide” The Journal of Pharmcology and Experimental Therapeutics Vol. 295, No. 1, JPET 295:125-132, (2000).

For free information about the cause and cure for Restless Legs Syndrome visit www.RLcure.com This remedy for RLS is completely natural and features NO side effects.

Modern commercial MSG is produced by fermentation of starch, sugar beets, sugar cane, or molasses. MSG is used commercially as a flavour enhancer. Although once associated with foods in Chinese restaurants, MSG is now used by most fast food chains and in many foodstuffs, particularly processed foods.

“Monosodium Glutamate” WikiPedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate

“The foods most likely to give someone an MSG reaction at ANY restaurant are: chicken and Sausage products, ranch dressing, parmesan items, gravy & dipping sauces and fries with any kind of seasoning on them except plain salt. Flavored salty snack chips that are usually sold with sandwiches are a problem – espeically Doritos and Cheetos and items with cheese powder added. At regular restaurants, you want to avoid parmesan encrusted anything, soups, Ceasar salad, fish sauce or extract, soy sauce and anything that comes out of a can.”

Four good rules of thumb are:

1. The more salty a processed food is, the more likely it is to contain MSG or free glutamate.

2. The more processed food is, the more likely it is to contain MSG or free glutamate:  powdered stuff that used to be food is likely to have added MSG because the original flavor has been degraded, AND processing concentrates and frees glutamate already bound and present.

3. The more ingredients in a packaged food, the more likely MSG is present. Read labels carefully. Time is money.  If food has more than five ingredients and you don’t have half an hour to read one ingredient label – put it back on the shelf – you’ll be better off.

4. Do not trust something simply because it is in a health food store and the label states it is natural or even organic. The US allows “natural flavors” to include protein hydrolysates which can contain up to 20% MSG by weight. A distinction without a difference.

“What Foods To Avoid?” MSGTruth www.msgtruth.org/avoid.htm

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The gluten situation, I can work around that. I don’t like it, but if it means having a calmer pair of legs, I’ll do what has to be done.

But by asking me to consume less MSG, you’re now asking me to make some serious sacrifices.

I LOVE Chinese food and Doritos and all that good stuff! Is there no other way?

Fortunately for you and I, once the inflammation goes down, we can sneak in some goodies now and then.

The reason the MSG, gluten, aspartame etc. affect your RLS so much now is because you’re still carrying around a big load of inflammation in your legs.

It’s like a hair-trigger reaction. As soon as you consume any of these inflammation stimulating food items, you’re creating a reaction in the areas of existing inflammation (plus you’re helping it to grow).

As I’ve stated before, it’s basically like standing outside with a sunburn. You have to get indoors for a bit.

From the Lab: The relationship of MSG with Inflammation

“The injection of monosodium glutamate (MSG) in ICR mice leads to the development of significant inflammation, central obesity and type 2 diabetes.”

Y. Nakanishi, K. Tsuneyama, M. Fujimoto, TL Salunga, K. Nomoto, JL An, Y. Takano, S. Iizuka, M. Nagata, W. Suzuki, T. Shimada, M. Aburada, M. Nakano, C. Selmi and ME Gershwin. “Monosodium Glutamate (MSG): A Villain and Promoter of Liver Inflammation and Dysplasia.” Department of Diagnostic Pathology, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan. 2008 Feb-Mar;30(1-2):42-50.

“One theory holds that bacteria and viruses may cause this inflammation but clearly we know that lead, mercury, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and fluoride and other toxic chemicals can also cause inflammatory reactions in blood vessels.”

Staff. “Inflammation and Systemic Stress: Inflammation and Pain Management with Magnesium.” International Medical Veritas Association, magnesiumforlife.com/medical-application/inflammation-and-systemic-stress

“Both adrenalectomized rats and adrenalectomized, MSG-treated rats showed an increased response to carrageenin relative to controls. These results suggest that glucocorticoids are important modulators of inflammation in this phase of the process.”

