Sodium...

Joshacham

Good Lord, I can't help but go WAY over my sodium limit. Any suggestions to quell this savage beast?

childermass

I would also like to know! my sodium is the hardest thing to keep down.
Have started using heaps of herbs in my cooking instead of relying on salt - has helped a bit

MrsR0SE

As you say, stop adding salt in cooking, and try to cook your meals from scratch with fresh ingredients, you'll find sodium mainly in preprepared convenience foods and fast food.

lqtransformation130

If you just have to have salt try Accent, Mrs. Dash or sea salt. Also I have started using paprika, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, red,green and yellow bell peppers, onions, cilantro, celery, just a few to flavor my food. I am also trying to enjoy foods in a natural state as possible when tolerated...

Dagoth

Sodium isn't as bad as people think it is. Generally it won't effect your BF%.

luv2ash

Avoid processed foods, particularly processed meats or any meat, bacon, ham, turkey dogs, even frozen meats have sodium in them. Read your labels and compare, it is shocking. I always feel so much better when my sodium level is around 1500, when I get above that, I puff and literally feel miserable. Definitely use Dash products there are so many great ones. Good luck.

Doberdawn

Sodium isn't as bad as people think it is. Generally it won't effect your BF%.

Sodium makes you swell and retain water. It also is a culprit for elevating blood pressure to unhealthy levels if BP is an issue for you... and many folks don't know as HBP is the silent killer.

I use NoSalt and various spices. Don't buy fast food, canned soup or processed foods.

clarebare6

Sea salt, Himalayan rock salt, and all the fancy gourmet salts still contain AS MUCH sodium (which is the factor that raises our blood pressure) as regular table salt. As below start to reduce the amount of salt you add to food at the table and when cooking. It only takes 6 weeks to adjust your taste buds to eating less salt. Salt (sodium chloride) is hiding in many surprising places, so be sure to check the label when buying bread, breakfast cereals, or any processed foods and choose the lower sodium option.

Health New Year!

Joshacham

I forgot about this thread.

I don't add salt to my food, well maybe pre-made seasoning mixes for some meats, but most of it comes from the Energy Drink I use, the sausage I eat in the morning to keep me full until lunch and other things. I find it crazy the amount of sodium in some things!

FredDoyle

I forgot about this thread.

I don't add salt to my food, well maybe pre-made seasoning mixes for some meats, but most of it comes from the Energy Drink I use, the sausage I eat in the morning to keep me full until lunch and other things. I find it crazy the amount of sodium in some things!

Yeh, sausages and deli meats are packed with sodium. I make my own sauces, gravies and even bread.
Now you can get "no-salt added" broths, tomato sauces etc.
I'm glad the poster above pointed out what people have argued with me about. Sea salt is just regular salt with a few trace minerals that table salt doesn't have. It has just as much sodium.
I only watch sodium because I had hypertension. Losing weight and cutting back sodium and alcohol has solved that for me. There are too many confounding factors to know what affected what. Plus, I'm on an ACE inhibitor...
I don't know whether cutting the sodium mattered.

Firefox7275

Good Lord, I can't help but go WAY over my sodium limit. Any suggestions to quell this savage beast?

Bacon and processed meats, hard cheese, canned soups, bread, seasonings, almost anything processed/ with an ingredients list .... pick your battles, if you adore bacon cut back or out on the others and have small servings. Buy some reduced/ low salt seasonings - you can get stock cubes, bouillon powder, yeast extract, soy sauce, plain tomato paste, spice blends all come in lower sodium versions. Then make food from scratch in bulk to save effort. I never add salt to anything, I add a no salt or reduced salt seasoning so there is a ton of flavour and only a little sodium. Many times salt and sugar is added to ready made food because the ingredients are so poor it would not have flavour otherwise.

You don't need energy drinks packed with man made chemicals, you need carbs and electrolytes from real food. If you are lacking in energy you are training too hard/ not resting enough, not eating a balanced diet, have an underlying illness that needs diagnosing and treating. Make your own sausage patties with plain ground meat and low salt seasonings, or have half a serving of the sausage plus some plain cooked omega-enriched eggs for more protein. You can do the same with bacon and cheese, always combine a small serving with a low sodium protein like plain chicken.

ClarkAddison

Also my biggest issue. Frozen meals and veggies get me. My lifestyle makes it tough to have prepared meals.

FredDoyle

Also my biggest issue. Frozen meals and veggies get me. My lifestyle makes it tough to have prepared meals.

Ya, it's tough to do if you don't cook from fresh. I can find bags of frozen veggies that are low Na though...

SadKitty27

Avoid processed meats, and fast food. Also, you should try expanding your pallet by using a different / larger variety of seasonings (fresh ones are awesome if you can get them.) Personally, my favorite seasonings are parsley, fresh ground black pepper, basil and garlic with just a pinch of sea salt.

Edit:

If you find you're too pressed for time in terms of cooking your own meals, wait for your day off or a less busy day, go to the store, buy all the fresh food that you like the most, in addition to picking up some extra freezer bags or freezer friendly Tupperware (it's up to you,) and then make as many meals as you can - bag 'em up, pack 'em up and freeze them for the week.

Just a tip from a lazy house wife :-P

successgal1

Funny thing salt. Turns out I need it to survive. I had already gone the way of not adding salt to meals for the most part, I avoid salty snacks out of habit due to the fact that they are just empty calories, and I really made sure not to have any but what is naturally in the food itself (meat, eggs poultry all have sodium in them naturally). I became lightheaded, dizzy, etc, and did more reading on the subject before pinpointing my problem. I'm on the low side of blood pressure, if I restrict my salt too much, my blood pressure sinks even more. Plus I live in Florida where often the mere act of getting out of bed can cause you to break out in a sweat, turns out I needed more salt.

I don't go hog wild with it, I will add it to water for cooking pasta, when I allow myself pasta, sometimes a dish just needs a dash of salt, I have low sodium products if available, like turkey bacon, and when I'm feeling that low I have a serving of original V8 as my energy pick me up.

I generally cook with all flavors of Mrs Dash, and there is an herb blend called Herbs de Provance that works great on poultry and pork. I will cook with those, then only add salt to the finished meal, AFTER tasting it first to see if it needs any.

ki4yxo

Yeah, we need some sodium but I didn't need over 6,000mg per day.

I find if I keep my sodium in check, everything else seems to fall in line.
There are things like bread, cheese, that have a lot of sodium in them.
If you like cheese, switch to Swiss. I aslo like bread, so I don't go crazy
eating it. Even the "healthy multi-grain" bread has a bunch of sodium.

With me it was all the canned soups, pickles, salsas, etc. I really craved
that stuff. Now I make my own soups, and salsa (pico). Once in a while
I'll have a pickled jalapeno to quench the sodium craving.