Salt, Supplements, Nutritional Density

each_day_stronger

Hello Paleo folks,

Just curious what y'all do for Salt. I've been using plain old sea salt, but I was thinking maybe next time I have extra money I might want to spring for some fancier stuff, assuming it provides good flavor and added nutrients. I was wondering you had recommendations?

Also I am start thinking about sticking with supplements as well as exploring ways to really nourish my body (not just take away the bad stuff)

So far I'm taking a wild salmon fish oil supplement from trader joes, but it seems a lot of paleo folks are also going for fermented cod liver oil. I think I will stick with what I have till it runs out, but I'm curious about your experience with other brands.

And then in terms of some super foods I want to at least start experimenting with I've got:
-bone broth (so far my attempts have not been too appealing to drink, but ok for soups)
-gelatin (gummy snacks )
-and I need to find a way to get fish into my diet. I've always hated it, but I'm trying to change my taste buds (recommendations anyone?)

Ok, so that was rambly, but all advice is welcome Anyone have other super nutrient dense foods I should try in addition to continuing my path of taking out bad ones?

SteamClutch

Salt; I use a plain old Hain's sea salt, I am not sure the fancy one are doing anyone any better but I hear to avoid the iodized stuff not sure why but I get mine in the supplements.

Supplements; I take a kelp/iodine supplement due to my Hypothyroidism (which I think is gone and will find out next month). The iodine in it will act on your thyroid and that gland supports every other gland in your body for balancing your overall hormone state. If you do not live near an ocean and do not eat foods from an ocean, take it but start slowly, many people also have a sensitivity to it. Stress B-complex, daily, Fish oil, daily, some others I rotate around but nothing too important.

Fish; as you noted is in my diet, I love any salt water fish I can get. Fresh caught is always better than farmed or the industrial packaged fish in most of the freezer sections. Trader Joe's however has some good varieties in their freezers, I love the Albacore and Mahi Mahi pan fried.

SteamClutch

One more thing...

Eggs; eat them every day at least 2 good (natural raised) eggs, fried in some kind of fat (I rotate between Bacon, Ghee and Coconut). I eat 3 to 4 and even have them for dinner if my Wife is not making a meat dish. You will get a lot of the omega 3's and the fat and the protein needed to carry you through the morning.

Before I started Primal and even several weeks before I started Atkin's I started eating eggs in the morning to see if I could even pull it off. I did not weigh myself but lost a full belt notch in the first week and already my energy was returning. Two weeks of this and then I weighed myself in at 254.

My wife lost 6 pounds in the last few weeks eating eggs and she has changed nothing else in her diet, nor is she needing to diet she is naturally small. My daughter is also eating eggs but will not weigh herself and her husband is doing it too but he if very big and not talking about the results I imagine he has not stated weighing himself yet.

each_day_stronger

Thanks for your responses! I love eggs, I would say I usually eat anywhere between 1-4 eggs a day (usually fried) just because its a quick cheap protein (even if I get the expensive good stuff it's still cheaper than the meat), but I'll makes sure I keep it up!

oh and I'll check out what's going on in trader joes one of these days in terms of fish. I never even thought of them for that.

Lizzard_77

I use himalayan salt as my daily salt, it has trace minerals such as potassium and magnesium. For fun salts I love Alder smoked salt and hawaiian red salt. I keep kosher and sea salt around for my ferments.

As for supplements I take daily:

Fermented Cod Liver oil/Butter oil from Green Pastures -my skin is better and my cavities are healing

Natural Calm magnesium -Helps muscle recovery and sleep

Gelatin -2 tbsp for hair, skin, and nails

Maca powder and Tulsi tea -hormone support and stress relief

I loooove fish. Wild caught is by far the best. If you are not a fish person you may want to start with a fleshy white fish like cod, not very fishy and has a firm texture. I eat loads of tinned mackerel for the omega-3s. I try to stay away from tuna because of overfishing and mercury but you will occasionally see Wild Planet and Cole's tinned tuna show up in my diary. Salmon is amazing and when cooked well it is not fishy. Tilapia is everyone's go to easy fish, not my fave, boring and not a lot of flavor but it's fish, and may be good for someone breaking into the fish scene.

Hope any of that helps. My diary is open so feel free to have a peek if you want or send a FR if interested

Lizzard_77

Oh yeah and....I love the new "Super Greens" pack that you can get in the lettuce sections these days. they have baby greens of nutrient packed power houses like, kale, spinach, chard, tat-soi etc. My fave lunch is mackerel or chicken over super greens with Raw Apple Cider Vinegar (also a powerhouse, I take 1 table spoon a day) with walnuts, radicchio, and a good quality oil drizzled over top.

I am sure I will think of other stuff as time goes on, there are so many wonderful nutrient dense "supplements" food wise that you can incorporate into your daily routine!!!

each_day_stronger

Oh thanks for the tips on fish in particular! I will think about white fishes, that's a good idea! Maybe I could make some fish sticks with almond flour?