EA Limaos, VL Silveira and MS Dolnikoff. “Inflammatory Edema Induced by Carrageenin in Monosodium Glutamate-Treated Rats.” Braz-J-Med-Biol-Res. (1988) 21(4): 837-9

You can view information on how all the RLS supplements and antagonists have a relationship with inflammation here:  www.rlcure.com/studies.html

Word from the Street

www.steadyhealth.com/Holistic_and_natural_ treatments_for_restless_leg_syndrome_t117930.html
Holistic and natural treatments for restless leg syndrome
Posted: 11/13/07 – 22:08
Topic: MSG
I have experienced RLS and have found that it occurs when I have had msg in my food. The more msg the worse the RLS.

http://www.wemove.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/11/890.html

Topic: MSG
posted January 26, 2010 10:37 PM
Here’s what I learned. There is a category of food additives called neurotoxins or excitotoxins. They are glutamates that affect the nervous system. The most well-known excitotoxin is MSG (monosodium glutamate), Other additives are converted by processing into glutamates. All excitotoxins should be eliminated from the diet. We need to eat unprocessed foods only. Even tiny amounts of excitotoxins will aggravate RLS. In addition to RLS, excitotoxins are involved in some of today’s maladies that we never heard of years ago, such as fibromyalgia. Also some conditions were around but not as prevalent, i.e. migraine headaches, joint pains etc.

Read all food labels. Do not buy anything with the following additives. It’s not as difficult as it sounds Give it a try for a month. When I first eliminated all these additives, I slept soundly for seven straight hours on the second night.

http://www.bachrescuesleep.com/CureRLS.htm

re: Bach Remedies
Next morning, I realized what triggers the attack. It is MSG. During the Chinese New Year celebration, I consumed a lot of food prepared by my relatives that contained heavy doses of MSG. Sam

http://bb.rls.org/viewtopic.php?t=6136

Location: Plano, TX
PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 7:20 pm
Post subject: MSG
I am a new member and joined because I wanted to share the information about my experience with MSG. I have been a lifetime sufferer of RLS and a worldwide traveler in my occupation so it has been miserable on planes for up to 18 hours at a time with nowhere to get relief aside from walking the aisles. My wife wanted to try to find something to give me relief before there was anyone really recognizing that RLS was a real medical problem and she began eliminating things in my diet until she stopped everything with MSG and that stopped my RLS. I won’t say it will work for anyone else, but if helps someone this posting is worth it. W. Arnold Taylor

http://bb.rls.org/viewtopic.php?t=3238

ELIZABETHCRAY
PostPosted: Mon Dec 25, 2006 10:25 pm
Post subject: Finally Got Relief from Severe Symptoms – No Meds
First, I cut out aspartame. That did not help, but I read about the related excitotoxin, glutamate (glutamic acid), commonly known as MSG, which is found in many foods under many (at least 24) different names. In other words, the food industry hides it by deceptive food labeling, but we have doubled our consumption of it ever decade for the last 60+ years. It is a food-additive that is only used for taste-enhancement because it sells the product. It is usually made from grain and can come under “natural flavors.”

It is difficult, but I cut this out of my diet. See www.msgmyth.com if you want to try this. It took about 2 months of a very restricted diet, and using anti-inflammatory supplements and anti-oxidants to rid my body of it enough to make a difference.

I have finally found out what causes my RLS problem, and I hope that the rest of you find out that yours is the same cause. It is entirely possible to get rid of this by diet alone. You just have to cook like you were living in 1940 instead of 2006 and stay out of restaurants. Elizabeth R.

From the Lab: MSG and Dopamine Levels

One of the more popular theories about Restless Legs Syndrome is that it is somehow connected to a lack of dopamine production.

I did some research and found that in several studies, mice torturers found that there was a correlation between the application of MSG and the lowering of dopamine levels.

Several drugs are on the market called dopamine agonists (Requip, Mirapex etc.) have been issued by doctors to patients in order to increase dopamine levels.

“Dopamine levels were significantly reduced (P < 0.01) in the arcuate nucleus of MSG-treated rats.”

Louis V. DePaolo and Andres Negro-Vilar, “Neonatal Monosodium Glutamate Treatment Alters the Response of Median Eminence Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone Nerve Terminals to Potassium and Prostaglandin E2*” Endocrinology Vol. 110, No. 3 835-841 (1982).

If MSG is involved with the lowering of dopamine levels, this could be a major breakthrough in RLS recovery. It could prove that diet is a powerful tool in the lessening of RLS, and would help those that suffer to avoid the horrible side effects of the dopamine agonists.

“Some of the common side effects of dopamine agonists include:

* Euphoria
* Hallucinations
* Causing or worsening psychosis
* Orthostatic hypotension
* Increased orgasmic intensity
* Weight loss
* Nausea
* Insomnia
* Unusual tiredness or weakness
* Dizziness, drowsiness, lightheadedness, or fainting
* Twitching, twisting, or other unusual body movements
* Pathological addiction (gambling, shopping, internet pornography, hyper-sexuality)“

“Dopamine Agonist” Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine_agonist

“MedlinePlus Drug Information: Pramipexole (Systemic)”. United States National Library of Medicine. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/203739.html. (Sep. 27, 2006).

