How Do You Limit Salt Intake?

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Excellent idea in theory, almost impossible in reality short of adopting a vegan diet. I don't need to drop my salt intake precipitously--I don't have high blood pressure and my kidney function is fine. I just wonder how it can be done feasibly without spending a ton of time on meal prep and a limited palate.

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Genetics are everything.

Last year, I started going to the doc on a regular basis again. As I had expected, my cholesterol was high, just like it's been for everyone on both sides of family. But that said, my grandmother's had cholesterol of more than 300 for most of her life and she's 91 years old. My parents are in their 70's and are very active and their cholesterol was high before meds.

I was putting in 20-25 miles of cardio every week last year when the doctor prescribed Lipitor. Within a week, my whole body ached and it was a struggle to get out of my freakin' bed. Turns out, it did a number on my muscle enzymes and it took nearly 4 months to go away. Just brutal.

So in February, he says, "Let's try Simvastatin every other day". I started taking it and was super busy in Feb and March, so I didn't have time to regularly exercise. I started up again in April and the pain was even worse! I stopped it immediately and I still have daily pain, especially from my left quad, from my hip to my knee. It's freaking numb 16 hours a day.

The doctor said it would go away in 4-6 months but it's been since April and it's still there.

Genetics, baby.

So true.

I added a small diuretic to my Lisinopril last year. Lisinopril has never given me any issues outside of a dry cough occasionally. The diuretic is fairly low dose, but with as much water as I drink, I pee about every hour for the first half of my day. LOL. Not a horrible side effect to have, but makes road trips hell.

I was talked about a beta blocker a few years ago but said it wasn't worth it for how I like to exercise. So far so good on my current medication and diet. My BP has been much better with the diuretic added and cleaning up my diet even more.

You side effects I couldn't handle either. Wonder why that happens?

My parents have exercised daily their entire lives, maintain very health weights and eat like saints. They have both dealt with high BP starting in their 20's and 30's. High cholesterol in their 40's. They are in their 60's now and hike 5-10 miles a day....they still need their medication for these issues.

****ing genetics!!!!

[Sorter]

Can't make rice without garlic salt.

[BucEyedPea]

Originally Posted by lewdog

My wife eats way more salt than me and her BP is perfect ALL the time.

I'm the same way. I can eat quite a bit of salt too. I even take salt tablets here in the summer or I faint. It helps for holding onto water to cool the body.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by Smellway

i pour bags of salt directly into my mouth

it's a great low calorie snack!

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by MagicHef

The link between salt intake and blood pressure is tenuous at best.

That's funny because i was on the verge of going on Blood Pressure meds until i stopped salting my food. My blood pressure dropped back down to around normal ... about 40/20 points. I didn't change anything else about my diet or intake amount.

Doctor couldn't hide his surprise when i told him the next visit. He was expecting to start prescribing HBP meds.

[teedubya]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Excellent idea in theory, almost impossible in reality short of adopting a vegan diet. I don't need to drop my salt intake precipitously--I don't have high blood pressure and my kidney function is fine. I just wonder how it can be done feasibly without spending a ton of time on meal prep and a limited palate.

I use Himalayan salt or other sea salts... the regular iodized salt isn't good for you. Sea salts have minerals, at least...

Or, I could be full of shit.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-li...t/faq-20058512

[Indian Chief]

Originally Posted by Mr. Laz

That's funny because i was on the verge of going on Blood Pressure meds until i stopped salting my food. My blood pressure dropped back down to around normal ... about 40/20 points. I didn't change anything else about my diet or intake amount.

Doctor couldn't hide his surprise when i told him the next visit. He was expecting to start prescribing HBP meds.

Same thing happened with my wife. They wanted to put her on meds in her 20s and she said no way. I do all the cooking so it was easy to adjust her salt intake. That was a few years ago -- she's fine now, no meds, and doesn't miss all the salt.

[Simply Red]

Originally Posted by Mr. Laz

That's funny because i was on the verge of going on Blood Pressure meds until i stopped salting my food. My blood pressure dropped back down to around normal ... about 40/20 points. I didn't change anything else about my diet or intake amount.

Doctor couldn't hide his surprise when i told him the next visit. He was expecting to start prescribing HBP meds.

It was actually because it was during the off-season and the Chiefs weren't playing.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by Simply Red

It was actually because it was during the off-season and the Chiefs weren't playing.

[Simply Red]

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Mr. Laz

That's funny because i was on the verge of going on Blood Pressure meds until i stopped salting my food. My blood pressure dropped back down to around normal ... about 40/20 points. I didn't change anything else about my diet or intake amount.

Doctor couldn't hide his surprise when i told him the next visit. He was expecting to start prescribing HBP meds.

Awesome!

[Buehler445]

It's a tough out.

I figured out though, that when I went to college, I started cooking a LOT different than my mom (the food I grew up with). I use quite a bit more heat, and a lot less salt and butter (or other sorts of fats).

But anyway, I certainly haven't had to like FMB or Laz, but I've tried to watch it.

In my experience, the easiest thing to do IMO is veggies. Don't buy a canned veggie ever again. Even when I do canned, I don't add butter or salt, but frozen veggies are so much better and taste better without butter for sure, and potentially salt. Certainly good enough to train yourself to eat them without. I about don't do canned anymore.

I try to reduce butter whenever possible. Butter (at least the kind that tastes good) has a lot of salt. So if it is at all possible to knock off the butter. Bread, if it needs butter, find a different bread. I use jelly instead of butter on bread. And I don't use much on potatoes.

The other thing I'd recommend is buy a pepper mill. Fresh ground pepper is a lot more flavorful than packaged pepper. If you think you need salt, throw some pepper at it Some stuff may not work, but give it a go. I put virtually no salt on potatoes. Just pepper those bitches up.

I haven't quit Lawry's on steak, hamburgers, but I've managed to offset some of that with pepper.

Originally Posted by teedubya

I use Himalayan salt or other sea salts... the regular iodized salt isn't good for you. Sea salts have minerals, at least...

Or, I could be full of shit.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-li...t/faq-20058512

I think the theory is that it has a stouter flavor so you are SUPPOSED to use less.

[Psyko Tek]

Originally Posted by Smellway

i pour bags of salt directly into my mouth

it's a great low calorie snack!

no carbs, and gluten free

[Groves]

Hyponatremia (too little salt in your system) is just as bad.

I'd never even think of limiting your salt unless you have a verified need.

[listopencil]

I pretty much eat whatever I crave and my lab tests always come back extremely good. My doctor gets annoyed with me over it. He did once tell me that if I laid off the carbs I'd lose that 5 pounds of extra weight I tend to carry. I told him laying off carbs wasn't worth losing the 5 pounds.