SteamClutch

Oh thanks for the tips on fish in particular! I will think about white fishes, that's a good idea! Maybe I could make some fish sticks with almond flour?

Let us know how it turns out I am going to do some crab cakes this week. I was just to busy to do it today but any seafood is a plus in my book.

Dragonwolf

I use himalayan salt as my daily salt, it has trace minerals such as potassium and magnesium. For fun salts I love Alder smoked salt and hawaiian red salt. I keep kosher and sea salt around for my ferments.

As for supplements I take daily:

Fermented Cod Liver oil/Butter oil from Green Pastures -my skin is better and my cavities are healing

Natural Calm magnesium -Helps muscle recovery and sleep

Gelatin -2 tbsp for hair, skin, and nails

Maca powder and Tulsi tea -hormone support and stress relief

I loooove fish. Wild caught is by far the best. If you are not a fish person you may want to start with a fleshy white fish like cod, not very fishy and has a firm texture. I eat loads of tinned mackerel for the omega-3s. I try to stay away from tuna because of overfishing and mercury but you will occasionally see Wild Planet and Cole's tinned tuna show up in my diary. Salmon is amazing and when cooked well it is not fishy. Tilapia is everyone's go to easy fish, not my fave, boring and not a lot of flavor but it's fish, and may be good for someone breaking into the fish scene.

Hope any of that helps. My diary is open so feel free to have a peek if you want or send a FR if interested

The salmon thing might depend on how sensitive you are to the fishy taste. I tried eating grilled salmon the other day and found that it was okay at first, but the more I chewed, the fishier it got (but maybe it just wasn't cooked right, I'm not sure). I think I'll stick to sushi for my salmon intake and get my Omega-3s from my eggs.

That said, trout is another good option. My mom used to bread and deep fry fillet medallions and they'd just melt in your mouth. They're not too fishy, either, and can be a good option for fresh fish if you live more inland.

Oh, and for the original question on salts - put me down for another vote for Himalayan Salt. You can find it at Trader Joe's. I've been using it lately for seasoning, though I still have sea salt around for various other purposes.

And regarding the iodized salt - the salt in iodized salt is usually just the manufactured table salt. IE - it's just sodium chloride (and stabilizers). While the other salts (including sea salt) have a number of trace minerals, table salt doesn't, really. It's technically not harmful, but other salts are a better choice (and taste better, IMO). http://curezone.com/foods/salt/

butterbear1980

What a great topic! Salt is one of those things that falls into the 'you shouldn't have to know that much' categories of our broken food system. If you are using sea salt you need to supplement iodine. I take 1/4 t. Per day of kelp powder. Its pretty nasty; I'll buy it in capsules when I run out. Bummer thing about some uses salts is that the ocean now contains pollutants and those are in sea salt. That's why many good brands are 'ancient' dried up sea beds. "real salt' is my go to cookingsalt and I also use Celtic and Himalayan

Akimajuktuq

I use Himalayan salt and sea salt. Yum. Love the taste and I don't limit my salt intake at all. I'm not worried about iodine but I am adding more sea vegetables to my diet. I now have kombu, wakame, dulse, sushi nori, and kelp noodles. I'm not sure the noodles have any benefit but they are fun to eat occasionally.

I think fish oil isn't all that great to supplement. Best to just eat the fish. I'm not a big fish person but I force myself to eat it here and there. I don't digest fatty fish well and it bothers my child too (strange since Arctic char is a traditional food for her ancestors). I also eat sardines and oysters. It's good to eat guts. I do think there is benefit to fermented cod liver oil. One thing human ancestors had in common is there was always certain things included in diet that facilitated absorption of fat soluble vitamins. I take Green Pastures high vitamin butter oil/fermented cod liver oil unflavoured gel. It seems to be slowing the worsening of my child's cavities. I take D3/K2 drops and Dr. Mercola multivitamin also. My child eats his juice powder probiotics a few times a week too. That's about it.

Dragonwolf

What a great topic! Salt is one of those things that falls into the 'you shouldn't have to know that much' categories of our broken food system. If you are using sea salt you need to supplement iodine. I take 1/4 t. Per day of kelp powder. Its pretty nasty; I'll buy it in capsules when I run out. Bummer thing about some uses salts is that the ocean now contains pollutants and those are in sea salt. That's why many good brands are 'ancient' dried up sea beds. "real salt' is my go to cookingsalt and I also use Celtic and Himalayan

Iodized salt isn't the only source of iodine. Sea vegetables (kelp, kombu, etc), eggs, milk, and saltwater fish and shellfish are all great sources of iodine. If you get plenty of them (especially sea vegetables), then you don't really need to supplement. Avoiding toxins that interfere with iodine (such as fluoridated water and bromine exposure) helps keep you from being deficient, too.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/02/08/iodine-is-important-but-new-study-shows-too-much-causes-problems.aspx

http://www.thyroid.org/iodine-deficiency/

Dragonwolf

I use Himalayan salt and sea salt. Yum. Love the taste and I don't limit my salt intake at all. I'm not worried about iodine but I am adding more sea vegetables to my diet. I now have kombu, wakame, dulse, sushi nori, and kelp noodles. I'm not sure the noodles have any benefit but they are fun to eat occasionally.

