Hypertenstion and eating a low sodium diet

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llonka
llonka Posts: 76 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello! I was just diagnosed with high blood pressure and put on some medicine. I've decided it's definitely time for me to stop messing around with losing weight and get this done.

My husband and I are suckers for convenience food- fast food, soups, frozen foods and boxed foods. We have a limited budget and fresh fruits/veggies seem to go to waste around here. I also have picky children. :neutral_face:

Guess I'm just looking for some tips to keep my sodium low, but hit my calorie goal and get off this terrible, awful blood pressure medicine. Thanks for any advice!

Replies

  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    You'll definitely want to cook at home as much as possible. Unfortunately even "low sodium" items can still have a lot of sodium per serving. For example, I just bought a lower sodium taco seasoning yesterday. There's about 8 servings in the packet, and about 200-250g of sodium per serving. I generally use the whole packet, if not half the packet, depending on what I'm making.

    I don't have to worry about sodium, but that one packet can easily eat up 800-1600g of sodium per day for you!

    I try to cut corners and make bulk batches of stuff at home. I've made my own taco seasoning in the past, I'll bulk make and freeze homemade chili, meatballs, soups, ect. You can easily control the sodium if you make things at home.

    For your health, your best bet is to learn to love veggies, utilize that budget to the max, and teach the kids that food can be awesome, and to expand their horizons.
  • kelseyg22
    kelseyg22 Posts: 25 Member
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    I was just recently diagnosed with stage 3 ckd and also have to watch my sodium intake. There are many different ways to help with this. I have started only buying unsalted butter, and have found Mrs. Dash's different spices helpful for some flavor when cooking (no sodium!). I have also found a Heinz ketchup with no salt as well as some other types of no-salt or low-sodium types of tomato paste, diced tomatos, etc. I found a "natural low-sodium peanut butter" and low sugar and sodium jelly. Recently I went to a "woodman's" grocery store and found a bunch of low salt potato chips and popcorn (super excited....haven't had chips in several months!). Some of these that I bought were called; "skinny pop popcorn" (different flavors too!!), "Michael season's kettle cooked unsalted potato chips", "Michael season's unsalted boldness Asian bbq chips", "guiltless gourmet baked unsalted tortilla chips". These are what I have found so far.....the one thing that I have not been able to find is a low-sodium dressing so if you find anything, please let me know! It's a lot of looking at nutrition facts when shopping but hopefully worth it! As far as fast food is concerned, probably need to make this a RARE occurrence. (unfortunately). Please feel free to add me as a friend - maybe we can help each other through this. Good luck!
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
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    My sodium intake is usually @ 1000 mg a day. I cook from scratch because I am vegan and most processed foods, box mixes have usually have egg dairy or peanut in them (my youngest has a peanut allergy) the drop in my sodium intake was an unexpected bonus.

    Learning to cook from scratch may be the best tool in your arsenal, as well as looking for low/no sodium options.

    Take taco seasoning, you could easily make your own with chili powder, cumin, garlic and onion powder. No salt needed.

    We are also on a limited budget, I am a stay at home moms and we have 3 kids. A limited budget is in no way a barrier to healthy eating. You just have to get creative!
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    Laurend224 wrote: »
    My sodium intake is usually @ 1000 mg a day. I cook from scratch because I am vegan and most processed foods, box mixes have usually have egg dairy or peanut in them (my youngest has a peanut allergy) the drop in my sodium intake was an unexpected bonus.

    Learning to cook from scratch may be the best tool in your arsenal, as well as looking for low/no sodium options.

    Take taco seasoning, you could easily make your own with chili powder, cumin, garlic and onion powder. No salt needed.

    We are also on a limited budget, I am a stay at home moms and we have 3 kids. A limited budget is in no way a barrier to healthy eating. You just have to get creative!

    Seconding this; buying in bulk also can help. The spices to make your own taco seasoning, for instance, can be expensive if you buy the small containers. But if you buy one of the giant containers, you can save money. One normal size container (.75oz) of basil from the cheapest brand I can find is $1.29, but if I buy the giant 5.5oz container, it's less than $4. I've found a lot of spices in bulk extremely cheap, especially if I avoid the McCormick brand (unless I have a coupon).

