Looking for a LOW SODIUM diet example!

ScottFree_66

avoid processed foods, fast food, lunch meats and bread (lots of sodium in bread, especially at my subway (my weakness)

Ashonym

Just want to say that I really wish you the best of luck. I learned the hard way that once we've become adapted to salt, it takes more and more of the stuff to satisfy our palettes and give that super salty flavor we desire. Once I stopped using it altogether for a while, foods that naturally have a little kick to them suddenly became noticeable favorites. I recommend substituting one tablespoon of butter instead of salt. Much less sodium in my experiences.

Fresh/frozen veggies... nuts! Nuts have a naturally salty flavor to them and you can easily find healthier varieties with little to no sodium (I literally have some almonds next to me with 25mg sodium per serving - serving size being 23 almonds-ish.). Just read the back of everything in the darn store if you have to. Set aside extra time for your grocery trip.

If it means your health, it's worth it. I sincerely wish you the best.

FredDoyle

They make this stuff called "lo-salt" it's like 60% less sodium than regular salt and I think it tastes the same. I too am highly addicted to salt and love anything covered in it! I drink a lot of water also to help out, all day every day.

Good luck!

Some people with hypertension have to be careful with those salt substitutes. They are usually potassium chloride and some meds make potassium elimination lower. Check with your doctor. Mrs. Dash doesn't have much. I use those.

mytime60

Like most have said on here, the more you cook from fresh or scratch, the better chances of lowering the sodium intake. I read some years ago that it takes 30 days to break a habit, so try cutting it way back for 30 days and you will be amazed at what you took as normal will taste so overly salty now. If you like cooking, there are several cookbooks out there dedicated to low sodium cooking. I ordered one called cooking without a grain of salt that is pretty good. I also really like the McCormicks no salt seasonings.

Rynatat

Table salt, even sea salt is white because all the nutrients have been processed out of it during the refining process. It has been proven that true Pink Himalayan Sea Salt is good for you as it contains over 80 vital minerals that your body needs & can process to your organs & tissue that need it. Using this Salt does not alter blood pressure or cause bloating, it can actually reverse it as your body is getting what it needs & knows exactly how to use it.

That said, anything that has been processed or has ingredients listed that you either cannot pronouce or have ever heard of should be avoided. My sodium intake, on a bad day, is around 1100-1200, and that is with adding a small amount of Himalayan Sea Salt to some foods I prepare from scratch. On average I think I'm around 600-700. I used to have horrid bloating, for no reason, and took water pills to try to help. No more water pills, I have ankles and knees again, and I use this type of salt daily.

You will also find that when you cut out processes food your salt cravings will lessen. And that will start a chain reaction of Good for you

(I think my diary is open to view, feel free to look for ideas - I think everything I use at this time is natural from scratch. I've also started adding my recipes into the MFP database - maybe you can look through there for ideas as well)

FredDoyle

Table salt, even sea salt is white because all the nutrients have been processed out of it during the refining process. It has been proven that true Pink Himalayan Sea Salt is good for you as it contains over 80 vital minerals that your body needs & can process to your organs & tissue that need it. Using this Salt does not alter blood pressure or cause bloating, it can actually reverse it as your body is getting what it needs & knows exactly how to use it.

Please back up the bolded statement with some citations.
You may get trace minerals that your body can use but it doesn't change the fact that it is basically no different than table salt for those on a sodium reduced diet.
From wiki:

In 2003 the Bavarian consumer protection agency Bayerisches Landesamt für Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit analyzed 15 specimens of Himalaya salt sold in Germany and could detect a total of 10 different minerals: sodium and chloride (98%) and other minerals. This agency states that these salts come from Pakistan and can, like all salts, cause hypertension (high blood pressure).[1] German public television broadcaster ZDF presented the analyzed chemical composition of Himalayan salt, stating that the specimen contained 95–96% sodium chloride that was contaminated with 2–3% polyhalite (gypsum) and small amounts of 10 other different minerals

Rynatat

Table salt, even sea salt is white because all the nutrients have been processed out of it during the refining process. It has been proven that true Pink Himalayan Sea Salt is good for you as it contains over 80 vital minerals that your body needs & can process to your organs & tissue that need it. Using this Salt does not alter blood pressure or cause bloating, it can actually reverse it as your body is getting what it needs & knows exactly how to use it.

