“Drink Gatorade”, dr says: a kvetch

[zauberflote]

My PCP got back to me re most recent labs, which were only a couple of weeks after the ones before. Nurse reports, all my things to do with sodium, and osmolality, are “very very low. Drink two bottles of Gatorade every day and get plenty of fluids.” ......***no specific reasoning mentioned!***......pause for bemused rumination....
I got a little combative and asked why he was rx-ing Gatorade to a pre-diabetic. “benefits outweigh risks”, don’t you know.
I told her to tell him I was making an appt with my cardiologist, who likely has a better handle on the finer points of electrolyte balance as it relates to cardiac function. I cannot for the life of me see why I should drink a beverage that turns my stomach if all he wants is more salt and water inside me. If 11 large glasses of water daily, plus a decaf or two and maybe a can or two of seltzer, is not plenty of fluids, I don’t know what is! Let me eat salty cheese, for heaven’s sake. (oh right..., fat is the enemy and my lipids have gone up...). Let my lower legs swell up to half again their size. But please let me not have to drink artificial-ingredient-laden swamp water!
[I looked up gatorade ingredients. They include water, very modest amounts of sodium and potassium, much less sugar (as sucrose and dextrose finally) than 20 years ago (or stevia stuff if non-sugar), artificial colors and flavors, and something that makes it shelf stable for half of eternity.]
There. All done kvetching.

 

[Rachox]

I’d go for the cheese! How about some pink Himalayan salt in your cooking? It contains sodium plus other electrolytes.

 

[Chook]

Yes, I'd go for the cheese, too.

 

[zauberflote]

@Rachox and @Chook , thank you!!!! Part of my problem is that I was never an “add salt at the table” eater, and in about 1979, for medical reasons, I stopped adding it to all cooking except a pinch in baked goods. I expect my sodium has been low for 40 years! Apparently it’s dropping, and I know I’ve read something about that somewhere here, right? So adding salt in will have to happen very very gradually, because it doesn’t take much salt to “burn my mouth”. That said, I would just love to have a grinder of pink Himalayan salt in my kitchen, because the stuff is so pretty! And cheese... ohhhh yeah, I don’t mind that one little bit lolol!!
I took the first available appointment with my cardiologist, which happens to be at the end of March. I’m going to call the PCP after the office returns from lunch and ask him what specifically he wants me to supplement, in what proportions and what amounts.

 

[Goonergal]

Cheese for me too! How about adding a small pinch of salt to hot drinks - works well in tea.

 

[Rachox]

@Rachox and @Chook , thank you!!!! Part of my problem is that I was never an “add salt at the table” eater, and in about 1979, for medical reasons, I stopped adding it to all cooking except a pinch in baked goods. I expect my sodium has been low for 40 years! Apparently it’s dropping, and I know I’ve read something about that somewhere here, right? So adding salt in will have to happen very very gradually, because it doesn’t take much salt to “burn my mouth”. That said, I would just love to have a grinder of pink Himalayan salt in my kitchen, because the stuff is so pretty! And cheese... ohhhh yeah, I don’t mind that one little bit lolol!!
I took the first available appointment with my cardiologist, which happens to be at the end of March. I’m going to call the PCP after the office returns from lunch and ask him what specifically he wants me to supplement, in what proportions and what amounts.

I have never added salt at the table, only in cooking when a recipe calls for it. My regular breakfast of keto porridge has a couple of twists of the grinder every morning. I do agree that the pink salt grinder does look pretty in the kitchen.

 

[Antje77]

So adding salt in will have to happen very very gradually, because it doesn’t take much salt to “burn my mouth”. That said, I would just love to have a grinder of pink Himalayan salt in my kitchen, because the stuff is so pretty! And cheese... ohhhh yeah, I don’t mind that one little bit lolol!!

If you love cheese, why the need to add extra salt to other foods? I'd go for more cheese instead!

 

[zauberflote]

We seem to be unanimous on cheese, hurray!
@Rachox the effect on the brain and taste buds of no salt for 40 years is probably similar to the effect of low carbing for 40 years. Your porridge would be inedible to me after you’d done those twists. Before.. it sounds really good!! Cheese is a whole experience, however, and while really salty cheeses such as blue and real feta in brine are good, I can only eat so much of them. I bought some nice sauerkraut and tasted it a couple of days ago. I would have to drain and rinse it to make it anything but painful. Can’t taste the kraut for the salt. I freely admit, I’m weird!!

 

[zauberflote]

Here’s me rolling on floor laughing! Bottom line from PCP is, they don’t care how I get these salt and other electrolytes. They would LOVE for it to work through diet alone, and would suggest it to other patients if it works. Had a great convo with a nerdy nurse, who deserves an award for intelligence and insight. Now to work on the iron, which she’d not mentioned before. Hmmm. Do werewolves get enough iron? I had to get the rabies injection series in the mid-70’s, and still occasionally howl at the moon...

 

[DCUKMod]

@zauberflote you need to get that IP going with some chicken carcasses for mucho deliousness in a broth.

I also keep some of this in the fridge always, and just add a spoonful to lots of "stuff", just as seasoning. In my cooking, general seasoning, as opposed to the heavier chilli, curry style spices etc can Ben lacking and this works by adding a bang of flavour, but also so salts.

