Thread: Low sodium diet tips, anyone?

Ugh - recent follow up visit for sinus infection, doctor was definitely not pleased with my 150-160/80 bp reading. I LOVE salty foods and never had a problem with it until now and have to cut waaaaay back on sodium and lose 5% body weight (that's not so tough) or he is saying it will be medication. My bp has always been 120 /70 or 80 - but I guess there comes a time...........Doctor is talking about long term effects of sodium on kidneys, heart, okay I get it I get it. Entire weekend of no canned or pre-packaged preseved foods - fresh meat and I've always loved fresh veggies and eat a lot of them evey day.
Other than using lemon and freshly ground pepper to make up for *much* less salt, anyone have some tips. I'm a fair good cook and not wimpy about trying new things.......and I have one month to get this bp down. Help, bhuzzers!

I don't have any tips, but if I had to cut out salt in addition to sugar, refined carbs, fried foods, alcohol, etc. I would probably just cry.

it'll take some time to get used to not as much salt but you'll pretty much have to forget packaged premade foods or at least significantly cut down on them. Don't salt food until after it's cooked. Use other seasonings to add flavor. Soon you will be able to tell that something has a lot of salt in it...my mother went through the same thing and at first it was tough for all of us but after a while we just got used to it. Also increasing your potassium will help get that bp down. raisins, green leafys, dried apricots, bananas, etc. look for high potassium foods!

I've never actually posted a reply to anyone before... we had to start cooking almost everything from scratch a few years ago due to some allergies. In the process we decided to try and cut back on some of the other less than healthy things too - like salt. The Mrs. Dash seasoning blends became our best friends. 0 sodium but the seasoning blends give good flavors.
Good luck! ..g.:

Hi Nisima,
I cook a lot of Moroccan-style food, and use a lot of cumin, ginger, paprika, parsley, coriander etc. and have noticed that when using a lot of other spices, I don't really miss the salt much (although I still use a bit). In fact, in Morrocco they sprinkle cumin on their eggs and not salt. Freshness makes a big difference, so if you have a spice shop of some sort in town, it's worth the trip compared to the spices you find in the grocery store.

Great tips! Definitely, you'll have to give up the "prepared" foods. Even things like canned soup can be loaded with salt. Vinegar can be satisfying as a salt substitute for things like potatoes, maybe for other items as well. Also switch to Salt Sense, the lower-sodium table salt.

Good luck--I know it's a PITA because I'm having to watch my sodium intake as well.

I had this happen to me a few years ago-mine was 140/80 and I was only 20, my doctor was like if you don't do something about this now we will put you on meds and you will eventually have complications blah blah blah. I was so scared that I broke down crying in there, but I was also completely resolved to fix it. I started doing the "perimeter shopping" thing-staying away from the aisles unless I needed pasta or rice or things like that, shopping only around the outer edges of the store. It helped.

So yeah no processed, canned, etc. That stuff is awful if you look on the label. Here are some other things I did:

Switched to frozen veggies vs canned so I could have "staples" that wouldn't spoil. Just check the label but most are sodium free. And you know about the fresh vegetables.

I cook with a lot of garlic and onions and peppers (that's the Cajun in me :) . I love the taste of garlic and I find it to be a nice replacement for salt.

Ms. Dash seasonings usually have no salt. Many other seasonings these days have low-sodium versions. A favorite of mine is Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning-comes in no salt. I love and add it to everything-there's that Cajun again :)

Fresh herbs make everything awesome.

I made my own salad dressings with balsalmic vinegar, olive oil, herbs, and sometimes a little bit of jelly whisked in.

Popcorn-I pop it myself in this cheapo popper I have using coconut oil, which is a fat, but an alternative to vegetable oil. It is really tasty, almost has a buttery taste and I don't need to salt it. (I know it sounds weird but my husband is a chemical engineer who has worked with oils and lipids for his research and can basically tell you anything you want to know about oil/lipid/fat chemistry. Side note-don't use palm oil-very unhealthy).

Eat lots of fish. Rinse meats well before cooking-I guess it would remove any surface salt. ALSO-you have to watch some things like chicken because they are occasionally packed in a briney solution, i.e. salt! Sneaky!

I cut out all caffeine and reduced the alcohol intake to nil. Which was probably the hardest part (even though I technically was not old enough to drink :) )

Up the potassium, yep.

I know its going to be hard at first, but if you are like me, and like Safiyah said, you will become hypersensitive to salt. After changing my eating habits, I could hardly eat restaurant food because I could taste how overloaded it was with salt. That's another thing-if you do eat out, ask the waiter to tell the chef or speak to the chef and request no additional salt to yours. Most places are pretty accommodating.

After doing all this and starting to exercise regularly, I lost about 30 pounds. I didn't see a significant drop in the pressure until I lost about 25 pounds. But the lifestyle changes made it happen. Also, I don't know if your doctor told you about the DASH diet, it is recommended for people with high BP. If you look it up on the internet, there are tons of recipes and suggestions for following the plan. And it is not so much a "diet" as a better way to eat.

Sometimes, I felt like having a good sweaty workout was the best thing. I felt somewhat satisfied when I could see the salt (well salt plus other electrolytes) caked on me from sweating after running. Not sure if it had an effect, but I did get rid of some salt I think.

Also-there are low sodium versions of many popular soups like tomato or chicken broth of you like that sort of thing. Really over the last four years since I faced this, there are many more choices available for low-sodium diets. Makes you realize what a problem it is! But I am glad they have it-we don't need all that salt anyway!!!!!

Best of luck to you-you can do it!

