Anyone else on a low-sodium diet?

[Ron Obvious]

It hasn't really been much of a problem for me the last 5 months to stick to it. I had to get rid of some favourites of course, but I've found acceptable substitutes for most.

Today, I had some red cabbage from a jar I still had in the pantry because I hate throwing perfectly good food away. I used an instant gravy packet for the same reason.

It was awful. It was like eating a salt lick. My mouth felt salty for an hour afterwards, I was as jittery as if I'd drunk a pot of coffee and I even felt anxious and depressed for hours afterwards.

And I used to eat this all the time, only with more salt because I didn't add any to the potatoes this time. How much salt was I eating before, I wonder. Far too much, clearly.

I still feel weird. Is this normal?

[Betsy Ross]

1. US recommended

is about 2.2 grams. I try to keep our diet at about half that. So when a package says 700 milligrams 30% per serving it really means almost a full day's worth, because nobody eats one serving.

[Ron Obvious]

4. Yeah, those serving sizes...

Yea, those serving sizes have no basis in reality a lot of the time. A can of Campbell's soup claims to have 2.5 servings when it's clearly a single serving, so you have to multiply by 2.5 the values on nutrition info. Funnily enough regular Cream of Mushroom soup with Garlic has actually less sodium than Low-sodium Cream of Mushroom.

Fortunately, I'm good calculating in my head as I shop so it hasn't been a problem.

[MiddleFingerMom]

2. I'm on 2000 mg/day and it's TOUGH to stay under that level. I'm a pretty good shopper/label reader..

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... but very few of our foods are geared towards low-sodium. I have found things -- frozen veggies
often/usually have little to NO sodium -- although even "Healthy" prepared foods focus more on fat
than sodium. I've found canned diced tomatoes with basil/oregano/garlic with 20mg/serving (one
of the major brands like DelMonte) and other RARE joyous finds.
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BTW, those canned diced tomatoes are excellent all by themselves over pasta.
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I sometimes get the WAY too salty reaction and sometimes experience the salty saliva effect for
awhile if I do eat something relative high in sodium (though it's not to a nasty level).
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I think the majority of my sodium intake IS from what I call "accessories" -- gravy, salad dressing,
mustard (sometimes even a little sauerkraut), but if you're careful about portions and incorporate
as many no-salt/TRULY low-salt items, you balance them out and you should be OK (except for the
taste issue).
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How much salt were you eating before? Prior to low-sodium being a necessity for me, I used to get
a coupla Bruegger's salt bagels (like pretzel salt) and nosh on them without cream cheese or
anything. When it was important, I checked -- over 1500mg sodium EACH, so those two alone were
giving me a 1-1/2 day's worth of the recommended sodium levels (2000 being pretty much for
everyone, I think).
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Labels will teach you amazing and shocking things about your salt intake that you're truly unaware
of because it "doesn't taste THAT salty".
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If I had the capital (and the business knowledge), I would open up a no-salt/low-salt specialty store
and watch the money cascade in. "When it rains, it pours" -- (an old Morton's Salt slogan).
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[Ron Obvious]

5. I don't know how much I used to eat, but way too much.

I'm on 2000 mg as well, and I don't find it that difficult to keep, but it helps that my wife and I have lots of time to cook. I created a mixture of pepper, paprika, onion powder, garlic and some other spices that I use wherever I used to use salt before.

I eat McCann's oatmeal with raisins & brown sugar and a couple of pieces of rusk for breakfast. That's 0g sodium and gives me a whole gramme to play with for lunch and dinner, which isn't bad. Aidells chicken sausage has about 600 mg, and makes a tasty addition to frozen veggies. I also have some low-sodium peanut sauce I pour over that damn Broccoli I'm supposed to eat which makes it taste good.

Happy surprises: Uncle Ben's boil-in-bag rice has 0g sodium, and a lean cuisine prepackaged meals usually come in around 600 mg, which leaves me 1400 mg for the big meal at lunch.