Alan Boyd, “Bromocriptine and psychosis: A literature review”. Psychiatric Quarterly 66 (1): 87–95. doi:10.1007/BF02238717. http://www.springerlink.com/content/y42v466374524k1m/. (Sep. 9, 2008).

I’ll go into more detail about the MSG / dopamine connection in my next post. I found some very exciting stuff!

For free information about the cause and cure for Restless Legs Syndrome visit www.RLcure.com This remedy for RLS is completely natural and features NO side effects.

I still shake my head in amazement every time I think about what I learned that night.

I was attending my Addictions Counseling course and the teacher casually mentioned how doctors received incentives from the pharmaceutical companies to push their products.

“That can’t be right?” I thought. “That’s too inconceivable?”

I raised my hand and asked the teacher to clarify what he had just said. I figured that I must have heard him wrong.

He calmly elaborated on how the system worked, and that doctors were compensated with  TVs, trips etc. It didn’t seem like that big a deal to him. And then he went on with the lecture.

For me, the rest of the evening was a blur. I lost some sort of innocence that I could never get back. Here was a crime so corrupt that it transcended description and fell far below the lowest realm of ethics … yet somehow, it was perfectly legal? To this day, it STILL boggles my mind that this could be allowed?

The reason I mention this is because when I was posting my remedy on the RLS.org discussion board, someone replied to my post saying that Dr. Buchfuhrer states that inflammation is NOT the cause of RLS … so basically, take a hike.

I responded by saying I don’t know who Dr. Buchfuhrer is, but if he says that inflammation is not the cause, he’s wrong.

That started a bit of a fire fight. I didn’t realize that Dr. Buchfuhrer was a trail blazing icon for many RLSers. It turns out he’s also a member of the RLS.org Medical Advisory Board.

I figured if he’s such a great guy, maybe he’s more open-minded than the average doctor, and would be interested in hearing about my story and how I’ve come to believe that inflammation is the primary cause of RLS. I thought that he could be the inroad into the scientific community that I was looking for, and finally some RLS studies could be done based on a remedy that I truly believe will work for anyone that follows it.

So, I did some Googling and found a few links for Dr. Buchfuhrer.

I found a bio. It was pretty basic. Seemed like a nice guy. I went to the next page, and that’s when I had the terrible flashback to that night, long ago, in my Addictions Counselling course.

On this website I was looking at was a video of Dr. Buchfuhrer promoting Mirapex. If you’re not familiar with Mirapex, it’s one of the top drugs that are prescribed by physicians to their RLS patients.

You can visit this link to watch him doing the Mirapex commercial.
http://www.mirapex.com/HCP/mirapex-doctor-testimonials.jsp

The website has a disclaimer stating that the doctors giving these testimonials were compensated (just in case we though they were doing it for free).

“The doctors who appear on this site have been compensated for their time by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.”

Here is Dr. B’s testimonial from that same website:

“My overall experience with MIRAPEX has been very positive. It’s a medication that can be used with very low dose and works very, very well and both effectively and safe for most RLS patients.” - Mark Buchfuhrer, MD

Now, here’s the interesting part. Here are the potential side-effects of Mirapex … as stated on the Mirapex website. http://www.mirapex.com

“MIRAPEX may cause you to fall asleep without any warning, even while doing normal daily activities, such as driving. Before taking MIRAPEX, talk to your doctor if you drink alcohol or take other medications that make you drowsy as these can increase the chance that MIRAPEX will make you feel sleepy or fall asleep when you should be awake. When taking MIRAPEX, hallucinations (seeing, hearing, feeling, or tasting something that isn’t there) may occur and you may sometimes feel dizzy, nauseated, faint or sweaty when you sit up or stand quickly.

The most commonly reported side effects of MIRAPEX that were more frequent than with placebo are nausea, dizziness, sleepiness, difficulty falling asleep, involuntary movement, and constipation. In clinical trials for advanced PD, the most commonly reported side effects of MIRAPEX that were more frequent than with placebo are low blood pressure when you sit up or stand quickly, involuntary movement, difficulty falling asleep, dizziness, accidental injury, hallucinations, and dream abnormalities. You should talk with your doctor if you experience these problems.

