quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
Salt is good for you. I just don't understand Salt free diets.

I've read estimates that an adult male only actually requires 200-400 milligrams of salt per day, anything more is excess. Excessive consumption of Salt does cause the retention of water and in most a corresponding increase in blood pressure.

I went low salt when I was first diagnosed with high blood pressure, it tested at 160/85. BTW High Blood Pressure requires that the Heart exert more force with each heart beat and this will lead to issues with Heart Disease.

The simplest way to go low salt is to pay attention to what you eat and choose items that feature reduced salt content. As for spices, they aren't really effective. What you need to do is stop adding salt to your food. One common snack for me is Salt Free potato chips. After about a week of going to no salt chips I found they actually taste better than chips with salt. Note, I never eat fast food, that poison is loaded with salt.

^ "The simplest way to go low salt is to pay attention to what you eat"

Whatever you read, it's wrong. Sorry. Enjoy your salt-free sugar chips I suppose. Did you watch the previous video?

Fiesta has a whole line of NA free

Different people are different, and will have different dietary needs and different physiological responses to different foods and nutrients. General conclusions about salt, carbs, no salt, whatever, are not always useful for a specific person getting specific advice from their doctor.

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In addition to using the salt free versions of Dash, there are several recipes claiming to copy the Dash recipe. Consider looking some of these over and making your own???

Google this phrase for your search: "Ms. Dash homemade"

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quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
Salt is good for you. I just don't understand Salt free diets.

Truth

quote:

Originally posted by bobtheelf:
Different people are different, and will have different dietary needs and different physiological responses to different foods and nutrients. General conclusions about salt, carbs, no salt, whatever, are not always useful for a specific person getting specific advice from their doctor.

True, but a lot of doctors are clueless about diets.
Seriously, the ones who understand lipids, diets and are aware of the benefits of carb-reductions in diets are very hard to find.
This can make for a difficult relationship with your doctor.
Now days it isn't hard to get educated on this subject.
Not that YouTube is a substitute for a Medical Degree but you will find a substantial amount of information, many by actual doctors.
I would keep an open mind and not just look for information that substantiates your theory because many are biased but still a lot of great insight can be had.

quote:

After about a week of going to no salt chips I found they actually taste better than chips with salt. Note, I never eat fast food, that poison is loaded with salt.

^^^^ This, along with don't add additional salt to your food.

I try to make most of our food, staying away from, as Michael Pollan describes, the "middle aisles" in the supermarket. Some things need salt, e.g., bread. But when making soups, casseroles, etc., I can substitute spices and herbs for salt. Like the no-salt potato chips, once you get the excess salt out of your diet, restaurant and other foods are now often too salty and you can now actually 'taste' the food item rather than getting that 'hit' of salt in your mouth. Some people like that and if so, good for you. It's just not for me.

Some might be shocked if they actually added up all the sodium they get in a day.

Given all this, my sodium level remains in the lower-middle of the normal range when I get blood test results back.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 229DAK,

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
Salt is good for you. I just don't understand Salt free diets.

I agree. It would take a radical diet change to get no salt. Even if you don’t add any salt to anything you eat it’s still very easy to go over the recommended amount which is typically around1000mg a day.

With that said every heart doctor I’ve ever talked to emphasizes lowering (not ending) your salt intake. When you start looking at labels it’s pretty shocking how salty a lot of items are. If you’re still eating any fast food you are getting way over the recommended amount.


These are some that I use that have no added salt.



https://www.amazon.com/Bragg-S...e-view_1704386171156

https://www.amazon.com/Flatiro...f9-b136-a049abcefe2d

quote:

Originally posted by 229DAK:

quote:

After about a week of going to no salt chips I found they actually taste better than chips with salt. Note, I never eat fast food, that poison is loaded with salt.

^^^^ This, along with don't add additional salt to your food.

I try to make most of our food, staying away from, as Michael Pollan describes, the "middle aisles" in the supermarket. Some things need salt, e.g., bread. But when making soups, casseroles, etc., I can substitute spices and herbs for salt. Like the no-salt potato chips, once you get the excess salt out of your diet, restaurant and other foods are now often too salty and you can now actually 'taste' the food item rather than getting that 'hit' of salt in your mouth. Some people like that and if so, good for you. It's just not for me.

Some might be shocked if they actually added up all the sodium they get in a day.

Given all this, my sodium level remains in the lower-middle of the normal range when I get blood test results back.

Interesting take. It's also the case that food starts to taste "sweet" after you eliminate most if not all added sugars in your food. The distinction is that sugar is an addiction and salt is not.

quote:

Originally posted by SigSentry:
^ "The simplest way to go low salt is to pay attention to what you eat"

Whatever you read, it's wrong. Sorry. Enjoy your salt-free sugar chips I suppose. Did you watch the previous video?

You have problems with one paying attention to what they Eat? Unless you have a 1 in 10,000 near perfect genetic makeup you are in for a complete and total shock when you hit 60. Because we are what we eat and yes, Fast Food is POISON. Also take note, I did NOT say No Salt, I stated Low Salt. As in not adding Salt to fish done up on the grill.

I did not watch the full video because it's 37 freaking minutes long and the presenters are at an age when my blood pressure was 115/70. As in they are grinding an axe I have no interest in.

