My doctor said No to Salt

[Barbie2]

I went to my Cardiologist today for my follow up appointment, since my open heart surgery, two weeks ago. I asked him if I could just have a small amount of salt on my food, just a sprinkle. He said no. I do like my salt and now I feel really lost. How can I enjoy anything without a little bit of salt?

Any ideas, so I don't have to eat celery, etc, for the rest of my life without salt? Please help me. :(

Barb

[MelissaO]

I have never tried salt on my celery before but for my soup or salad I use Sea Seasonings Organic triple blend flakes as a low sodium sub. Things like dulse, seaweed, sea veggies have a light salty taste to them.

[spicyfull]

Are you eating to Live?

[rawlight]

I feel really lost. How can I enjoy anything without a little bit of salt?

Any ideas, so I don't have to eat celery, etc, for the rest of my life without salt? Please help me. :(

Barb

I went through the no salt thing in April. I, too, loved my salt and that's how I got in the position of where it became a problem in my body.:eek: The thing is, we don't need added salt. And if you can just white knuckle it for a few weeks, you will find that you can not only live happily without salt, but that you will become salt sensitive to things you ate without a thought. When that time comes you will be amazed, I promise!

My blood pressure is normal now and all I did was cut out salt. So believe me, I totally feel your emotional pain. I remember after a few days of being diagnosed with high blood pressure, I was watching a dvd where a main character was a caterer and many of the scenes took place in her big kitchen and I just felt so sad, thinking I could never eat normally again. What a drama queen-lol I even called up my mom and vented-lol But now, I feel so much better (of course, for all other kinds of reasons as well), you couldn't pay to go back to eating salt.

So just hang in there, start experimenting with spices and you will not only survive but thrive.

[Nayeli_Raw]

Salt on celery?? Thats a new one to me. Maybe try other flavorings. Sprinkle pepper or something on it?? Maybe chili powder?? I don't even know if black pepper is raw. But there are many spices.. well any of them satisfy a salt craving? You probably aren't allowed to have Braggs A.A. then are you? What about celery with almond butter.. yum!!

[michigan roman]

we didnt evolve as a species carrying around salt shakers :D

thusly salting food is an unnatural habit !

but just like alchys crave booze , smokers cigs , drug users drugs we can all seriously crave unnatural to us things that are killing us . youve a bad salt addiction . ive had / have one too . ive quit for years at a time then go thru month long spurts of massive usage , but i keep getting better at it and bit by bit finding foods that quench my cravings . dried tomato's are my best replacement . also alot of garlic in salad dressings , or even chopped up fine on top of fresh tomatos .

so many times i'll be away from home and start craving salt and think about popping in a store and getting a bag o chips , i fight it off and race home for my salad drenched in garlic rich dressing .

im also wanting to try making a trail mix type food out of vegi's and seeds to carry with me . with like dry tomato / dry mushy / sunflowerseeds / dry green peppers / etc to be there to quench salt cravings .

my name is michiganroman and im a saltaholic :p

ps - ' MRS DASH ' brand makes a good to me no salt seasoning of tomato / garlic / basil that helps .

[Crazy Healer Lady]

My business sells a salt "replacer" called Sansels. Really, it's just dehydrated lemon juice. You can find a Victorian Epicure consultant in your area (if in Canada) or dehydrate lemon juice on your own. Vinegar gives a great salty kick, too :)

[misslinda]

I went to my Cardiologist today for my follow up appointment, since my open heart surgery, two weeks ago. I asked him if I could just have a small amount of salt on my food, just a sprinkle. He said no. I do like my salt and now I feel really lost. How can I enjoy anything without a little bit of salt?

Any ideas, so I don't have to eat celery, etc, for the rest of my life without salt? Please help me. :(

Barb

Your reaction is no different that alot of ours that first decided to go raw. Personally, I gave up table salt years and years ago. Are you talking about processed salt?

We crave salt b/c our body is acutally craving minerals. Organic sodium like of celery and kale can offer that balance when included in the diet.

You don't have to eat celery everyday but the more fresh,living and clean foods you eat, you will naturally crave less salt. Sugary will taste too sugary and Salty will taste too heavy and salty.

Alternatives: Stay hydrated, add fresh food,exercise and use various spices and herbs. Cumin is a nice touch to foods!

[juliebove]

Why would you eat salt on celery? Celery is loaded with natural sodium. Someone here even said they powder the dehydrated celery (or maybe it was the other way round) to make a salt substitute.

Why did the Dr. say to avoid salt?

[J A]

Like said above, we didn't evolve to eat salt like we evolved to eat, say, fruit.

Lemon is often used to replace salt, sprinkle lemon juice instead of salt. I've never had salt cravings, but I'd too suspect it's mineral deficiency deep down.

[HolyGuacamole]

*hugs*
I like salt, too.
I haven't used table salt in about a million years, though - I use Celtic sea salt and Himalayan pink salt, which have complex, high mineral content.
I do think salt cravings are about minerals and that if you get lots of good trace minerals in your diet in the form of, say, sea veggies, spirulina, and/or blue green algae, it can definitely help you want less salt.
And then if you still want salty taste go for lemon or dehydrated and ground celery.
Sounds like a plan to me!