I'll ask a friend of mine for tips, she actually allergic to salt and has a *very* limited intake

Originally Posted by acmcgraw

I'll ask a friend of mine for tips, she actually allergic to salt and has a *very* limited intake

Thanks so much to you and all the rest of the posters - I have one month to get this under control or at least dramatically improved to *avoid* medication as the doctor put it.

I know I can do this - it just wasn't what I was expecting right after lousy sinus infection. But, (smiles brightly) I am going to get lotsa fresh herbs and I already have a nice set of new cookware - I will have fun experiementing and the Middle Eastern spice was a great idea! I love hard-cooked eggs, I'll put cumin on them as suggested. Restaurant food is loaded with sodium - and I do not plan on starving myself, no siree not when I'm dancing four days a week - and I don't mind giving up desserts (I lied, I already miss chocolate) to get that 5% weight loss happening. But I know eating in restaurants is deadly for most diets because it's iffy what they put in food to make it taste good and easier for their prep. I even save half my dinner because the portions of food in most American restaurants is huge (compared to European portions).

I can do this, yesss!..g.:

I had borderline blood pressure a while back. What I changed was

*less pre-made food, frozen and canned
*I look for low sodium soups. And I do like some of the low sodium Campbell's that was already mentioned.
*More fruit
*more beans/folic acid
*sea salt (just like those soups)
*more spice instead of salt
*less caffeine (green tea or decaff green) and alcohol and soda

I think I miss the convenience of some soup and soda the most
Soup and prepared fozen are the first things that come back when I am short on time.

And I started reading labels more often for sodium content....scary stuff.

I feel for you, Nisima. Filipino food is like: you want some food with that salt?

Extremes cause cravings for extremes so if you want to cut back on salty, cut back on sweet.

Mrs. Dash is good but may be loaded with MSG which is worse to me than salt.

You can use Tamari, which is less salty than soy sauce. It is a lighter version of soy sauce. Seaweed contains natural salt and has minerals; a mixture of coarse sea salt, black sesame seeds, and seaweed makes a great flavor enhancer/seasoning.

We're rooting for you!

Originally Posted by Azhia

Mrs. Dash is good but may be loaded with MSG which is worse to me than salt.

You must be thinking of another product, or perhaps a past Mrs. Dash formulation. All the one's I've seen/used are salt and MSG free.

Originally Posted by Nisima

Thanks so much to you and all the rest of the posters - I have one month to get this under control or at least dramatically improved to *avoid* medication as the doctor put it.

I know I can do this - it just wasn't what I was expecting right after lousy sinus infection. But, (smiles brightly) I am going to get lotsa fresh herbs and I already have a nice set of new cookware - I will have fun experiementing and the Middle Eastern spice was a great idea! I love hard-cooked eggs, I'll put cumin on them as suggested. Restaurant food is loaded with sodium - and I do not plan on starving myself, no siree not when I'm dancing four days a week - and I don't mind giving up desserts (I lied, I already miss chocolate) to get that 5% weight loss happening. But I know eating in restaurants is deadly for most diets because it's iffy what they put in food to make it taste good and easier for their prep. I even save half my dinner because the portions of food in most American restaurants is huge (compared to European portions).

I can do this, yesss!..g.:

You can! I was on a "cleansing" diet awhile ago...to get away from salt, sugar, caffeine (yikes), prepared foods, etc etc. I found that fresh herbs were the way to go! Also, if you like spicy food, red pepper is an amazing way to beat your salt addiction and it helps with sinuses too! I also found that drinking lemon juice in warm water every morning before breakfast sort of reset my tastebuds and helped me to forget salt...

Just a few thoughts! Good luck!!!

Originally Posted by ssipes

You must be thinking of another product, or perhaps a past Mrs. Dash formulation. All the one's I've seen/used are salt and MSG free.

Musta been past because that was the last time I had it (when I was a kid living at home. waaaay past). Good to hear the new Mrs. Dash...(MS. DASH?) has no MSG.

I stay away from processed foods, canned foods, boxed foods, tv frozen dinners,fried food, fast food(well i even consider subway fast food) I also make my own popcorn. I have an air popper(no oil involved) i use unsalted butter. I rarely eat potato chips or the like. I order my pretzels unsalted. I grew up with low salt. I don't miss it. Soda never touch the stuff(also has lots of sodium in it)
You can eat stuff but you just got to be diligent in reading labels. I can once in awhile indulge in a mini can of pringles but I don't after 3 chips it gets salty(even the low sodium version)for my taste.

Alrana

In the spice rack avoid anything labelled "seasoning" as that usually as salt adding.

Look for spices that have "ground" in it's name like ground garlic, ground ginger, ground black pepper etc Probably would be safe to check if these spices will not increase your BP as well.

Just another thing. With the veggies, make sure it's fiberous vegetables like greens or tomatoes. You don't want to get it mixed up with starchy carbs like potatoes.

I actually has the same experience as you- the "cut the salt or go on meds" talk has happened twice over a years time!!!...So far what has finally worked for me is cutting out anything that is dried....so unfortunately that means I cut out things like cereal (cold-oatmeal is fine), chips, a lot of nuts, chips, popcorn....and then there are the normal things like no fried foods, I don't drink soda and barley drink juices. Luckily - I'm a tea fanatic so I don't miss the other stuff at all....and i have a water bottle (36oz) that I make sure I drink at least 2 of during the day....
but my weakness for french fries and my addiction to coffee keeps my doctor wagging his finger at me...aaannndd my love affair with cake (butter cake, chocolate frosting!)..c:: ..c:: ..c::