Addicted to Salt...........Its Call to me is relentless!

Goal4Good

I think I like salt WAY too much. I have been known to salt a hotdog. I've even salted a bag of potato chips. I am the only woman I know that carries a salt shaker in their purse. Other women have lipstick. I have a salt shaker!!!!! I suspect (I KNOW) I am addicted to it. I really need to wean myself off of it but its like crack or something.

I swear that I could have one of those giant square cubes of salt (like you put out for cows and deers; I think they are called Salt Licks) on my kitchen counter and drag my tongue across it every time I walked past.

I need to break this salt habit. The good news is I drink enough water daily to fill a camel's hump twice. GO figure. I'm thirsty. Must be the salt.

Any suggestions for how to eliminate this evil from my diet? One time I ate a whole giant bag of sunflower seeds and the next morning my eyes were swollen shut. My husband took one look and said, "What the H happened to your eyes!?!?!?!?" I was like, 'Um...........I over indulged in a salty snack." It was ugly.

At this rate I'm gonna shut my kidneys down or something. This much salt can't be good. But even as much as I love it and have too much of it, my blood pressure is extremely good and at my last physical, my doctor said I was in great shape.

So.......am I harming myself??

HaleyAlli

Yikes...my brother is like that haha. You need to eat foods that are more flavorful on a regular basis. Salt is only good because of its flavor, so if you're not craving flavor constantly, and you take time to savor your food while you're eating it, it should help

becca0211

Have you talked to your doctor about this? That seems like a pretty extreme craving for salt and I would be concerned that it is a symptom of something else.

P.S. Leaving the salt shaker at home would be a good first step

mosneakers

I totally recommend the "Secret to Skinny." I followed the plan because I was almost as bad as you. Salt on veggies?!?! I thought it was normal, people thought it was weird!! Here is the link: http://www.nutritiontwins.com/. I'm averaging less than 2,000mg of sodium a day now. It's small changes that can go a long way. The trick is to eat fresh food - not chips, not hot dogs and not frozen dinners (some of those dinners have more sodium than you should have in one day!) Eeeeek! The best thing I learned from the book was to buy yogurt with less than 12g of sugar in it. WOW! That made a huge difference!

Not only could it do horrible things to your kidneys, it could hurt your heart and lead to high blood pressure which produces so many more problems!! The first few days will be hard, but you can do it!!

Hollycat

Uhhh....how's your thyroid? I found out I was hypothyroid when I started eating olives by the jar for the salt...

Research hypothyroidism.

Hollycat
:flowerforyou:

Goal4Good

Thanks, I've never had my thyroid checked. I have mentioned to my doctor that I have intense cravings for salt but she kind of blew me off with a "Oh, you should cut back on that cause its bad for kidneys". Knew THAT Already Doc!!! Never occurred to me that my thyroid could have anything to do with this so I'll press the conversation next time for physical.

Oh and I haven't eaten hotdogs in I dont' know when. Pretty much haven't eaten processed meats in forever too but boy do I salt the heck out of my veggies!!! I'll check out that link. Thanks for the feedback!

Its probably a case of the more you eat, the more you crave.

muth3rluvx2

I'm gonna' make a wild stab and say that you've desensitized your senses by the gradual over-use of salt. Salt is very strong and has the ability to diminish your ability to taste other flavors. This is also why older people use salt on everything - it's the only thing they can taste. I concur with seeing your doctor to be on the safe side, but if my assessment is correct you will probably have to wean yourself by intentionally decreasing your use of salt on everything you eat and re-learning to appreciate and value the natural flavor of your foods.

Here's the downside, possibly...

Because salt is SO abrasive and so strong, there MAY be the possibiity of permanent damage. I'm not saying that i know this; I'm just thinking along logical lines and could easily be wrong. I'm suggesting that you might want to start your weaning process immediately and see your doctor and ask if there's that possibility. If you don't have a GP for some reason, then just research the matter (WebMD might have more specific answers) and beging weaning. Like you measure your food here, measure your salt. First, find out how much you usually use a day, then pick and amount to decrease by each DAY. Make sure it's a doable amount for your and your "addiction".

I wish you the best of luck in this!

katy4193

I was thinking the same thing..I would talk to your doctor about it specifically!

dawnw30

I was like that too. All I can tell you is what I did - I started easing off a little at a time. Every week I cut back on something specific...like changing the amount of salt I put on stuff until I finally got to where I don't add extra salt to anything anymore at all. There are different seasoning blends out there that can be great substitutes as well. When you use those you don't miss the salt being gone. I found the less salt I ate the more I could taste foods! Now it's like a whole flavor explosion and I am learning to enjoy more things. It's crazy! Now while I can't say that will work for anyone else - it worked for me. Good luck with kicking the salt habit so that you can stay healthy! :flowerforyou:

Bakins929

I can't say if you are harming yourself, but I would imagine it's not healthy. I used to put salt on everything, and lots of it. If my french fries didn't look like ski slopes, they needed more salt! I tried several salt alternatives and I now use No Salt brand. On special occasions, I treat myself to an exotic sea salt, like Himalayan Pink. This also provides other nutrients and minerals, but I try to avoid as much table salt as possible. I would suggest you try a couple of salt alternatives. Remember to check the label as many have potasium and other ingredients you may need to be aware of.

RatherBeInTheShire

I find this post ironic because I just had to "hide" my salt shaker from myself. I used to salt HAM! I have to just quit salt cold turkey!

staciekins

I kicked my salt habit by using more seasonings and garlic for flavor. I don't use regular table salt anymore either. I use salt-substitute which is potassium chloride so it gets your potassium up as well

Goal4Good

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I will start TONIGHT not adding additional salt to my food and I'll check out those alternative no salt seasonings. Good to know others have had salt obsessions too and managed to get off of it.

lizajanetoo

I cut back on the salt by using other flavors when I cook. I have gone to using different flavor rubs and seasoning to kick the salt habbit.

I use garlic, rosemary, tyme, chipotle rub, greek seasonings, dill seasoning, chilli powder, cumin, and any Mrs. Dash out there.


Good luck ~