[Barbie2]

I should never post when I'm upset. I usually don't make any sense. LOL. Anyway, I have been through so many changes lately, even little things like a no salt diet can upset me.

My doctor said no to salt due to it affects my blood pressure. I noticed yesterday that everything seems to contain salt. Even Alissa's wonderful recipes contain salt or Braggs, etc. No, I don't eat celery with salt on it, I like Almond Butter on it. Not sure why I said celery, as I said I was upset yesterday.

Life changes are hard, and for me each day is a baby step towards wellness. I am looking forward to the day when I will be whole again, my doctor said after my healing is done I will be better than I was before. This is my goal. I just get frustrated with how awful the SAD diet is, and how hard it is to change to a Raw Diet.

Yet, I love to experiment with recipes so maybe I can find ways for Alissa's recipes to taste good even without sea salt or Braggs's, etc.

Eating natural, simple food, furits, veggies, nuts, seeds, also may be the way to go. Then salt will not be an issue. I just wish I felt better so everything wouldn't end up being an issue with me. But I just have to take it one day at a time.

Barb

[MelissaO]

It is good to vent- feel free to post whenever.

When my Mom was dx with diabetes her specialist told her no more sugar so there was my Mom looking at every food label where of course there are sugar counts in everything - including fruit. I made arrangements for her to see a nutrionist who explained to her that yes pretty much everthing has some kind of sugar in it. For my Mom she had to pick things with a sugar count of no more then 10%. Natural sugars process differently than refined sugar, so she could still have apple, pears, but not so much things like pineapple everyday. So it turned out that Mom did not have to live on water alone like she was originally thinking.

It is hard when things have to happen so soon and be so strict. Not only was my Mom afraid with being dx with something like diabetes, she also felt like the restictions meant the end of everything good.

Perhaps you can also ask about what percentage of sodium would be an acceptable level? I looked at my Braggs and it has very little sodium content something like 6% (pretty low compared to something like Nama Soya that is at 30%).

[Raw Angel Mom]

i sometime dehydrate celery and then use my vitamix to grind it or a coffee grinder. It is a great substitute to salt. If you like hemp sprinkle, it cans help too. Salt raise blood pressure.

I remember doing a detox diet and salt wasn't alow. Oh good lord that food was awfull to me. But after the two weeks detox, i noticed that i couldn't stand the salt as much. Perhaps if you need to make exception, you can use himalayan salt (filled with nutriment), but this is a salt and you should do what your doctor say.

Eating food whole doesn't taste bad, such a red pepper alone or tomato or anything. I find when i mix food, i need the salt but if i eat it alone, it is fine.

I am sure, soon enough, you will be able to have some salt, you just need to give time to your body to clear your artery and body.

[freshlight]

You don't need any salt. It's a change but it's not that hard because it'll make you feel marvellous afterwards :)
I had my doubts about salt as well but the best I feel is without it. Have you ever tried fasting? It helps FAST to solve health problems, that's why it's called fasting ;)
Get well soon!
Eva

[juliebove]

Drs. love to point out the salt and blood pressure connection. But the truth is, most of us are not affected by it in terms of BP. I'm not. Recently I was having trouble with low BP because of the high doses of meds I am on for protein in my urine. My Dr. told me to eat more salt. I was like... Hello! If salt doesn't RAISE my BP then what good is it going to do to eat more of it?

[raweater]

Didn't read all replies but it is refined white salt that causes heart disease. Unrefined salt (not all sea salts are unrefined, if it's white it's toxic and refined, it should be gray or pink).

Unrefined salt has been shown to prevent heart disease because it's loaded with heart healthy nutrients.

Personallu, I'd ignore most everything doctors say, nothing they are taught is based on science, true, or for your benefit. I'd recommend looking at unbiased independant studies instead.

To prevent heart disease, make sure to get plenty of vitamin E from food, healthy fats, unrefined salt, and drink 2 liters of water per day.

It's also important to note that blood pressure drugs increase heart attacks by 60% and cholesterol drugs increase heart attacks by 10% (yes, both these drugs accelerate death compared to no treatment at all).

[rawstrength]

I personally need salt in my diet to keep my blood pressure from being to low and to keep from losing too much water while exercising. But we are all different. I know that it is possible to create some really tasty raw meals without salt, if that is what you need to be healthy right now. Spices, spices, spices and herbs are your friend! They are anti-cancer, antioxidant rich, and make food tasty and interesting. Sea veggies have a salty taste while being low sodium.

[lalakis]

Just be careful about getting enough iodine.

I recently discovered that I am iodine-deficient.....which is common in a lot of vegans who do not consume enough sea veggies like algae, kelp, seaweed.

I never used table salt, did not get iodine from animal-based sources, and did not eat nearly enough of the sea veggie family. My thyroid wasn't functioning properly so now I am taking kelp supplements to regulate it again.

It's something I never would have expected! Just a heads up.