There have been reports of impulse control disorders and compulsive behaviors in patients taking certain medicines, including MIRAPEX. If you or your family members notice that you are experiencing new or increased gambling urges, increased sexual urges or other intense urges, such as compulsive shopping or eating, while taking MIRAPEX, talk to your doctor.”

I kind of go speechless after I read this stuff.

Now, I’m sure many of you think that I’m some sort of conspiracy theorist, and that there is no real evidence that doctors receive perks from the drug companies. You probably think that it’s more of an urban myth.

I wish that were true, but it’s not. It’s a real live ugly situation.

Thankfully, the authorities are finally trying to clean things up a bit.

I think you could spend all day finding examples online, but here are a few.

From ABC News …

“Further investigation into the $6 billion spent by drug companies for what they say is a way to educate doctors showed that tactics like lavish gifts and trips are surprisingly common.

“It’s embarrassing, it’s extravagant and it’s unethical,” said Dr. Arnold Relman, a Harvard Medical School professor and the former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine. “It makes the doctor feel beholden … it suborns the judgment of the doctor.”

Few doctors were willing to talk publicly about their relationships with pharmaceutical companies, but one upstate New York doctor was willing to come forward.

“It’s very tempting and they just keep anteing it up. And it’s getting harder to say no,” said Dr. Rudy Mueller. “I feel in some ways it’s kind of like bribery.”

Disgusted by how the free gifts and trips add to the high price of medicine, and moved by the plight of patients forced to skip needed medication, Mueller agreed to provide Primetime with a rare glimpse of the astounding number of drug company freebies he was offered by various drug companies in a four-month period.

He was presented with an estimated $10,000 worth, including an all-expenses-paid trip to a resort in Florida, dinner cruises, hockey game tickets, a ski trip for the family, Omaha steaks, a day at a spa and free computer equipment. “

Brian Ross and David W. Scott, “Do Drug Company Perks Influence Doctors? How Pharmaceutical Companies Use Enticement to ‘Educate’ Physicians” ABC News abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132141&page=1

From the New York Times …

“In a scolding report, the nation’s most influential medical advisory group said doctors should stop taking much of the money, gifts and free drug samples they routinely accept from drug and device companies.

Drug companies spend billions of dollars wooing doctors — more than they spend on research or consumer advertising. Much of this money is spent on giving doctors free drug samples, free food, free medical refresher courses and payments for marketing lectures. The institute’s report recommends that nearly all of these efforts end.

The largest drug makers agreed last year to stop giving doctors pens, pads and other gifts of small value, but company executives have defended other marketing tactics as valuable to both doctors and patients. Medical device and biotechnology companies have yet to swear off free trips or even pens.”

Gardiner Harris, “Institute of Medicine Calls for Doctors to Stop Taking Gifts From Drug Makers” The New York Times (April 28, 2009) www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/health/policy/29drug.html

From “The Day” …

“The bill, SB-270, requires drug and medical device companies to adopt a marketing code of compliance that, among other things, would limit gifts, meals and continuing-education benefits to physicians as well as force companies to publicize interactions with health care providers.

“This bill can really hinder or change the relationship between doctors and our field representatives,” said Pfizer spokeswoman Liz Power in a phone interview. These salespeople provide “critical information about prescription medicines” to busy doctors, she added.”

Lee Howard, “Pharma Opposes Bill to Limit Perks for Doctors” The Day, New London, CT. (April 22, 2010) www.theday.com/article/20100422/BIZ02/304229351/1044

They’ve actually done studies on how these perks affect doctor’s decisions.

From “The International Journal of Health Services” …

“Evidence suggests that physicians’ interactions with pharmaceutical companies do affect physician behavior. In 2000, Wazana’s analysis of 16 studies found convincing evidence that interaction with drug companies led to preference for prescribing a given company’s medication, inability to identify false claims about a medication, non rational prescribing behavior, increase in prescribing rates, and prescribing fewer generic equivalents, even when more expensive medications demonstrated no advantage. “

Sarah Roberts and James Jastifer, “Patients’ Awareness of and Attitudes Toward Gifts from Pharmaceutical Companies to Physicians.” International Journal of Health Services (2009) www.britannica.com/bps/additionalcontent/18/37699018/Patients-Awareness-of-and-Attitudes-Toward-Gifts-from-Pharmaceutical-Companies-to-Physicians

I don’t mean to dump this whole sick twisted system on the head of one guy. I’m just presenting some facts to help you better understand the current RLS treatments, and what options are available to you.