We now make a lot of things hashed browns from scratch, and I've found that surprisingly easy. I got the recipe off allrecipes.com. Same with a delicious shepherd's pie which comes in at 500mg of sodium per meal.

[MiddleFingerMom]

7. allrecipes.com is a great site -- but wait'll you see...

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... http://recipesource.com/
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It even has Klingon and Vulcan and Romulan recipes (under Miscellaneous/Extra-terrestrial & Bizarre),
for gosh sakes!!!!
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PLUS probably TENS of thousands of excellent recipes for all levels of abilities.
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[Ron Obvious]

9. That looks like a great site, thanks!

I hadn't heard of that one before, but I've bookmarked it. I like the breakdown by ethnic type.

I'm a competent cook, but by no means a great one. However, I'm a programmer and I easily follow directions, as long as they're properly organised. I even have an old laptop in the kitchen, so I can easily read them as I'm making the meal.

I've recently made my own french fries, ketchup, Russian Piroshkis, croquettes and onion rings, so I can have my own junk food and still stay within my sodium restrictions.

If you'd told me a few years ago how much time I'd be spending wearing an apron these days, I would've laughed in your face.

[Graybeard]

3. Decided on my own to cut down.

It wasn't doctor's orders. Just reading about the effects of too much salt that convinced me to try it.

I've stopped adding salt when cooking and at the table. Things tasted kind of bland at first but that only lasted a day or two. Now my foods taste fine and, like you did, I found substitutes for the salt.

'Mrs. Dash' is a great product. There was a time when I wouldn't consider not salting my eggs at breakfast but now a dash of Mrs. Dash perks them up nicely.

Canned soups and such do taste too salty so I'm shopping for low-sodium versions.

[MiddleFingerMom]

6. Learn how to make your own soups -- they are FAR superior in everything (but exceptionally so...

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... in flavor). And they're MUCH simpler to make than people think.
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I was lucky. MiddleFingerMomMom never added salt to foods and we didn't have a salt shaker on
the table (matter of taste rather than health), although we DID have a black pepper shaker (or
more often... a good grinder).
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I HATE Mrs. Dash and similar products, though I do use a lot of non-sodium spices in my cooking
and at the table (good hot sauce is one of those sources of "accessory sodium" for me).
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[GoCubsGo]

14. I don't like Mrs. Dash, either.

I used to buy these seasonings as a substitute for fats. I like a little bit of butter on my steamed veggies and baked potatoes. That stuff just doesn't cut it as a substitute. The only thing that makes it palatable is to add butter.

Every so often, Mrs. Dash will come out with a blend that sounds kind of good, and I'll decide to give it a try. But, they all seem to taste the same, and they wind up in the back of the spice cabinet with the others.

[Ron Obvious]

8. Tastebuds

I think I remember the nutritionist in the hospital telling me it takes 3 weeks for your tastebuds to adjust to the new normal, and that's exactly how long they had me captive there, eating their bland meals. That probably helped.

I used to love good quality cheese like Old Amsterdam, but that has enormous amounts of salt. I'm trying very hard to like Jarlsberg lite, but frankly, I think it tastes like bicycle tyres. That's probably what I miss the most. That and licorice. Fortunately chocolate is still on!

My wife's eating the same diet I am, though she doesn't have to. That helps a lot.

[RebelOne]

10. I try to limit my salt intake,

so I use Morton's Low-Sodium salt. I have high blood pressure, so I try not to eat salty foods. But occasionally, I get a craving for potato chips.

[Ron Obvious]

11. Salt substitutes

The nutritionist told me to avoid salt substitutes for some reason I can't recall right now, but I've made my own mixture of various spices.

Potato chips I do indeed miss. I've tried making my own a few times, but I've not been happy with the results.

[MiddleFingerMom]

12. Potassium chlloride is bad for people with diabetes or kidney problems (NoSalt, etc.)

[Ron Obvious]

15. I did have kidney issues

But I think that was because the heart wasn't supplying them adequately.

