Anyone else havd/had a salt addiction?

passionately_kate
passionately_kate Posts: 99 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Kay, so does anyone else do this? I used to have a HUGGGE salt addiction.
I would put it on food before tasting it. I would put it on cottage cheese (even though its already really salty) or even McDonalds fries!!
So I cut it out COMPLETELY since about April or so, last year.
I only eat it if its *already in food*.
I -wont- put it *on food* and -wont- put *in food* while I'm cooking.
I would only do it for baking but I bake like once every 1-2 years. Even if I feel food needs it, I refuse and won`t let my body cave to it. Anyone else cut salt out completly from their diet?? :)

Replies

  • committomittxoxo
    committomittxoxo Posts: 339 Member
    I have a serious salt addiction but haven't figured out how to curb it yet.. :(
  • passionately_kate
    passionately_kate Posts: 99 Member
    its like smoking. you just need to stop. it felt sooooo hard at first. like i REALLLLY needed it. but i just stopped myself and told myself NO. took me about 2-3 to stop feeling that way
  • chaoticxinsane
    chaoticxinsane Posts: 54
    I need to direct my mom to this thread. XD She even salted pizza!
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 Member
    I've cut the added salt entirely from my diet.
    But now I go through summer savory, peppercorn (have the grinder), cayenne pepper, red chili pepper flakes, chipotle etc etc a lot. It was just the "flavour change" I was after apparently and replacing it with all these various spices keeps things interesting.
  • sweetcheeks27
    sweetcheeks27 Posts: 162 Member
    I LOVE salt too and used to add it to everything I cooked. Have you tried Mrs. Dash? It adds amazing flavors (and there are a ton of different options) and is sodium free :] I have tried to cut out a lot of sodium from my diet and had Chinese food the other day and it actually tasted too salty for me which was a first.
  • tataliciousd89
    tataliciousd89 Posts: 465
    Yeah I crave salt like I crave ..... We'll not get into that. Long story short I love salt and my BP shows it, so recently I've had to seriously cut back. :cry:
  • issyfit
    issyfit Posts: 1,077 Member
    Hubby puts salt on everything, even bananas. We switched to a lite salt several years ago, I think it's half potassium. But he still eats a lot of salty products too.
  • zeeeb
    zeeeb Posts: 805 Member
    yep, i craved salt when i was pregnant... potato chips, tuna mornay...

    i love salt...
  • passionately_kate
    passionately_kate Posts: 99 Member
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2013703/Why-salt-addictive-It-stimulates-brain-cells-just-like-cigarettes-hard-drugs.html

    Apparently salt is as addictive as heroin, cocain, and smoking! I knew it!!! I had such a hard time quitting lol Check out the link :)
  • blady135
    blady135 Posts: 12 Member
    same! oh man I thought I was the only one so severely addicted to salt haha. It was an actual problem! After a few months with mfp, I finally decided to just throw out all the salt and not buy it again. Much easier when it is not in the kitchen to have the option of adding to food.
  • Hernandeak11
    Hernandeak11 Posts: 351 Member
    My boyfriend does this! And i will never understand, since i'm not a huge salt person.

    I, on the other hand, come from a family that puts PEPPER on everything before tasting lol
  • VonRockette
    VonRockette Posts: 159 Member
    YES! It got so bad I was literally licking it off the bottom of the popcorn bowl (I'M gross, I know). I had to cut it out when I moved to the USA and developed weird heart pallipitations from my new diet of prepackaged and fast foods. Since it's well, the USA I don't have medical coverage so I wasn't sure why this was happening. Finally I narrowed it down to the grotesque amount of sodium and preservatives I was having. I have cut down on those 2 things since the new yeaar and feel a TON better. My constant migranes are gone and my weird heart thing only happens if I indulge in salty snacks or over consume. I haven't checked my blood pressure recently because I'm sick, but hopefully this helps it.

    I still get cravings, but I have found herbs (and a buttload of them) season things enough to the point I don't need salt. It took me a while to narrow down my tastes and what I like (rosemary yum yum!).
  • kp1439
    kp1439 Posts: 343 Member
    its not an addiction for me but i will say in the Indian foods we use salt for test. so we used it a lot . since i started getting healthy i am not using salt as much.
  • stuey39
    stuey39 Posts: 159
    I'm in with you guys, I gave up smoking 4 months ago - easy(ish)!!! Giving up salt however not so easy. I've yet to try this yet but was told just the other day to try cumin as a better alternative but apparently similar. I also have bit of a vinegar fetish!!! lol
  • luvmybaby333
    luvmybaby333 Posts: 241
    I've been addicted to salt ever since I can remember. Seriously. I remember being a tiny toddler and stealing pinches of salt from the container. I remember being 7 and eating my chicken with a pile of salt on my plate to dip it in. I remember being pregnant and adding salt to everything from mac & cheese to scrambled eggs. Gobs of salt. I crave salty snacks. I could give up sweets forever if it meant that I could eat all the salty snacks that I want without consequence. I've known for a long time that it was bad for me. But *knowing* and being able/willing to do something about it are two different things. Even when I was diagnosed with high blood pressure (either last year, or the year before) I still wasn't able to make myself cut the salt. I would occasionally buy "salt substitutes", but I still cooked with spices that contained salt. And I always added a lot of salt to my meals when I cooked them. I stopped sprinkling it *on* everything, but there is so much salt in food itself... and I just didn't care.

