Low salt diet.....

kittylover4ever

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Anybody watch thier salt intake? Since I have high BP, I have cut out salt this last month, at least the salt you put on food, but I see alot of foods you buy have high sodium content. Anyone have any suggestions?
 

ollyextra05

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Best way to limit sodium is to cut out most processed foods. Anything canned or in a box--soup, snack foods, etc. are all high sodium. You can track your sodium intake like any other nutrient--I have a program on my computer I downloaded from CalorieKing.Com that I use to track my daily food intake and it analyzes fat, carbs, protein, sodium and pretty much any other nutrient you can think of. Their database is searchable online and has most every food you can think of in there even foods from name-brand chains and the like.
 

rosiemac

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Originally Posted by OllyExtra05

Best way to limit sodium is to cut out most processed foods. Anything canned or in a box--soup, snack foods, etc. are all high sodium
I've never used salt for years, but Gil puts a little in if he's boiling vegetables and i can tell so i have to remind him not to put it in when i'm at his.
 

gailuvscats

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Your salt intake per day for a person without a problem is around 2000mg a day. Low salt diet should be 1000-1200 per day. always check your labels, and all processed food and canned soups are loaded with salt, so beware.
any fast food is loaded with salt. You are best to stick to whole grain bread, sliced turkey from the deli, cheese is a no no, maybe some swiss, but any other is full of sodium, no hotdogs or salami, or sausage, pizza is bad. tomato sauce can be very hi, so you have to read the labels. They give the amount plus the percentage of the daily diet. Don't go over 10%, or count your numbers. pickles are loaded, but you can have a very healthy, tasty low salt diet. And hopefully with diet, you won't have a need for medication.
 

kiwideus

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Originally Posted by Rosiemac

I've never used salt for years, but Gil puts a little in if he's boiling vegetables and i can tell so i have to remind him not to put it in when i'm at his.
My dad puts sooo much salt in his cooking - I hate it! Thank goodness I don't eat at my parents.
I never put salt in cooking but I do like a little bit of rock salt on top of my mashed potatoes - its quite tasty.
 

lokismum

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I haven't put salt in my cooking since hubby had his heart attacks 3 1/2 years ago. And he uses this stuff called "No Salt" as a substitute. I really like Mrs Dash to shake on my food.
 

lunasmom

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I use to watch my salt intake, but I felt so ill without (even YEARS after starting). I would stand up and immediately feel like I was draining and I would see black. I would have to slowly get up.

Last time I was at the doctor's I finally asked her about my symptoms. She said that tall people (I'm 5'9) need a little bit more salt than normal height. Basically she said that the blood has farther to travel than people shorter then me, so it needs that extra kick.

Since I stopped watching it I feel fine. Plus my blood pressure is "normal" now. (yes, I would get questioned if I was still alive when my pressure was taken.)
 
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kittylover4ever

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Thanks for all the info.........but I do eat alot of canned soup and 100 calorie pack snack foods.............
 

peachytoday

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After my Dad had a stroke he had to go on a low salt diet. I was shocked at how much sodium is in processed food. But there are low sodium or no sodium alternatives for stock, soups and canned goods that we buy. We cook most everything and use very little salt and upped the amount of spices and herbs to boost flavor. Salt is a flavor enhancer among other things so to keep Dad happy and not have bland food we had to get a little creative. Good luck.

Tricia
 

neetanddave

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Yup, anything premade is full of salt, it's quite the popular preservative.

That's why those chips and cookies and things all taste so good too.

I don't cook with salt at all, since Dave can't have the iodine very much. So i can add a bit to my food if needed. Home cooking is the way to go for low salt.
 

arcadian girl

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I love salt (when I was a child, when we went to fast food places, my mum would put the extra salt packets in the glove box. later, if we were on a long car trip, I'd take them out and eat them straight - just pour the salt onto my tongue). The thing is, I've had super low blood pressure all my life - go figure. Anyhow, my grandma had to cut out salt after her heart attack, and she started using Mrs. Dash - they've got tons of flavors now, and I like them even tho I don't have to stay away from salt - they're really good


lunasmom - same here, I'm always asked that! "are you sure you're alive?"
 

gailuvscats

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Thanks for all the info.........but I do eat alot of canned soup and 100 calorie pack snack foods.............
well there is your problem. You should start making your own soup, they have some packets with dried beans etc. not sure if there is salt in there,.
I bet the snacks have a lot of salt too.

Once you get the hang of preparing your own stuff, it will be simple to eliminate those two things.

Snacks can consist of a box of raisins, sweet, healthy and a hundred calories in a little box.

Canned soup is REALLY BAD, even the ones that say low sodium are still hi.
You can do it.
 

lunasmom

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Oooo and Soy Sauce??? Have you checked the sodium content with that? It's your daily intake in one dose!


Also I avoid all frozen foods...they taste terrible IMO and they're loaded with sodium.

Arcadian girl - Awesome! I rarely meet people with the low blood pressure like that!!
 

katiemae1277

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good luck with it Susie! I have EXTREMELY high BP, as I found out from my trip to the hospital this week
I really don't do anything to avoid salt, but I never add it to anything, I'll have to start reading labels to see if I can cut back a little too!
 

yosemite

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We stopped using regular salt about 2 years ago. Now we only use sea salt. I prefer pepper for flavouring - everyone laughs at how much pepper I put on my food and waiters usually get a sore arm grinding pepper for me.

If you don't use pre-packaged foods you can certainly cut down dramatically on salt. Because we cook everything from scratch, we are able to limit our salt intake and like Arcadian girl my BP tends to be on the lower side of average and has been all my life.
 
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kittylover4ever

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Gees, and here I thought I was doing so well by not salting my food anymore! I was a big salt a holic! Salt things before even tasting them....
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by kittylover4ever

Gees, and here I thought I was doing so well by not salting my food anymore! I was a big salt a holic! Salt things before even tasting them....
If you are eating out and you salt something before tasting it, that is a huge insult to the chef.
 
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kittylover4ever

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

If you are eating out and you salt something before tasting it, that is a huge insult to the chef.
I make sure the chef is in the kitchen I've heard that Linda, and by no means was it an insult to anyone.......just a very bad habit that I'm doing my best to break.
 
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kittylover4ever

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Originally Posted by Hydroaxe

Salt gets a bad rap all the time and unfairly so. We're practically made of salt and water. It's the chosen food, quantity eaten, hereditary tendencies, and lack of exercise that make people unhealthy. Here's some good articles:

Low Fat, Not Low-Salt Diet Lowers Blood Pressure
Very Low-Salt Diets Are Harmful
Well, I've been excersizing since July and eating well. I just want my BP to go down.....Thanks for the articles Ryan....will check them out!
 
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