I'll have to talk this over with the doctor when I go back next month, because I think I was supposed to eat foods rich in potassium and vitamin K.

[DebJ]

20. Probably heart issues too, as potassium and sodium impact

heart rythym, muscle contractions, etc.

[RebelOne]

25. Morton's Lite Salt is not a salt substitute.

It is salt but just has 50 percent less sodium than table salt.

[DebJ]

26. A quarter teaspoon of Morton's Lite Salt contains 360 milligrams of potassium and 300 milligrams of

sodium, compared to no potassium and 575 mg of sodium in regular table salt.

You need to make sure you can handle the extra potassium. If you have kidney problems
and/or heart problems, likely the answer is no.


http://www.livestrong.com/article/498766-how-much-potassium-is-in-light-salt/#ixzz2OH3zIVYh

[RebelOne]

29. I do not have kidney or heart problems. n/t

[GoCubsGo]

13. No, but I have been cutting back anyway.

Too much salt makes me swell up like a balloon, and it jacks up my blood pressure. I don't see how people can eat stuff like Hamburger Helper and all that other processed shit. I can't believe I used to eat that kind of stuff. I just try to avoid processed foods as much as I can. It's all loaded with sodium. I am to a point where even "low salt" microwave popcorn is way too salty for me. I can't do "regular" microwave popcorn, and not just because of the salt. The last time I had it, it felt like my mouth got coated with a layer of Vaseline from the "butter". Yuk.

[AmyDeLune]

16. Ah, that "Yummy" *gag* Hydrogenated/Partially Hydrogenated Oil...

Nasty stuff, worse than the fat it's supposed to be replacing. Like salt, once you cut down or eliminate it from your diet, you really notice it when it's there.

[AmyDeLune]

17. Not an official diet as such, but yeah, you can get a "salt hangover"

from what used to be normal amounts of sodium intake.
I do the cooking at my house and since I'm too lazy to cook a separate meal for myself I just incorporate my Mom's dietary limitations into my own diet. I figure it'll be good for me in the long (and short) run.

[bif]

18. I don't add any salt when I'm cooking

I figure, you can add salt afterwards if you want. I only add salt to potatoes and popcorn, which really have little flavor on their own. And I do notice when something is over salted for sure. Especially processed foods.

[davsand]

19. I echo the advice about reading the labels.

Make it your religion. You will find stuff with sodium in it that just leaves you scratching your head. Fruits, for example. Did you know they use a sodium based bath to make fruits easier to peel? I never knew that until just a few years ago. Sodium is in EVERYTHING!!!

Eat it as close to raw as you can manage, and if you can't do that, make it yourself. That is the only way I've found to reduce the sodium in my diet. Somebody mentioned Hamburger Helper upthread. I still make skillet dinners, and they actually taste better than the Hamburger helper stuff. Added bonus is they are cheaper. (Not to put too fine of a point on it, but have you ever seen anything any more disgusting than dehydrated cheese?)

Here's a starting place if you are interested:

http://afewshortcuts.com/2012/11/how-to-make-your-own-hamburger-helper/

Leave the salt out of it or add what you choose to as a substitute. I leave it out and let the family add whatever amount they want from the sea salt grinder at the table. Works fine.


I buy no salt added tomato products. Cuts out a bunch of sodium in foods. Use those no salt added tomato products to make your own Tomato Basil soup or salsa. Make your own Cream of Mushroom soup with fresh mushrooms and your own cream base--be it low fat or full fat. Again, it is gonna taste better than anything out of a can, and it is gonna be a lot better for you. Baking mixes--same deal--make your own. Same goes for broths and stocks.

It maybe takes a bit more work, but once I got used to planning for it, I really find it is worth that little bit of extra time.