    Since I started logging with MFP (Jan 1st of this year) I have become even more aware of just how outrageous my sodium intake used to be...and still is. I have been trying to limit the sodium now that I know exactly how much I consume, but it's insanely difficult for me. I'm am over the maximum RDA (2500) by at least a couple hundred every day. Often I'm actually a couple THOUSAND over that, though. It worries me, but I'm not prepared to cut it out completely just yet. This lifestyle change has been huge for me, and I know that I simply can't take on too much at once. As it is, I console myself with the knowledge that while my sodium intake is still insanely high, it is nowhere NEAR what it has been in the past. I'm making smarter choices (even if they aren't always as smart as they should be) and things can only go up from here.

    Congratulations to you on kicking the habit cold turkey. That's amazing! I bet you feel wonderful. :smile:
  • neclar
    neclar Posts: 75 Member
    ok i had to switch from salt to "No Salt" substitute. if i eat too much regular salt i puff up like a puffer-fish ,really bad. so i cut all salt for a month, then went to fake salt and no-sodium seasoning. its a change but no more swollen calves :)
  • SammyPacks
    SammyPacks Posts: 697 Member
    I've been attempting to watch my sodium for a long time now! I know the feeling of bland food, but just spice things up with salt free seasonings or sautee some onions ?
  • Britt2Fitjrny
    Britt2Fitjrny Posts: 558 Member
    I am seriously addicted so Johnies seasoning salt! and garlic salt. or just garlic power with Jonhies. anything without salt and garlic taste super boring!
  • sjmartinez
    sjmartinez Posts: 25
    Yes I have a salt addiction. I switched to Mediterranean sea salt when I cook. What I have read about it, is that it has more of a saltier taste so you use less, which also means if you are using less you intake less sodium
  • LuckyAng
    LuckyAng Posts: 1,173 Member
    I absolutely have a salt addiction, though I have been doing much better lately. Never quite knew where I picked it up until I recently had lunch with my Mom and watched her salt each already salted ship AFTER dunking it in salsa! I remembered I also learned to salt bagels with cream cheese from her. LOVE salt, and I wish it loved me back :/
  • catcrazy
    catcrazy Posts: 1,740 Member
    I'm a salt addict. I've tried to cut down and on some things I've succeeded but not on eggs, tomatoes, potatoes or salad...the list goes on a little! Luckily my BP is within a healthy range and was told to increase my salt to help with severe muscle cramps which i get bouts of so I'm not overly concerned
  • angel_north
    angel_north Posts: 51 Member
    there is a salt substitute in the spice isle of almost every store.
  • LuckyAng
    LuckyAng Posts: 1,173 Member
    Yes there is. I have one that is made with potassium. It's ok.
  • catcrazy
    catcrazy Posts: 1,740 Member
    Theres a salt alternative called LoSalt, 66% less sodium but it tastes more like salt and vinegar flavouring to me...great on chips but I just used twice as much to get the taste I liked so I've only bought it once.
  • passionately_kate
    passionately_kate Posts: 99 Member
    Great stories guys! I found after I quit, I can taste salt in food now!. I read a comment about how things taste boring without salt. This is from the addiction. When I was addicted to salt, everything tasted "bla" and everything "Needed!" salt. Now that I have stopped....Clean since April 2011 lol. I can taste the salt in food now and it's amazing how salty the food is that I used to add salt to before! Astonishing!. When I quit, it felt like I NEEDED it.....it was like quitting smoking or something and I don't smoke. it was incredibly hard. but once I stopped having cravings, it got easier. There are times when food actually does taste "Bla" but I tell myself NO. because if I add it now, I'll start adding it again to foods. It's as addictive as heroin, smoking and cocaine, as per the article I posted. So if you think about it this way..... If someone quit smoking, or drugs, do you think they could have "a taste" or "just this one time" before they start using again??....How many people have you met that "used" to smoke and then go to have "one drag" or "one smoke" and then next think you know, they're smoking again. Lol. So, I have stopped and only eat it if its in food now and I find salt almost over bearing now. I put it in egg salad once, just to see what it would be like because I don't put salt in anything anymore, and havent for almost a year. The recipe said "1tsp of salt", BLECH! gross! So....Next time I made it, i used it without salt. :) MUCH better :)

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