Some of us here are very sodium conscience. I have been for a few months myself. In order to improve my BP I drastically cut down on salt. I am probably consuming less than half of what I used to. I went out to dinner tonight and could barely eat the food. I ordered the salmon with steamed veggies,and all I noticed was the salt.Even though I told them I did not want much salt and just to put a tiny tiny bit.

I have become so salt sensetive, that most everything tastes salty.Everything tastes like it's loaded with sodium.I can barely eat anything from a package like soup,noodles,cheese,crackers,tuna with flavours,gravy,rice with flavouring,anything?

Why does this happen?

Mel- if your reading this, can you also tell me how Alan keeps his sodium down, and if he has a similar problem?

Any comments welcome-

A while ago my DH had to eliminate most fats, salts and sugars from his diet. It became in ways lots of work to eliminate those things from our diet but it's worked by plain old KEEPING IT SIMPLE. You get used to it so it's automatic.

Reading box ingredient labels was a more than eye opening experience...for example: do you know that Cheerios have MORE salts and sugars than Honey Bunches of Oats-by quite a bit? Going for the reduced or no-salt canned goods as in tomatoes or other veggies is a good route, also frozen plain veggies [I like the bags, so only use what's needed] help as well. Not adding salt [except for cooking pastas] until you are ready to eat is helpful as well. That way each person can add it to taste. Fresh foods in season, sauteed or stir fried, w/fresh herbs or spices added for zing can keep all the evil stuff down. Of course, there are times when a big splurge is OK, just not every day.
Does this help Aussie? I'm sure Melody will be along soon with her guidelines. All the best! - j

Dear Aussie:

I too have been trying to avoid salt, although not ordered for medical reasons. I find that the less salt I use, and I never did use much, the more I notice it in prepared foods. Way too salty.

Dahlek:

I too have learned to like those frozen veggies! I don't know how you prepare them, but I also get the two pound bags, then pour out a portion on a plate and put a nice plastic cover on it, and microwave for a time. I don't have to add any water - just the cover. I used to use a steamer in a pot on top of the stove but the microwve method is better and saves dishwashing. I cook it just till ad dente - do not overcook - the color should still be bright green.

Reading labels is a habit with me. I have been stunned at how much sodium is in canned foods. Best to eat everything close to the way it comes from nature. This means cooking from scratch most of the time. Way to go.

Shirley H.

Shirley,
Note of caution. The 'plastic cover' (easp 'Saran Wrap' type plastic) used to microwave the veggies can transfer bad carcinogens to the food.
Try using a sheet of good old wax paper instead.
It works just fine, wrapped around the plate to the bottom- to hold it loosely over the food.
Lets some steam escape too, avoiding over cooking.

Hi.

First let's address the saran wrap issue. I knew this a long long time ago and stopped using plastic wraps to cover my food. I bought one of those microwave see through things (it's a big hard plastic thing with a hole so the steam can vent). Been using it for years. Am on my second one by the way.
Comes in VERY handy to cook stuff.

Now for the salt.

Boy can I give a lot of info on Alan and his salt intake. He USES NO ADDITIONAL SALT WHATSOEVER ON ANYTHING HE PUTS IN HIS MOUTH.
All the doctor had to tell him when he got the stent last January was 'NO SALT". Because Alan took it literally, there was no salt added to anything on his plate. Since I never cooked with Salt, that was not a problem either.
The problem was reading labels (which I had been doing for 5 years or so to read about "how many carbs' "how much fat, transfat, etc' how much protein" was in any food that I bought.

I basically cook all my veggies fresh, so no problem there. I just add Mrs. Dash, or some garlic powder.

But sometimes I buy frozen veggies. I just look at the labels. If it says 20 to 50 of the sodium, well that's fine. Now canned stuff, that's a whole other ball of wax. Canned stuff has sodium in just about EVERYTHING.