My health issues are Hereditary Heart Disease, yeah the kind that runs in a family where 4 generations of males died of heart attacks before the age of 65. My sister is a member of the DAR and she has researched our family line to the 1600's and not one single male of my primary family line has lived to see 80 years of age, cause of death was either "Heart attack" or "consumption". My older brother was 59, never smoked, and ran 3 miles every single morning until he was 55. What is a real pisser is that he never reported fatigue issues that forced him to start walking and never got a stress test that would have saved his life. He also had blood pressure issues that were never properly treated due to his not reporting symptoms even though he had his own blood pressure machine.

Anyhow I learned from what happened to my older brother and when I went into tachcardia as indicated by my Garmin Chest Monitor I reported it to my Primary. So in 2018 I had Open Heart Surgery to correct a sort of mangled Mitral Valve and a triple bypass. All was good until October 2023 when the bypass to the LAD tented up enough to cause issues with AFIB that is currently being addressed.

So, Blood Pressure. In the mornings my Blood Pressure checks in at 100-110/64-70. Treatment is 1/2 tablet of Lisinopril-HCTZ 10-12.5 mg and a low salt diet. Per my Garmin 245 my average resting heart rate for the past 4 weeks is 51 bpm. I'll also note that my current BMI is 21.3. So perhaps you'll understand why this 69 year old isn't willing to spend too much time listening some 30 somethings tell me I've got it all wrong. The simple truth is that no matter where you look somewhere on the internet you can find BS videos made by "experts" expressing any viewpoint out there.

Finally there is the matter of the American Diet. It is based on Bar Food, as in heavily salted foods that cause you to purchase more beer. Those free chips and nuts aren't there to provide you with a free snack, they are there to make you thirsty and buy more beer. It's why we now have pizza's with 6000 milligrams of sodium in a 14 inch pizza.

Fact is that you you look into the diets of Humans and Neanderthal's in Central Europe 25,000 years ago you will find that in large part their sodium intake was from meat. Because Humans don't have a sensitive enough nose to smell a salt lick from miles away and bartering for salt meant hoping that a salt trader would wander into the area. Basically a Low Salt diet isn't just healthy it is actually what we were evolved to follow.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Scooter123,

I have been on a low sodium diet since for over 20 years. There are a lot of good options out there and have been increasing. Be vigilant about ready labels and identifying the serving size. Some options show a low sodium content but the serving size is a 1/4 teaspoon.

My primary sources are Mrs Dash blends and some online options. I love the offerings from The Savory Spice Shop (www.savoryspiceshop.com) and the earlier mentioned Spice House.

If your issue is cardiac related, be careful of the blends that replace the sodium with a bunch of potassium. Too much potassium can lead to arrythmia.

Listen to your doc on the need to reduce your sodium. I just stopped using salt but didn't read labels or ingredients. I wound up in the hospital for 3 days to dry out after fluid backed up into my lungs. Sodium intake may not be important is you are healthy but it will mess you up if your are not.

for creole seasoning...I use the salt free versions of both of these

Slap yo Mama (prefered)
Tony Chachere's

my wife is notorious for compounding salt as she cooks to the point I'm unable to eat it. She looks at at as a flavor, not a seasoning as I do

As a nice vegetable bouillon, I use
https://www.asaucykitchen.com/.../creations/823/print
And leave out the salt, or cut it in half.

One thing about eating a lower salt intake: your body, or at least your taste buds, will adapt to lower salt foods pretty quickly. Then previously “normal” salt content will taste unbearably salty. So it’s not hard to do if you want to.
Most of our sodium intake usually comes from processed foods. Cooking food at home from scratch, including a lowered amount of salt, then avoiding salting food at the dinner table will help a lot.

Didja all notice the OP hasn't posted again. Why? Because he asked a specific question and now this is a debate about the benefits of salt.

We can't know why his doctor told him to do no salt and it's none of our business. I just think we have to stop preaching and getting threads so out of wack. When someone asks for specific advice they aren't looking to be preached to.

I bring this up because recently in another forum someone asked about support groups for a carnivore diet. The poor guy ended up with 12 pages of arguments over the diet. No one really helped him with what he was looking for. He deleted his post and hasn't posted since.

Anyhow, just my opinion.

I try to eat no added salt when I cook.....As I have high blood pressure, under control with meds, but still. I still get plenty of salt in my diet from some foods I eat. Anyways, I've found fresh garlic is great for flavoring meals, same with juice from a fresh lemon and other fresh spices. The spice blends work but aren't nearly as flavorful as fresh spices.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:

I stopped watching Dr Berry because he always said “I’ll put a link to that study in the description” but there was never a link to the study.

When I went salt-free for six weeks i just used every spice in the cabinet. I basically put everything in everything.

quote:

Originally posted by SigSentry:
The distinction is that sugar is an addiction and salt is not.

Salt addiction...maybe, maybe not. Just habit or intense craving? Dr. Weil's website states "Some scientific evidence suggests that there is an element of addiction to salt cravings." Maybe not physiological but psychological? I've seen many people have a plate of food placed in front of them and immediately the saltshaker tips over their food, almost without thinking.

Addiction or craving. Maybe some of both.