Dietary Suggestions
Individuals should cut back on tea, coffee, chocolate, caffeinated soft drink, alcohol and tobacco, which are known to activate the nervous system and aggravate restless legs syndrome (RLS). Many people find that their symptoms improve when they doing this.
From a Chinese medicine perspective, RLS is mainly due to blood and qi (vital energy) disharmonies. The daily diet should be light and easily digested; foods that are raw, frozen, preserved and spicy should be limited, so as to facilitate the spleen and stomach to produce more blood and qi for the body. Foods with cold and astringent properties can disturb the circulation of the extremities, individuals should eat more warm and pungent foods such as coriander, Chinese chives, onion, leeks, green onion, asparagus, sweet peppers, sword bean, pomegranate, apricot, peach, cherry, litchi, longan fruit, raspberry, chestnut, pumpkin, glutinous rice, dates, walnut, pine nut, sorghum rice, radish, hawthorn fruit, orange and tangerine.
In addition, liver and kidney dysfunctions are usually developed in RLS individuals, some tonic foods such as sesame, black soybean, wolfberry, milk, cherry, cashew, pig's kidney, sea cucumber, dried mussel, animal bone marrow, yellow croaker, cistanche, deer antlers and donkey-hide gelatin are advised.
Below are health recipes for RLS symptoms:
|
Ingredients |
Preparations |
Health benefits |
|
Red rice bean (100g) Red dates (5 pieces) |
Cook with 750ml of water for 30 minutes, and then add brown sugar to taste. Drink as tea. |
This tea nourishes and activates blood, and harmonizes the internal body. |
|
Pheasant meat (250g) Cassia twig (5g) Chinese safflower (7.5g) |
Chop the meat in pieces and blanch it. Add a little vegetable oil in a pot and heat up; put in the meat and stir slightly, then fill with water to about 1cm from the top, bring to a boil and further cook for 15 minutes; add in the herbs, cook in low heat for about 1 hour. Add salt, onion and pepper to taste. Serve hot and eat the meat. |
The stew activates blood and frees the blood flow of the limbs. |
|
Mutton (250g) Angelica root(7.5g) Astragalus root(15g) |
Chop the meat in pieces and blanch it. Add a little vegetable oil in a pot and heat up; put in the meat and stir slightly, then fill with water to about 1cm from the top, bring to a boil and further cook for 15 minutes; add in the herbs, cook in low heat for about 90 minutes. Add salt, ginger and pepper to taste. Serve hot and eat the meat. |
The stew replenishes blood and activates qi. |
|
Longan aril (5 pieces) Lotus seed (15g) Glutinous rice (60g) |
Boil with 1000ml water with a pot, bring to a boil and then simmer until it turns into a thick soup, turn off the heat and add rock sugar to taste. Serve warm, eat in the morning and evening. |
This porridge helps strengthen the body, replenish blood and calm the body. |
|
Pilose asiabell root (30g) Chinese yam (30g) Longan aril (30g) Astragalus root (30g) Poria (30g) Liquorice root (20g) Largehead atractylodes rhizome (20g) Chinese wolfberry (20g) Cornus fruits (15g) Angelica root (15g) Red dates (10 pieces) |
Wash the ingredients, decoct with 1000ml of water, bring to a boil first and then simmer under low heat, when it turns into a strong and concentrated infusion (500ml), strain out the herbs, and pour the liquid into another pot. Re-boil the herbs with the same amount of water to make another infusion (300ml) and then pour in the same pot, add in honey (500ml) and heat until the mixture is completely combined. Pour into a clean jar and store in the refrigerator. Eat 20ml each time, three times a day. |
This syrup helps replenish blood and qi, fortify spleen and kidney. |
|
Rose petals (500g) Brown sugar (500g) |
Decoct the rose with 2000ml of water, bring to a boil first and then simmer under low heat, when it turns into a strong and concentrated infusion, strain out the herbs, and pour the liquid into another pot, add in the brown sugar, heat until it turns into a syrup. Pour into a clean jar and store in the refrigerator. Eat 10-20ml each time, twice a day. |
This syrup regulates qi, activates blood, dissolves stasis and relieves pain. |
|
Hawthorn fruits (30g) Chicken's gizzard-skin (6g) Chinese safflower (9g) |
Decoct with 750ml of water for 30 minutes, add brown sugar to taste. Divide the solution into two portion, drink in the morning and evening. |
This helps activate blood, replenish qi and dissolve stasis. |
 Chinese safflower |
 Angelica root |
 Cornus fruit |