So if I don't have enough time (let's say we just got home from a doctor's appointment, etc) I'll open up a can of carrots, and a can of mushrooms, (and any thing I can open), and I just drain and re-rinse every thing so any liquid is completely replaced so the sodium would be much much less.

forget about Tuna Fish, it's loaded so I buy the low-sodium kind.

We eat grilled chicken which has been grilled in lemon juice, fresh garlic and pepper, (maybe some balsamic vinegar, HE loves that, not me).

He won't eat that much fish any more so if I make fish, I use the dill, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil (a splash) and mrs. dash. Tastes real good.
Yesterday I cam back from Cornell Medical Center (lost 11 lbs by the way)!!!!
and I made Cajun blackened Catfish. my god, was it good.

When I eat something I use Salt Sense. Alan doesn't even use this. Honestly, I could never (unless I actually had to) eat a salt-free diet like Alan does. He is exceptionally disciplined in that respect. I would find it completely without taste.

He once said "no wonder I'm losing weight, when you don't add sodium to anything, you never want seconds". He's got a point.

Since my main thing is grilled chicken over lettuce tomatotoes, radishes, slivered carrots, zucchinis, and a dash of sliced black olives (that have been rinsed), all I add is a splash of extra virgin olive oil and garlic powder, dried basil, freshly ground pepper and of course my salt sense. I could not (repeat NOT), eat a salad without salt sense. It would have no taste for me.

My pressure yesterday (they took it three times to average it out). was 109 over 59. Since I am also in their blood pressure protocol, they love my numbers. At Cornell, they advise diabetic woman (in order to prevent a possible stroke), to not have their blood pressure go over 120/70. They prefer something like 105/60. It works for me so I have no problem.
They say these are the NEW numbers that doctors should go by.
Who am I to argue. It's CORNELL MEDICAL CENTER IN NY PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL. They just got written up as the best in the whole country.

They obviously know what they are doing.

But I do have a big question about Alan's TASTE BUDS!!!

Remember, I've told you he puts splenda and sugar free maple syrup on everything that goes into his mouth. He has done this since he was on the Fentanyl pain patch. That was over 3 years ago.

So why does he still have this taste perversion thing. I don't funny understand this. Could it also have something to do with not having that mucy sodium in his diet??

I mean, I made him a nice bowl of low-carb dreamfields spaghetti the other night with a nice marinara sauce (with garlic and basil). No salt. it was a good sauce. What does he do?? Puts 3 splendas on it. I wanted to see how it tasted and I just went "blllewwwwieee". I do NOT understand how he could eat something so sweet. I made a brocolli souffle with egg whites and low-fat cheese. he puts sugar free maple syrup on that and LOVES IT!!!

He puts 4 splendas in a cup of coffee. We don't use anything with aspartame because the doctor says it's bad on peripheral nerves. All his docs say splenda is just fine because it's made from sugar. I use maybe 2 a day in my coffee. I do drink a product called Totally Light (it's like Crystal Light) but it contains splenda and not Nutrasweet. We don't drink any soda whatsoever.

But why does he prefer all this extra sweetness on his meals.? What is with this taste perversion thing? I do hope one of you knows the answer.

Thanks,
Melody

Well I don't use salt very much at all,maybe a quick sprinkle of light salt. I don't think we have Mr. Dash down here. But I can't even really eat out anymore due to the fact that I have become sensetive to seasonings. I can't eat the popcorn at the cinema because it's pre-buttered and salted. I also have switched to Raw Sugar, which I love!

Movies without popcorn!!!

Mel, I remember you saying that the docs prefer lower numbers, but how do you get your BP that low? Those numbers would be my sleeping BP.

Well, when I was 26 years old (many moons ago, I'm now 59), I had gone to my doctor for a checkup. She said my blood pressure was high. I was also very obese (over 200 lbs).

I remember being put on some blood pressure medicine that was also a water pill. I believe it was called thiazide (who the heck can remember all those years ago).

So from that moment on, I was always on a blood pressure pill. Either monopril, or vasotec, or one of the other prills. And it was always the same dosage (all through the years) 10 mgs.