    Couponing is great too, if you're willing to start clipping and basing your shopping on staple items around coupons. I did a post on how I'm able to afford food on a grad student budget here:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10037702/affording-your-new-lifestyle-tips-and-tricks-for-the-grocery-store/p1

    I briefly explained extreme couponing in the post, but I'd recommend checking out the Krazy Coupon Lady website, since they have a section for beginners about to start. I was able to save $1,400 on my food and personal care items last year through couponing! It's made it easier for me to stock up on staples (grains, pasta, sauces, ect), and funnel my savings into the meat and produce I buy regularly.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Buy frozen vegetables and beans. You can make some cheap and easy soups.
  • llonka
    llonka Posts: 76 Member
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    Thanks for all the great advice! I can't wait until I can get to the store and start looking around for better foods.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
    edited January 2015
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    If you didn't get a referral to a dietitian, call the doctor's office and get one. :)

    Start learning about healthy eating! With a healthy diet and some exercise, you may get off those meds...and improve your future health! It's an adjustment, for sure. I won't lie...my first few weeks sucked. A lot.

    But the more I became accustomed to healthier foods - and the more new foods I tried, the better it got. Learning to cook these new foods is a challenge, but a fun one. Check out recipes and adjust as you see fit. When it says "broccoli", I read "peas." When it adds nuts in bread, I see "raisins," lol. You learn as you go.

    As hard as it is on you, the kids will probably squawk the loudest. I'd tell them ahead of time. "Mummy went to the doctor and the doctor said Mommy has to eat new foods, so we are going to be eating some new stuff around here. We will have to see what we like and what we don't." Make it more like an adventure than an "Oh, God, guys, this is going to suck..." thing. Get the kids involved with the cooking. They'll be much more eager to try things they help make and if it doesn't come out well, they can come up with ideas to improve it.

    Remember that you're giving them good habits so that they are not landing in a doctor's office with problems later. :)

    Make very good friends with Mrs. Dash. Get the Table Blend for starters, but there is a lot of good stuff there. If you check on amazon, there are Mrs. Dash things there that your local store may not sell. ***You won't miss the salt!!!***. In fact, once you're used to not having things that have been drowned in sodium, you will notice, when you taste some...it's all you taste. I can't even eat the Stouffer's meals anymore without being like, "God, it just tastes like salt!"

    There are many low-sodium cookbooks. Check your library to see which ones you like best before purchasing. Read reviews on amazon. :)

    It's rough at first, but it gets easier. :)

    Healthy eating (simple): http://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2013/04/HEPApr2013.jpg

    More healthy eating: http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/healthy_eating/index.html

    I love you, salt, but you're breaking my heart: http://sodiumbreakup.heart.org/sodium-411/

  • Terrytriesharder
    Terrytriesharder Posts: 50 Member
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    I have attempted to eat low sodium for the longest time now, one of the best resources I found for it is http://www.lowsodiumcooking.com/free/AboutMe.htm (hope that works). Also you will notice really quickly you should roughly double the amount of spices you need in things to get the same amount of flavor, but soon enough the other standby foods will taste uber salty to you :) And definitely agree on making your own spice blends, you will be amazed how much they overcharged you over the years.
  • llonka
    llonka Posts: 76 Member
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    Thank you so much! You all are being super helpful! <3

    Here's another question: I am coffee drinker, sometimes I can't get along without it. I've been avoiding making any coffee, but it's come down to me having a headache (caffeine withdrawals I assume). Is okay for me to drink coffee? I've been told decaf would be okay, but until I get some is it okay for me to finish up what I have?

    Also, if you are on blood pressure medicine, what kind of pain reliever do you take? I need something that is as strong as Ibuprofen, but I'm not supposed to take Ibuprofen.

    Thanks again for all the help, I will check out all the links! <3
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
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    Do you have a b/p cuff? You could monitor how your body reacts to caffeine. I would follow your doctor's recommendations for your caffeine limit and also the pain meds. I would think tylenol and aspirin would be the safest, but again, those are questions for your doctor.

    I've come off of caffeine before and the first few days were the hardest. It does get better. Good luck!
  • llonka
    llonka Posts: 76 Member
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    I do have BP cuff, guess I'll check and see what my BP is now. I dunno, but I sure feel better after drinking a cup of coffee. Haha.
  • domesticrockstar
    domesticrockstar Posts: 1
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    I've had high blood pressure since I was 26. :( I also am terrible about my sodium consumption. It's a major contributor (I know since I just spent 3 days in the hospital and my blood pressure was amazing without meds). Personally I wouldn't do caffeine at all. It really does affect your bp. It'll be hard for a few days but worth it once those headaches are gone.
  • llonka
    llonka Posts: 76 Member
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    Meh, I just turned 27. It's terrible we have it so young! It did raise it quite a bit, but it's been high like that without drinking coffee too.

    Did the BP meds make you real sick at first? I tried taking a whole one and I was zonked out all day. So I called my doc and she said take half of one. It's a lot better.

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