1 month ago, I finished several books on low carbohydrate dieting. I have successfully used these diets in the springtime for the last 20 years to lose winter acquired weight. During the 80's and early 90's I participated in the low fat diet rage. Terrible experience. No energy and low testerone levels with wild swings in blood sugar. Anyway the newest book is called "The Art and Science of Low Carb performance." It is a ketogenic high fat, low carb, low protein diet that was initially found useful in controlling seizures in children, and has since been found helpful with other neurological diseases such as Parkinson disease. This book addresses athletic performance while in ketosis. I was curious if I could improve my endurance (I have) and perhaps reduce the intensity of BFS symptoms. 4 weeks into the diet, and I have noticed a definite improvement with the sensory symptoms, and an overall reduction in twitching (although not completely). I am reluctant to say the twitching has been significantly reduced after only 3 weeks, because after 2.5 years, I have found considerable variability in twitching intensity which in my case is almost cyclical, though not periodic. I still twitch every day with marked swings in number and frequency. As a side note, my blood profile( HDL, glucose, triglycerides, etc) always significantly improve on low carb diets. I am closing in on 4 weeks which is the full adaption phase to the bodys use of ketones as energy source. Another advantage, I am much more clear headed during the day, with less BFS associated nervousness and fatigue. Keep in mind the first week can be fairly tough as the body transitions to ketone energy vs glycogen. You will experience dizziness, foggy head etc. This can be minimized by increasing sodium and potassium intake and will quickly pass. It is a high fat, not high protein diet, and requires determination to follow, at least initially. If anyone wants to give it a try, I would enjoy hearing your results. BFS symptoms == I've had them all. I will keep you updated. To all you newcomes. Hang in there. You will be fine.
) Then possibly, it is not coincidence that my symptoms subsided when I went on a very low fat diet and then improved more when I started increasing soluble fiber to help lower cholesterol. The soluble fiber lowers visceral fat (and therefore less is available to feed the protozoans according to this research in progress). Not that you'd have to have high cholesterol to benefit from the low fat diet as he describes it. Plus I did, at the first, have the described adverse reaction and felt a bit worse for a while. I remember scouring the scientific literature when I noticed that my symptoms and cholesterol were progressing together and could find no link of causation etc - I wrote a few people (in dietetics, etc.) and and had an appt with a nutritionist; one did say that I should go with small amounts of lean meats or fish and not cut them out altogether and risk complications from low protein, that she had seen this was helpful with her patients who were fatigued. She didn't know about the cramps, fasics, and sensations. So it wasn't actually the cholesterol but just the available fat in my system feeding the critters that encouraged the bcfs symptoms if you accept the basis of this argument.If this guy is correct in his basic assumptions, and it seems he has some solid evidence, it could explain the strange distribution across social levels, age, and countries that we see here at the forum. Mosquitos and protozoans are everywhere. The decreased blood flow due to the filaments in the blood would be complicated by further tension in the body and stress. Weird, I just replied to someone here that I have always found that low circulation (when the body is static, tense situations, cold) always made symptoms worse for me.I've always advised people here to help themselves by eating well and getting moderate exercise as it helped me but this shines a whole new light on it. But it's true - it is a life change as you have to change eating habits and people don't want to do this as it seems too difficult and rather extreme. However, once you make the very real connection between feeling good and your low fat diet it is much easier to stay with it.