To better understand the current relationship between the Drug Companies and doctors, and how it consciously or unconsciously influences the doctor’s decision to hand out pills, imagine if the same system was in place for your local Police Department.

Imagine if your local police department had an unlimited budget, and in order to lessen the crime rate, every time an officer made an arrest, they would receive a $100 bonus.

The arrest rate would obviously soar to new heights.

It’s also true that if every arrest was examined by an ethics committee, the officers would be able to justify every single one of them. They would also try to convince the committee that even if the financial incentive was not in place, each of the arrests would have still been made. The spike in the arrest rate since the new initiative was put into place, is pure coincidence.

This is where we stand today. We have inherited this extremely corrupt and unethical system. And now, finally, changes are being made.

As an RLS sufferer, you have to wonder how many RLS sufferers out there are taking Requip, Mirapex, Sifrol etc. because of these incentives? And you also have to wonder, are you one of them?

For free information about the cause and cure for Restless Legs Syndrome visit www.RLcure.com This remedy for RLS is completely natural and features NO side effects.

What an awesome breakthrough that was. It turned out that I wasn’t some sort of freak with a weird disease … and I wasn’t alone. There were millions of people like me suffering from the same strange ailment.

I started researching Restless Legs Syndrome and found out that the only help at that time were pharmaceuticals that often produced uncomfortable side effects. For whatever reason, I ruled pharmaceuticals out as ever being an option.

At that point, I set out find out every other option that was available to me.

In my internet travels, I ran across RLS.org. This US agency based in Rochester, MN seemed to be the nerve center of anything to do Restless Legs … especially in the US and Canada.

A few years later when I was confident that the RLS remedy I developed would work for everyone, RLS.org were the first people I approached with the good news.

Of course at that time my remedy was still in book form, and ultimately I was trying to make money from this discovery. The plan was to have some RLS.org members try out the remedy (I was going to pay for all the supplements) and once they found out that it worked, they would let other members know about the book and its amazing remedy.

After that, it was just a matter of counting the piles of money.

As I’m sure you guessed, that never happened.

The first lady I approached at RLS.org was Janice E. Hoffmann, the chair of the Board of Directors. The reason I chose her was not only because she was high up, but because from her bio I found out that she was a musician. I thought that there was a good chance that she had heard of The Indie Bible (the music directory I publish). If she had heard of it, that would give me some sort of credibility.

Nothing ever came of that. She never even replied to my e-mail.

I didn’t understand at the time what was going on? Here’s this giant organization bound together by one noble cause, and when someone contacts them saying that they’ve found a solution, they’re ignored?  (this would all make sense to me later).

I called up the main switchboard and told the operator about my situation and asked who would be the best person to talk to about it. She suggested that I contact Georgianna Bell, the Executive Director. I eventually got in touch with Georgianna and told her about the remedy, and what my plan was.

To her credit, she was somewhat open to having RLS.org members review the information, as long as my book met her standards. But, as far as running any sort of test or study, that wasn’t going to happen. She was going to review the material and if she found it to be plausible, she would mention it to other members.

I’m not sure if that ever happened? I never heard back from her. I left her a message a few months later after I decided to put all the remedy information up on my website for free. Again, she never got back.

She had a medical background, so the fact that she even hinted that she may recommend that RLS.org members read my book, should have been considered a major victory.

So, I guess the point of this whole post is to emphasize the fact that this organization that considers itself to be the beating heart of hope, is nothing like that.

They are the beating heart of the problem … they perpetuate the dream that someday soon, a mice torturer is going to run out of their lab screaming “We’ve found the cure!”

That is not going to happen … ever!

These RLS.org people are not stupid or bad … they’re Scientists. They all have scientific minds. Brilliant, but not very open. Hopefully, for your sake, and for the sake of all those that still suffer, they can get out of the way of their own brilliance.

You would think that a few of them must have read the posts and articles about ALL the people who have become free of their RLS through diet, vitamins, minerals and herbs. How can you just shrug all those positive experiences off as being whimsical?

The pathway to healing that RLS.org follows is a medical pathway. Their members all have medical backgrounds. They have a Medical Advisory Board. They have a Scientific Advisory Board. Their funding is provided as a means toward medical research.

That’s means their final solution is going to be a drug. And we all know how that goes.

Their goal is stated quite clearly through their grant program.