So two years ago I go to Cornell for my diabetes and while my blood pressure was okay, because I was IN THEIR PROTOCOL ((ACTUALLY TWO PROTOCOLS)). One protocol was the diabetes protocol and the other was the blood pressure one.

Something to do with goals and to get my blood pressure to a certain level because I am in a study to see how diabetics are prone to get strokes and heart attacks. All I knew was they took care of me and gave me all my meds and testing strips.

So I began the study doing 10 of the lisinopril. Then for some reasons, they were not happy with the numbers. So they added a water pill to it.
So for about 18 months now I am on Zestoretic 20/25.
Breaks down to 20 mg lisinopril and 25 of hydrochlorothiazide (hah, there's that thiazide name again) lol.

When I go to Cornell (about every two months), they hook me up to this special machine that takes my pressure 3 times. But the machine broke so they had to do manually and average it out.

All I know is whenever I go there and my numbers are, let's say 109/59 or 105/62 they jump for joy and they go....wow, look at those numbers.

I think it means I'm not at risk for a stroke even though I DO have diabetes.

She said yesterday. "Well, you're not doing so good on our diabetes protocol but you're doing wonderful on our blood pressure protocol.

I knew what she meant. In the diabetes protocol my goal was to reach 170 after two hours of eating and to get my A1c from 9 (when I began), down to 7.5.

Well, I got my sugar reading down to 130 two hours after eating and my A1c to 6.0. So that BROKE their protocol. They laughed and said to me "you did TOO GOOD!!! But they said I did good in their blood pressure protocol. I reached the goal that was set for me.

So they are happy with my numbers. I know that most docs think a blood pressure reading of 120/70 is perfectly fine and I think so too but at Cornell, the study is about heart attacks and strokes in woman who are diabetic and they believe the lower blood pressure readings mean the less chance for stroke and heart attack. At least that's what they told me.

And I'm certainly not going to argue with anybody who tells me I'm getting narrower. I mean really!!!!!!

melody

Oh, I have a good recipe for all you potato lovers out there. Alan eats one potato every night. Now if I bake it or microwave it, you get ONE POTATO, right? You can put whatever you wish on it but it still is ONE POTATO, right??

Well, guess what I discovered??? you take an Idaho potato and you get a food grater (like when you want to make hash browns). I bought a V slicer so it comes with this grating attachment thingeee.

Well, I grated one potato and you have no idea what one potato looks like when it's grated. And when you add some sliced onion and put some PAM in a frying pan (with a splash of extra virgin olive oil). And you cook it up. you COULD FEED 4 PEOPLE with the amount. Don't ask me why, it fills up my whole frying pan. Alan goes nuts and you'd think you just cooked 4 potatoes. Honestly!!! You have to try this.
Sometimes I give him only half of what's in the frying pan . THAT'S HOW MUCH IT MAKES!!! One stupid potato!!!! Try it.

Melody

your numbers to that lower prefered reading for your protocol. I guess that makes sense.

I will certainly try to make the potatoe dish. I am no stranger to the potatoe myself!

I just can't get my hands on Idaho potatoes!! I'll have to use Sydney potatoes!! LOL

I can't believe I told you about Idaho potatoes. Of course any potato will do. You will not believe the volume when you grate up this potato. Add a bit of slivered onions. Spray a big frying pan with PAM.
Get it hot. Spread out the potato mixture, add some parsley. Add just a splash of extra virgin olive oil (that's what I use but use any one you like, but just a bit) let it brown on both sides.

You'll die and go to heaven. I only wish I ate potatoes. That's a no no on my diet. haven't had a potato in quite some years,.

Mel

I will try to do it over the weekend and tell you how I went. The only problem I have is the grater. I don't have one! Just a very small cheese grater that barely works. I might have to chop it up in very fine bits.

Do you keep skin on or peel off?

Look at me getting excited over a bloody potatoe!!