The exact ingredients vary for me, depending upon what happens to be around on the day, but the grated hard, salty cheese is gorgeous. Erm,..... mine often has additional garlic, as there's always some of that lying around.

https://www.feistytapas.com/2017/02/homemade-vegetable-stock-paste-instantpot-thermomix/

The amount of salt looks like it has to be wrong, but don't forget once made, you're only using around a spoonful of the paste at a time.

If the amounts of salt make you nervy, just make a small batch to try.

Honestly, I use this all the time.

 

[Tophat1900]

You can try googling how to make your own electrolyte drinks.... might be worth a shot just to see. From memory, seems to be water, lemon juice and some salt.... I don't know what that tastes like. Water and lemon juice yes, but not with salt, but I guess you could add Himalayan salt to tastes.

Just a suggestion and has got to be better then gatorade. :***:

 

[Deleted member 308541]

You can try googling how to make your own electrolyte drinks.... might be worth a shot just to see.

When I worked at Mt Isa Mine, on the surface we had a electrolyte drink made out of 2Ltr bottle of green cordial, a 1 kg packet of table salt, mixed into a 4 ltr temprite drink dispenser and topped up with water. Which was a great improvement from salt tablets.

We eventually got issued Staminade, which I still drink it on the occasions i need a anti cramp drink when I have been working hard and sweating like a pig.

 

[Tophat1900]

When I worked at Mt Isa Mine, on the surface we had a electrolyte drink made out of 2Ltr bottle of green cordial, a 1 kg packet of table salt, mixed into a 4 ltr temprite drink dispenser and topped up with water. Which was a great improvement from salt tablets.

We eventually got issued Staminade, which I still drink it on the occasions i need a anti cramp drink when I have been working hard and sweating like a pig.

Yeah, the salt tablets are horrid... and just dumps too much into the system without liquid to balance it.

 

[Deleted member 308541]

Yeah, the salt tablets are horrid... and just dumps too much into the system without liquid to balance it.

They never stayed down my throat long enough, before they got shot straight back out again.

I used to grab a handful of individual packets of salt and mix one of them into a drink of water.

 

[zauberflote]

I read a nutritionist with common sense some years back- she was griping about how dumb it was to give kids at recreational sports Gatorade and the like. She said, give ‘em a water and some pretzels. Makes perfect sense to me! Miners, otoh, get serious depletion.

 

[zauberflote]

@zauberflote you need to get that IP going with some chicken carcasses for mucho deliousness in a broth.

I also keep some of this in the fridge always, and just add a spoonful to lots of "stuff", just as seasoning. In my cooking, general seasoning, as opposed to the heavier chilli, curry style spices etc can Ben lacking and this works by adding a bang of flavour, but also so salts.

The exact ingredients vary for me, depending upon what happens to be around on the day, but the grated hard, salty cheese is gorgeous. Erm,..... mine often has additional garlic, as there's always some of that lying around.

https://www.feistytapas.com/2017/02/homemade-vegetable-stock-paste-instantpot-thermomix/

The amount of salt looks like it has to be wrong, but don't forget once made, you're only using around a spoonful of the paste at a time.

If the amounts of salt make you nervy, just make a small batch to try.

Honestly, I use this all the time.

I just CMT’d the recipe. Now I need an industrial blender, eh? I have a little old somethingorother which I use so rarely I packed it up for a move in 2007 and didn’t take it out at that house OR this one! Our bouillon cubes have salt, yeast product, some more salt, and some “natural flavor”, which here can mean msg because msg is perfectly naturally derived... I like to keep enough stock in the freezer to make a pot of soup, but my two winter favorites are off-the-charts carbs. There is no faking onions and butternut squash, and there is no faking red cabbage borscht. So sad!

 

[DCUKMod]

I just CMT’d the recipe. Now I need an industrial blender, eh? I have a little old somethingorother which I use so rarely I packed it up for a move in 2007 and didn’t take it out at that house OR this one! Our bouillon cubes have salt, yeast product, some more salt, and some “natural flavor”, which here can mean msg because msg is perfectly naturally derived... I like to keep enough stock in the freezer to make a pot of soup, but my two winter favorites are off-the-charts carbs. There is no faking onions and butternut squash, and there is no faking red cabbage borscht. So sad!

For the vegetable stock, I just use my stick blender. It's a decent stick blender, but don't forget, once all those veggies have had their pressure treatment, they are cooked.

I found with the IP, a stick blender is just so simple, and saves a load of decanting of often hot liquids into jugsm and of course, the clean up is a lot simpler.

 

[Deleted member 308541]

I read a nutritionist with common sense some years back- she was griping about how dumb it was to give kids at recreational sports Gatorade and the like. She said, give ‘em a water and some pretzels.

The junior bowlers at the bowls club that I am a member of, buy there own drinks, mainly Coke and Powerade.

 

[ringi]

One thought, check the full details of all meds you are taking as some remove sodium from the body. (mostly some types of BP meds and "water tablets")

You may also be drinking too much water, as over hydration can remove sodium, and the low sodium then results in your body retraining less water leading to dehydration.