I think fish oil isn't all that great to supplement. Best to just eat the fish. I'm not a big fish person but I force myself to eat it here and there. I don't digest fatty fish well and it bothers my child too (strange since Arctic char is a traditional food for her ancestors). I also eat sardines and oysters. It's good to eat guts. I do think there is benefit to fermented cod liver oil. One thing human ancestors had in common is there was always certain things included in diet that facilitated absorption of fat soluble vitamins. I take Green Pastures high vitamin butter oil/fermented cod liver oil unflavoured gel. It seems to be slowing the worsening of my child's cavities. I take D3/K2 drops and Dr. Mercola multivitamin also. My child eats his juice powder probiotics a few times a week too. That's about it.

Offtopic, but have you seen Wellness Mama's reminerlizing toothpaste and the book Cure Tooth Decay? They might be worth looking into if you haven't already.

http://wellnessmama.com/2500/homemade-remineralizing-toothpaste-recipe/
http://wellnessmama.com/8780/squeezable-homemade-toothpaste/ (uses the remineralizing recipe + bentonite clay for more minerals)
http://wellnessmama.com/5629/cure-tooth-decay-book-review/

GrokRockStar

Oh thanks for the tips on fish in particular! I will think about white fishes, that's a good idea! Maybe I could make some fish sticks with almond flour?

Let us know how it turns out I am going to do some crab cakes this week. I was just to busy to do it today but any seafood is a plus in my book.

I fry everything with almond flour, chicken, talipia, pork chops, shrimp, goat cheese (when I ate cheese), etc. It has a great flavor, especially when fried in coconut oil! It browns quickly, so don't have your fire too high. The only bad experience I had was when I attempted to fry clams, which was a popping, hot mess!

each_day_stronger

Ok gang, I'm going to try to make some crab cakes with almond flour this week. I've recently been a little worried about cooking with almond flour, but I think as an occasional thing it shouldn't be too bad.

This thread is packed with so much useful information, thank you all so much I'm excited to buy some himalayan salt at my next opportunity.

each_day_stronger

Also this is an exceedingly stupid question, but how would you recommend a newbie eat sardines or canned oysters or anchovies. It seems like a quick and healthy protein, but it seems...intense. Also are there like bones in them (not the oysters, ha)? Do you just sort of swallow the stuff whole? Mix them with a salad so you don't taste them as much?

EchoDelta1013

Sardines would have bones but not oysters. Unsure about anchovies. The bones are small enough to chew and are a great source for calcium. Canned salmon is also great for protein as well as omega-3s. I just eat them out of the can or add egg and homemade mayo to it. Then mix with greens.

SteamClutch

Also this is an exceedingly stupid question, but how would you recommend a newbie eat sardines or canned oysters or anchovies. It seems like a quick and healthy protein, but it seems...intense. Also are there like bones in them (not the oysters, ha)? Do you just sort of swallow the stuff whole? Mix them with a salad so you don't taste them as much?

Right out of the can for me but if that is too intense then you can get anchovy paste and put it in anything that can benefit from it like a salad dressing or any stew, soup or dish with a lot of other flavors going on in it.

butterbear1980

I got some oysters a few weeks ago and ate them on salad I thought the flavor was okay and goes nicely with sauerkraut. There is a salad dressing I make sometimes with mayo a can of sardines a can of tuna. My husband and kids won't touch it or I'd make it more often!

Lizzard_77

Also this is an exceedingly stupid question, but how would you recommend a newbie eat sardines or canned oysters or anchovies. It seems like a quick and healthy protein, but it seems...intense. Also are there like bones in them (not the oysters, ha)? Do you just sort of swallow the stuff whole? Mix them with a salad so you don't taste them as much?

I admittedly have to force down sardines, they are do-able when I put them in a salad with lots of vinegar, or mash them up with avocado. I found tinned mackerel much more palatable, actually quite enjoyable! I buy Cole's Mackerel in Piri Piri sauce. The fried sardines in Well Fed 2 is super delicious (I use my mackerel) and an easy lunch.

Anchovies are fabulous as a base for sauces, simply heat ghee or olive oil and add garlic and anchovies, herbs and lemon juice then toss some veggie noodles in it. the anchovies melt and take on a fabulous nutty flavor

As for bones in sardines, we look for the ones that are packed in a double layer, they will be smaller and the bones less pronounced, therefore easier to "swallow" for a newbie.

butterbear1980

I got some oysters a few weeks ago and ate them on salad I thought the flavor was okay and goes nicely with sauerkraut. There is a salad dressing I make sometimes with mayo a can of sardines a can of tuna. My husband and kids won't touch it or I'd make it more often!