“Through its research grant program, the RLS Foundation honors promising scientists whose work addresses the goals of the Foundation. The RLS Foundation encourages grant applications for basic and clinical research studies of restless legs syndrome (RLS). Basic science leading to a better understanding of RLS, innovative approaches, interdisciplinary studies, and support of promising postdoctoral candidates is given funding priority.”

I don’t expect RLS.org to come out of their cave any time soon. They are joined at the hip with Big Pharma, therefore the odds of RLS.org ever recommending or supporting a non-pharmaceutical cure, are nil.

My hope is that eventually the overwhelming number of natural cures will be too much for even RLS.org to keep under wraps. In order to make themselves not look totally robotic, they’ll have to create a section on their website that lists the most popular natural remedies and diets that have been working for people.

That day will be a glorious victory for those that continue to suffer in the dark because of the arrogance and pride of RLS.org and its members.

For free information about the cause and cure for Restless Legs Syndrome visit www.RLcure.com This remedy for RLS is completely natural and features NO side effects.

I was fortunate enough to become free of my own RLS, and similar to a recovering alcoholic or a drug addict that has broken free from the grasp of their powerful addiction, there’s this tremendous urge to help people who are still trapped in the dark cloud of hopelessness that you lived in for so long.

It’s feels completely natural. I think it’s just part of being a human being. You know exactly what those still suffering are going through and how they feel. You know their thoughts and their level of desperation, and you want to help them make it ALL go away.

I am totally free of my RLS. I’m just trying to get the word out so that anyone with RLS can live a normal life again.

For free information about the cause and cure for Restless Legs Syndrome visit www.RLcure.com This remedy for RLS is completely natural and features NO side effects.

“Suddenly, inflammation has become one of the hottest areas of medical research. Hardly a week goes by without the publication of yet another study uncovering a new way that chronic inflammation does harm to the body.

It destabilizes cholesterol deposits in the coronary arteries, leading to heart attacks and potentially even strokes. It chews up nerve cells in the brains of Alzheimer’s victims. It may even foster the proliferation of abnormal cells and facilitate their transformation into cancer. In other words, chronic inflammation may be the engine that drives many of the most feared illnesses of middle and old age.

This concept is so intriguing because it suggests a new and possibly much simpler way of warding off disease. Instead of different treatments for, say, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and colon cancer, there might be a single, inflammation-reducing remedy that would prevent all three.”

Christine Gorman, Alice Park and Kristina Dell, “Health: The Fires Within”, Time Magazine, (Feb. 23, 2004). www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,993419,00.html

It’s not like I’ve uncovered some deep dark secret. Even the mice torturers are starting to deduce that inflammation may be responsible for innumerable diseases and ailments that were never considered before.

“Most allergy and asthma sufferers are all too familiar with inflammation, but you may not realize that inflammation also plays a key role in arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, irritable bowel syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and many others. Over the past few decades, scientists have realized that the process of inflammation is virtually the same in different diseases, and a better understanding of inflammation may lead to better treatments for numerous diseases.”

“Chronic Inflammation & Chronic Disease” Allergy Consumer Report (February 2007) www.achooallergy.com/chronic-inflammation-disease.asp

If all these devastating, highly complex diseases and ailments are now being linked to inflammation, how could anyone say with any certainty that RLS does NOT have a relationship with inflammation?

“It’s fascinating to watch the medical establishment discover inflammation. In the past few years there have been studies suggesting that chronic inflammation lies at the root of heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, and many other immune disorders. Many of the diseases and complaints associated with aging — including aging skin — can also be attributed to chronic inflammation.

We’ve long recognized that inflammation plays a central role in disease and aging, and that controlling inflammation is critical to your health. But what’s remarkable is that conventional medicine still has no definitive tests for, or diagnosis called chronic or systemic inflammation. There is even no consensus in medical science about what this kind of inflammation really is or how it undermines your health.

This simply means we’re in the middle of a medical revolution — a radical advance in the understanding of the body and how to keep it healthy.”

Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP, “Inflammation — the key to chronic disease?” Women to Women (April 21, 2010) www.womentowomen.com/inflammation

It IS fascinating to watch. Still, the profound resistance makes me scratch my head? With the mounting evidence supporting the idea that lessening one’s inflammation may lessen their RLS, why wouldn’t someone be moved to at least give it a try?

For more information on the negative effect that inflammation has on RLS, visit: http://www.rlcure.com/studies.html