I use very little salt. I'll sprinkle on a little Mrs. Dash instead. That's what they gave me in the hospital a couple of years back when my BP was high.
W
Taking Sodium Seriously!
by AK - Jeff 29 Replies latest social physical
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gubberningbody
Is there any medical reason to be concerned about the levels of sodium? Perhaps, but not for the reasons many imagine. The often quoted reason "blood pressure" is a bit misleading without some qualification.
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beksbks
The bottom line Jeff, is prepared foods. I use very little prepared or packaged foods. But man do I love to salt!!! I have to watch it though, because honey bunny is very anti salt, and he also has high blood pressure. I avoided your thread all day, just because I didn't want to think about it, but it's time to face it.
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freydo
Has anyone seen any explanation of why salt raises blood pressure?
As I heard Joel Wallach of "Dead Doctors Don't Lie" www.wallachonline.com
"The first thing a farmer puts out for his livestock is a salt lick. And he doesn't say,"
"Now Bessy, you can only have one lick."
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Snoozy
I think salt causes you to retain more fluid and puts pressure on the arteries, kidneys, makes you gain weight (water) but Drs don't really know why Sodium affects certain ones and gives them high blood pressure.. Basically..I am sure there are a lot more technical issues.
Same with sugar..some can eat it tell it comes out their ears and to others ,in large amounts , would kill.
Depends on the individual body..and what it can handle.
Thus the reason for conflicting reports.
Snoozy
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freydo
Why does salt make you retain fluid. Salt makes you sweat.
"Drs don't really know..." - I'll go along with that.
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Snoozy
You would think so wouldn't you freedo.
But people with high blood pressure that eat a lot of salt seem to retain fluid more than someone that doesn't have high blood pressure..
The first thing they give a person with high blood pressure is a diuretic..go figure.
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AK - Jeff
I watched an episode of 'Dr Oz'. There was a guy on there who had virtually eliminated salt by a careful diet he devised. Result was that his BP went from 165/115 to something like 120/73. So although there might always be the odd expert who denies that salt causes HBP, it seems to fly in the face of real experience, be it only anecdotal. Clinical evidence seems overwhelming though, depending on what studies one looks at.
I look at it this way: When man arrived, and for thousands of years after, he did not eat pre-packed foods loaded with sodium to enhance the taste. He did not have a salt shaker on the cave floor as he ate. Like most things, moderation is key. Western society is anything but moderate in the way we approach eating ingredients.
Snoozy - just a note of interest. The American Heart Association has recently lowered it's recommendations from 2400 mg to 1500 mg. That is less than half a teaspoon daily. Most people probably get that in the morning commute fast food.
Yesterday was good. We prepared carefully, and ate less too. Which won't hurt a thing. We could afford to drop a few pounds as we go. I think we might have consumed less than 1000 mg. Early zeal. But it can be done.
"When the patient makes his own prognosis and prescriptions, he will more likely follow them."
Jeff
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Snoozy
That's interesting Jeff, I knew that they had a lower amount for those with HBP I think it ws half what was normal. But I didn't realize they had lowered it for everyont.
And those prepackaged foods and fast foods are really bad for you. I found that out by reading the ingredients. I try to be as careful as I can be but you know it really is hard. I never though I would be on salt restrictions as I never salt anything. But I really do have to watch my cravings..I love salty snacks but stay away form them as much as possible.
A girl I worked with had blood pressure problems. She would crave salty foods and then right after crave sweet foods..it was a cycle with her. I always tried to find a reason behind it but couldn't find anything. It's funny that her body craved exactly what it didn't need.
Anyway, my daughter is really following Suzanne Sommers now. She bought a juicer and they make veggie and fruit juices. She loves it. She keeps pushing me to read her books. My daughter has many of them. Suzanne really pushes the amount of chemicals and preservatives we have in our food now and ways to stay away from them.
The downfall is that so much of the organic food is very expensive. Unless you can grow or raise a lot of it yourself.
Wanted to add I love to watch Dr Oz and also "The Doctors".
Another thing is that many foods substitute more sugar when they do away with the salt and vice versa, so you also have to check the sugar and calories from fat.
Makes my brain hurt....lol
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Snoozy
gubberningbody..I read your article and was surprised as I had not heard that before. But what bewildered me was at the end of the article it said we still need to watch our salt intake..I thought that was a unusual thing to say after just saying that according to their tests that sodium would not raise blood pressure. Why the restriction ?
OK, I looked it up. The answer was that sodium is in salt. It is the sodium that they are destricting. Sodium is not only in salt (salt is 40% sodium) but also it is listed as Sodium benzoate and sodium phosphate, so you have to read the labels carefully. I learned something good today..
The article I saw stated a person really only NEEDS 200 mg of sodium in their diet. So I guess now I will look for anything that starts with sodium on the label..lol
Maybe you could say that a high sodium level can cause problems in the body that lead to high blood pressure?