Controlling salt

Cooking for yourself also helps control against added sugars. The weirdest junk has sugar in it. Like tomato based pasta sauce. I don't put any in mine and I'm not sure why you have to at all. No sugar in my bread or pizza dough. You don't need it at all. No sugar in my pancakes. Why? You are going to drown them in sugar anyway.

phys.org/news/2009-10-dont-limiting-sodium.html

@Jthanmyfitnesspal this article talks about the brain is designed to control our salt intake but I guess our brains can get damaged.

A few years ago we got the daughter two mini horses that both were nursing after giving birth two months earlier. When we went to look at them one mare was eating dirt where I assumed a block of salt had set.

We picked up a block of salt on the way home and the one mare ate on the block of salt and drank water until it was gone over a few days then we replaced with another. As expected a few days later she was seldom licking on the block of salt. That is because the brain if not damaged for some reason manages our salt intake like it will our calorie intake.

Yes I got concerned she was going to eat too much salt but she weaned that colt and had a healthy filly the next year.

Different people have different views on the subject.

I average 1800 mg daily. I used to take BP meds so I watch it carefully. What I do is:
1. Cook all food yourself. Everything, no exceptions.
2. Careful where you choose to eat out at and the frequency. Most deli/restaurant food is loaded with sodium. If in doubt see rule #1.
3. Read and understand all labels. Look for lower sodium options.

Cheer up, in a little while your taste buds will return to normal. When they do you won't miss salt and hate what most people eat.

Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »

Controlling salt is a new mission of mine. With all dietary restrictions, it's hard to enforce while going along with whatever everyone else is eating.

Went with a group for Mexican food today. Case in point! It's hard to find a lower salt choice in a Mexican restaurant.

Deli meat is another issue. Most deli turkey has about 200mg of sodium per oz. Some are higher. Most delis will offer one selection of low sodium turkey, and it typically doesn't look all that appetizing.

I guess the bottom line is that, if you really care, you have to cook it yourself.

Restaurant food...any restaurant food is going to be high sodium. Most processed foods are going to be high sodium. Yes, if you want to reduce the sodium in your diet, you pretty much have to prepare your meals at home using scratch, whole ingredients.

I don't worry that much about it. Since moving in with my husband 3 years ago, I rarely use salt at home. I pretty much only add it to raw protein that is getting roasted in the oven (chicken and steak) and very rarely to veggies that will be roasted or a sauce. I almost never add the amount recipes call for and I don't add any salt to my plate once the food is cooked. This drastically reduces my salt intake. Beyond that, I don't worry if foods I buy at the store like deli meat or chips have lots of salt and I don't worry about it eating out. I usually have no problem staying below 1800 mg/day.