Eat to Live with salt

karibuni

Not sure how many of you have read Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman and its principles. I read it and decided to give it a go. It is really simple and seems to be working as I am loosing tonnes of weight but I am struggling with the no salt part. That is the only really really hard part. All salt replacements are just not doing the trick. Anyone done this diet and added salt? What were the implications?

For the diet details - http://fatfreevegan.com/blog/2010/01/01/eat-to-live-6-week-plan/

LoraF83

Is there a reason you need to avoid sodium?

twinmom01

Is there a reason you need to avoid sodium?

I ask the same question - since alal the food on the plan is from whole food sources, while there is natural sodium you shouldn't go over if you added some salt here and there.

If you are exercising a lot your body probably needs some salt - I have low blood pressure and eat a clean diet - I have to add some salt into my diet.

I don't see adding a few dashes would make a difference at all...it would be one thing if the plan was full of packaged food where the sodium could be high to begin with

karibuni

Is there a reason you need to avoid sodium?

I have no idea. I am equally confused about the rationale - true it has its dangers but you can manage it.

On a plus side, a few days of missing salt just completely modified my palate. I taste things better and when I did eat food with salt even the vegetables and beans that were so blund before tasted like paradise. So maybe the point is to retrain your taste buds perhaps? But it is so hard to avoid salt.

Kaydana123

Anyone who tells you to completely cut salt from your diet is not someone you should be taking advice from. Eating too little salt can be dangerous, you need to make sure you are getting enough sodium in your diet.

What type of beans are you eating? Canned or dried? If canned, you're probably getting some sodium there (though still not enough), but if you're eating dried beans then the sodium levels in that diet are far too low.

Go ahead and eat salt (in moderation), your body needs it!

karibuni

Is there a reason you need to avoid sodium?

I ask the same question - since alal the food on the plan is from whole food sources, while there is natural sodium you shouldn't go over if you added some salt here and there.

If you are exercising a lot your body probably needs some salt - I have low blood pressure and eat a clean diet - I have to add some salt into my diet.

I don't see adding a few dashes would make a difference at all...it would be one thing if the plan was full of packaged food where the sodium could be high to begin with

Exactly. I see myself stick with the diet if I add salt but with salt it just makes my head so knotted.

Maybe adding salt would fall under the 10% rule as everyone cannot be 100% compliant

karibuni

Anyone who tells you to completely cut salt from your diet is not someone you should be taking advice from. Eating too little salt can be dangerous, you need to make sure you are getting enough sodium in your diet.

What type of beans are you eating? Canned or dried? If canned, you're probably getting some sodium there (though still not enough), but if you're eating dried beans then the sodium levels in that diet are far too low.

Go ahead and eat salt (in moderation), your body needs it!

Thanks. They are dried beans. I ate them yesterday with salt after a few days of no salt and I can swear they tasted so divine. The vegetables too so I think there might be an issue of just retraining your palate than anything else.

I will have to eat salt. It is just torture not being able to. Reminds of those days of food shortages in my country, the nasty 70s when we could not get anything, salt, sugar or even cooking oil!

Tedebearduff

I use Himalayan salt, it's soo good and better then sea salt. I'm not sure if it will work into your diet but it's 100% better for you then table salt ( look at the box of table salt second ingredient is sugar....) It has no chemicals also... goggle it and see for yourself.

shirlandmews

I was reading the plan, when it says OFF LIMITS, I guess it means you must not eat those things right ?

karibuni

I use Himalayan salt, it's soo good and better then sea salt. I'm not sure if it will work into your diet but it's 100% better for you then table salt ( look at the box of table salt second ingredient is sugar....) It has no chemicals also... goggle it and see for yourself.

Sugar, u are kidding me! No way. I am not a big fan of labels but I suppose I really have to start putting time in reading ingredient lists

karibuni

I was reading the plan, when it says OFF LIMITS, I guess it means you must not eat those things right ?

Exactly. Have you tried it? It works actually. I am fine with no sugar. Not sure about caffeine as I need my herbal teas and some of them have caffeine but no salt is by far the hardest!

shirlandmews

Thanks, google translation gave me a ****ty translation and I was not sure it meant what I thought it meant lol. No I haven't, but I find it interesting !

Di3012

Anyone who tells you to completely cut salt from your diet is not someone you should be taking advice from. Eating too little salt can be dangerous, you need to make sure you are getting enough sodium in your diet.

What type of beans are you eating? Canned or dried? If canned, you're probably getting some sodium there (though still not enough), but if you're eating dried beans then the sodium levels in that diet are far too low.

Go ahead and eat salt (in moderation), your body needs it!

Thanks. They are dried beans. I ate them yesterday with salt after a few days of no salt and I can swear they tasted so divine. The vegetables too so I think there might be an issue of just retraining your palate than anything else.

I will have to eat salt. It is just torture not being able to. Reminds of those days of food shortages in my country, the nasty 70s when we could not get anything, salt, sugar or even cooking oil!

You MUST have a minimum of 500mg of sodium per day, no salt at all is not just dangerous, it will be fatal if continued and by "fatal" I really do mean death, not just a figure of speech.

Between 500mg and 2500mg of sodium per day is fine, just please, do not go below that 500 figure, no matter what he is telling you regarding that diet.

Tedebearduff

I was reading the plan, when it says OFF LIMITS, I guess it means you must not eat those things right ?

Exactly. Have you tried it? It works actually. I am fine with no sugar. Not sure about caffeine as I need my herbal teas and some of them have caffeine but no salt is by far the hardest!

I hate diets like this to be honest with their do's and don'ts Caffeine is actually good for you .. it's the cream and sugar you add to coffee/tea that makes it bad. Here are a few quotes for ya

Green tea and its extract have been shown to fight obesity and lower LDL "bad" cholesterol -- two risk factors for heart disease and diabetes -- but in very limited studies. One study in the Netherlands and a study in Japan showed that green tea did both.

In the Dutch study, participants who drank caffeinated green tea lost more weight, but even those who typically drank the decaf variety saw a decrease in their waistlines and body weight. Researchers speculated that the caffeine helps with fat oxidation.

bIn the Japanese study, 240 men and women were given varying amounts of green tea extract for three months. Those who got the highest amount lost fat and weight and had lower blood pressure and lower LDL "bad" cholesterol.

and

"Here’s the good news: Caffeine has been shown to slightly reduce appetite. But drinking green tea daily could lead to about an inch off your waistline in 12 weeks, according to a recent American Journal of Clinical Nutrition review. That’s because EGCG and caffeine in green tea can help shrink fat cells and makes muscle cells more active."