Laura

[Ron Obvious]

23. Labels

Oh, I absolutely study the labels religiously. I'm a nerd, so I maintain a spreadsheet with nutrition info for the foods I commonly eat, scaled up real serving sizes, and which allows for quick calculation. That red cabbage meal came in at 2.5 mg sodium in the end, over 1.2 from just the gravy packet. I knew that was over my limit for the entire day, but I figured that a 0mg breakfast and 200 mg dinner would make it possible. It didn't, and I threw the rest out.

[DebJ]

21. Do you know where most Americans get the bulk of their sodium? It will surprise you...

BREAD. Many brands have for example 190mg per slice. My husband
was eating an egg sandwich for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and insisted
on having bread at dinner as well. Five slices a day = 950mg just in bread.
Pepperidge Farm whole grain whole wheat is the lowest I have found: 105 mg
per slice, and their whole grain honey wheat was I think 113 mg. On the other
hand, my daughter is big into organic foods (and can afford that pricey luxury),
but her organic bread was 280mg per slice, whew!

When my Dad got high blood pressure, I stopped cooking with salt, and noticed
absolutely no difference in taste....so many decades ago I can't remember....3 decades?
Now, my husband has kidney disease, so sodium use is down even more. I cannot eat
canned soups or eat most restaurant food anymore. The only flavor in restaurants
(the chain ones) are one of these three: salt, fat, sugar. The salt seems to literally
burn my mouth.

Salt is like an addictive drug: your body needs more and more over time if you are looking
for a 'salt hit'. My husband's intake was outrageous for years: the above-mentioned bread...
only more, because he overate and had TWO sandwiches for breakfast and for lunch and
had breakfast at McDonalds (does McDonalds own Mortons Salt???). He consumed 2 liters
of diet soda every day. He would salt all of his food very heavily...like more than a teaspoon..
without ever tasting it first, even things like pizza and spaghetti. Salt on Pizza??????
He ate a bag of pretzels a week. On and on and on. He was keeping the salt mines going, all by himself.

Now, he finds that his occasional snack of a handful of Goldfish crackers is very sharply salty.
Before, he would not even have sensed the salt, it was that bad.

Sodium became a very, very easy thing to eliminate. I just shop around the edges of the store for almost
everything: fresh veggies, fresh lean meats, some dairy. I make our salad dressings from
scratch...after reading the enormous tome that is the ingredient list for Hidden Valley Ranch
dressing, an old favorite of mine, I am now afraid to put it in my mouth! Reads like a mad
scientists recipe.

[Ron Obvious]

24. I wouldn't have known a year ago...

I certainly wouldn't have known a year ago that bread has so much sodium in it, but I do now. We're lucky to have excellent Franz whole wheat bread here in the Northwest, and I make allowances for a 500 mg sandwich some day in my daily total. Shame it's over $5 a loaf.

We make almost everything from scratch these days since we're lucky enough to have the time and be able to, and it's not been that hard to keep up with the diet. As you said, I recoil from the food I used to eat like it's poison now. It just tastes awful.

Eating out is almost completely impossible, sadly, but I allow myself one day a month to do that. I'm unfortunately limited to major chains that publish their nutritional info, rather than the good local food I would prefer Still, McDonald's claim that a Big Mac is only 1000mg and I can make that work once in a while.

Thanks for the tip about Nabisco. My wife's the cracker-addict in the household and will appreciate it.

[DebJ]

22. BTW Nabisco makes some really good low salt crackers

Their Wheat Thins taste BETTER in the low salt version than in the regular one.
My husband has to have snacks three times a day to maintain his weight
so he doesn't overload on carbs at a regular meal (diabetic but completely
in control now), and we pair up one of the low-salt cracker portions with
some fruit. I think the sweetness of the fruit contrasting with the crackers
puts more 'zing' in the saltiness of the low-salt crackers, too.

[Dash87]

27. I'm on a low-diet diet.

It's been very successful so far.

[TrogL]

28. Craftygal is, so I end up being on it as well

Occasionally I'll get a craving and dump salt all over something, then it goes away for a couple of weeks.