Please back up the bolded statement with some citations.
You may get trace minerals that your body can use but it doesn't change the fact that it is basically no different than table salt for those on a sodium reduced diet.
From wiki:

In 2003 the Bavarian consumer protection agency Bayerisches Landesamt für Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit analyzed 15 specimens of Himalaya salt sold in Germany and could detect a total of 10 different minerals: sodium and chloride (98%) and other minerals. This agency states that these salts come from Pakistan and can, like all salts, cause hypertension (high blood pressure).[1] German public television broadcaster ZDF presented the analyzed chemical composition of Himalayan salt, stating that the specimen contained 95–96% sodium chloride that was contaminated with 2–3% polyhalite (gypsum) and small amounts of 10 other different minerals

I apologize for the gigantic quote above - yes, you are correct when you buy a salt off the shelf at commercial markets. However, if you actually research WHERE your food, vitamins and minerals are coming from, you can actually get the pure sources. Yes, there is a price to pay that is considerably higher than the norm & most will avoid this at all costs (pun intended). That is also why I stated "true" pink Himalayan sea salt.

And in case you would like to discount me further (which is your right as this is a public forum & I understand I'm susceptible to being discounted as much as anyone), two examples of using "True" salt: my severe life-long bloating issues, no matter how careful I was or how much water I drank (close to two gallons a day), I no longer have bloating issues and I was actually able to cut back on my water consumption to around a gallon a day, sometimes less (no high blood pressure though). My uncle had a heart attack a few months ago & honestly did not realize it for WEEKS until he finally went to the Doctor for what he thought was a mild heart arrhythmia...At that point, his BP was around 120/70, they didn't know what was wrong until they finally ran a batch of test... he has been using the true salt for over 5 years, along with eating well and exercising regularly.

Or maybe we just lucked out and got the good German batch...

mfoutch86

Look at my diary. I do my best to stay under 1500 mg a day. I too had Pre-E with my pregnancies that never went away. I felt silly having high BP at 22 years old. 5 years later I am off all meds, but have to keep my sodium low and exercise regularly to maintain that. I hated having to take meds, they made me tired all the time. I have found that not eatting processed foods is the only soultion.

laserturkey

I'm *supposed* to be watching sodium, but I don't always do very well at it.

I have read that one of the biggest sources of sodium in the typical American diet is BREAD, and that sodium in processed foods has a far greater impact than any salt people add with a salt shaker.

Add sodium as one of your tracked nutrients in your log and you will know soon enough which of your usual foods needs to be replaced with something else.

Don't go off meds unless your doctor says it's okay to, though. If you have high blood pressure at such a young age, there's likely a genetic component, and you don't want to let hypertension go unchecked. It's really not a thing to take lightly.

FredDoyle

I apologize for the gigantic quote above - yes, you are correct when you buy a salt off the shelf at commercial markets. However, if you actually research WHERE your food, vitamins and minerals are coming from, you can actually get the pure sources. Yes, there is a price to pay that is considerably higher than the norm & most will avoid this at all costs (pun intended). That is also why I stated "true" pink Himalayan sea salt.

And in case you would like to discount me further (which is your right as this is a public forum & I understand I'm susceptible to being discounted as much as anyone), two examples of using "True" salt: my severe life-long bloating issues, no matter how careful I was or how much water I drank (close to two gallons a day), I no longer have bloating issues and I was actually able to cut back on my water consumption to around a gallon a day, sometimes less (no high blood pressure though). My uncle had a heart attack a few months ago & honestly did not realize it for WEEKS until he finally went to the Doctor for what he thought was a mild heart arrhythmia...At that point, his BP was around 120/70, they didn't know what was wrong until they finally ran a batch of test... he has been using the true salt for over 5 years, along with eating well and exercising regularly.

Or maybe we just lucked out and got the good German batch...

There is no good German batch. The lowest was 95-96% sodium chloride. Sea salt is salt. Pay what you want.
I'm sorry but your experiences are uncontrolled experiments and amount to personal anecdotes. You can't say conclusively what changed your condition(s) because you haven't controlled for other factors.
As it stands, chemistry labs have analysed Himalayan sea salt and it's unsurprisingly about 98% NaCl, ergo not suitable for those on a sodium reduced diet.
I'm glad you can still enjoy it and it doesn't affect your BP or bloating. :glasses: