Crave Salt?

[Mr. Krab]

I'm trying to cut down on salt for health reasons. I just wonder why i crave salt so much. I understand craving sugar because it spikes your blood sugar and afterwards your body reacts to the drop. But why salt?

[T-post Tom]

Because you're a c(k)rab?

[Stewie]

I've cut way back on salt, too, but don't really miss it. I used to be a saltaholic, but not eating that vs. taking blood pressure medication is a completely fair trade. I've never been a sweet tooth, but put chips in front of me and the whole bag would have been history.

I'm doing the DASH diet and my BP is darn near normal. Quite impressive.

[T-post Tom]

I've cut way back on salt, too, but don't really miss it. I used to be a saltaholic, but not eating that vs. taking blood pressure medication is a completely fair trade. I've never been a sweet tooth, but put chips in front of me and the whole bag would have been history.

I'm doing the DASH diet and my BP is darn near normal. Quite impressive.

Hang around here long enough and your BP will be in the stratosphere. :D

[vailpass]

No but I worked with a woman a long time ago who was pregnant and wanted to eat dirt all the time.

[Donger]

I hate salt. Growing up in England, all the food is heavily salted (I presume to cover up the nasty taste). Now, I can't stand it. I shake my head every time my folks still pour tons of salt on their food. Old habits, I guess, but do you really need to pour salt on the f*cking sirloin I just grilled, Pop?

[Otter]

Unrefined sea salt has lots of flavor and doesn't affect blood pressure. Something to look into as alternative.

[Mr. Krab]

I've cut way back on salt, too, but don't really miss it. I used to be a saltaholic, but not eating that vs. taking blood pressure medication is a completely fair trade. I've never been a sweet tooth, but put chips in front of me and the whole bag would have been history.

I'm doing the DASH diet and my BP is darn near normal. Quite impressive.
I'm a saltaholic too. :sulk:

My blood pressure got so high the other day i though my brain might explode.

[Mr. Krab]

Unrefined sea salt has lots of flavor and doesn't affect blood pressure. Something to look into as alternative.
:hmmm: I'll look into that, thanks.

[vailpass]

It occurs to me that Wu Long tea results in fast weight loss.

[T-post Tom]

No but I worked with a woman a long time ago who was pregnant and wanted to eat dirt all the time.

Sounds like a character from a Spiderman movie.

[Stewie]

Unrefined sea salt has lots of flavor and doesn't affect blood pressure. Something to look into as alternative.

Yes it does. Sea salt is less dense than table salt so it takes more of it, but it still has sodium which is the element to avoid.

[vailpass]

Sounds like a character from a Spiderman movie.

Yeah. Turns out there is a name for the condition, it happens to some pregnant women who are deficient in iron and/or some other nutrient that might be n dirt.
The body is an amazing thing. The things a woman's body does while pregnant are so incredible they make you wonder if it all could have happened just by coincidence.

[Otter]

Yes it does. Sea salt is less dense than table salt so it takes more of it, but it still has sodium which is the element to avoid.

Actually you appear to be correct:

I get this advice from someone who is a nutritionist for a living. Wait till I see him next time. I'll just STFU

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sea-salt/AN01142

Is sea salt better for you than table salt?

Answer

from Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.

Sea salt and table salt have the same nutritional value. The real differences between sea salt and table salt are in their taste and texture.

Sea salt is harvested from seawater through evaporation. Table salt is typically from rock salt, which is mined from mineral deposits. Both types of salt can be fully refined, and the end result is pure sodium chloride. Variations in the refining process result in different forms of salt.


Table salt is a fine-grained salt that often contains added iodine (iodized salt). Iodine is necessary for normal thyroid function. Some table salt may also contain anti-caking ingredient.


Sea salt is available in fine or coarse grain. Sea salt has a slightly different taste than table salt because of different minerals it contains. Many people prefer sea salt to table salt because they claim it has a more subtle flavor. Sea salt doesn't contain iodine or any other additives. However, if you use sea salt you typically don't have to worry about not getting enough iodine in your diet because iodine is available in many other foods, including dairy products, seafood and many processed foods.


If you favor foods with fewer additives, you may prefer sea salt. But there's no evidence that the additives in table salt are harmful to your health. Although your body needs some sodium to function properly, most people eat too much, which can lead to high blood pressure. Whether you use sea salt, table salt or some other type of salt, most experts recommend between 1,500 and 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day for healthy adults.

[LaChapelle]

You could be craving potassium. Bananas are a good source. Which leads to the joke that's lingering to be said.

[EyePod]

Are you on your period?

[Mr. Krab]

You could be craving potassium. Bananas are a good source. Which leads to the joke that's lingering to be said.
Easy now there, young fella.

[ottawa_chiefs_fan]

Do you look anything like this????

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/thumb/7/7a/M_113_Creature.jpg/180px-M_113_Creature.jpg

[DaKCMan AP]

Crave Salt?

No.

[KCinNY]

Love salt. Good thing my BP is normal for now.

The bottom of the bag of pretzels is awesome.

[Stewie]

Love salt. Good thing my BP is normal for now.

The bottom of the bag of pretzels is awesome.

Lucky for you. I used to be the same way, but then I hit my 40s and everything changed. Enjoy it while you can.

[Ultra Peanut]

How long have you been avoiding salt? Maybe you're somehow low on sodium, or you developed a dependence/tolerance (I have no idea if this is biologically possible) and you're going through withdrawals. The treatment of that would be something I'm not even familiar with when it comes to your specific circumstances.

I would think eating potassium-rich foods would exacerbate the problem of salt cravings, though.

[Stewie]

How long have you been avoiding salt? Maybe you're somehow low on sodium, or you developed a dependence/tolerance (I have no idea if this is biologically possible) and you're going through withdrawals. The treatment of that would be something I'm not even familiar with when it comes to your specific circumstances.

I would think eating potassium-rich foods would exacerbate the problem of salt cravings, though.

It's difficult to get too little salt/sodium unless you are a workout warrior. Salt is everywhere. The potassium/sodium ratio should be 2:1. In most American diets it's like 1:5. Potassium won't cause you to crave salt.

The new guidelines for sodium for everyone is 1500 mg/day with a max of 2300 mg/day. The old guideline used to be 2300/day.

Here are just a few items where you get sodium in big doses, or where you didn't thing there was sodium at all:

Any processed food in a can (spaghetti sauce, veggies, etc) - 300 - 1500 mg/serving

Celery - 66 mg/serving

Cereal - 200-400 mg/serving (shredded wheat is very LS)

Bread - 110 - 200 mg/slice

Milk - 120 mg/cup

Flour tortillas - 200-300 mg/tortilla

Corn tortillas - 0 mg/tortilla

I could go on and on, but the rule of thumb is to stay away from canned anything, unless it's salt-free, no salt added, or very low sodium.

Any deli meat is loaded with sodium unless marked otherwise.

Stick to fresh/frozen veggies and fresh meats. It's actually quite easy to cut all the excess salt out of your diet. AND you'll actually taste the food!

[KcMizzou]

I probably use more salt that I should, but I think I could give it up.

Not black pepper though. I use tons of the stuff.

[BigOlChiefsfan]

Try squeezing fresh lemon juice on food that 'needs salt'. Won't cure everything, but works quite well on a lot of food. Cheaper than BP meds, too.

[bevischief]

You can get the same taste using different pepper spices that help your BP.
Black, Chile, Cheyenne, etc...

[Mr. Krab]

You can get the same taste using different pepper spices that help your BP.
Black, Chile, Cheyenne, etc...
Ya, that's kinda whay i've been doing. I use this lemon peppercorn black pepper and garlic powder to zing stuff up. I've pretty much given up adding any salt to food now. Of course most food still comes with salt already added so i still get plenty.