Salt!

[Doczoc]

Should I be worried about salt intake? There's a lot of reference to bacon, hams and other pocessed meat on the site and I have been eating more of these but am concerned about having too much salt, should I be?

 

[sugarless sue]

Depends on what your blood pressure is like Doc?

 

[Doczoc]

it was normal last time I went to docs, just before xmas. Is it woth investing in a BP monitor?

 

[sugarless sue]

Personally I don't have much faith in those home BP machines but some members do.If you are not adding extra salt to your meals then you will probably be OK.I'm sure someone will come along with definitive answer shortly.

 

[Doczoc]

I do like to season my food well! But don't eat anything processed apart from the meats I've stated so no hidden salt there.

 

[sugarless sue]

I don't use salt much but I do like a lot of pepper.

 

[Jo123]

Well I had high-ish bp a few years ago, doc advised me to get a home monitor, he said to get an omron, expensive but good. Managed to get my bp normalized by exercise and diet, my BP monitor does agree with the one at doctors. I think salt does affect mine a little, but I have taken it since I have been eating more processed meats whilst low carbing and it is unaffected.
Might be worth you investing in a BP monitor to put your mind at rest.

 

[Doczoc]

Well I had high-ish bp a few years ago, doc advised me to get a home monitor, he said to get an omron, expensive but good. Managed to get my bp normalized by exercise and diet, my BP monitor does agree with the one at doctors. I think salt does affect mine a little, but I have taken it since I have been eating more processed meats whilst low carbing and it is unaffected.
Might be worth you investing in a BP monitor to put your mind at rest.

Thanks Jo, been looking at Omron ones, I am a gadget fiend so who knows, I feel another purchase coming on!

 

[Trinkwasser]

Thanks Jo, been looking at Omron ones, I am a gadget fiend so who knows, I feel another purchase coming on!

I'll second Omron, mine related quite well to the 24 hour monitor I was attached to - but it runs low (wrist monitor) compared to the nurse's (arm) monitor on my mother

If you get one it's worth running it against the lab instruments next time you see the doctor/nurse

As to the salt question, some people's BP appears to be sodium sensitive while others aren't

 

[Patch]

If you do a search on "WaterCure" you'll find a lot of information on Salt. But basically they suggest that you DO take salt BUT YOU MUST drink lots of water...

I've cut Table Salt out of my diet competely. Now I ony use Grey Celtic Sea Salt, or at a push Himalayan Sea Salt. Youuse less, it contins TONS of minerals and it tastes much better than table salt.

The Water Cure
The Water Cure Recipe:
Drink 1/2 your body weight of water in ounces, daily. Example 180 lb = 90 oz. of water daily. Divide that into 8 or 10 oz. glasses and that's how many glasses you will need to drink, daily. Use 1/4 tsp. of salt for every quart of water you drink. Use salt liberally with food. As long as you drink the water, you can use the salt. Avoid caffeinated or alcoholic drinks. These are diuretics and will dehydrate you. Every 6 oz. of caffeine or alcohol requires an additional 10 to 12 oz. of water to re-hydrate you.

P.S. (USE Clean Water, Use non-refined, ocean salt ONLY )

Water-Nature's Thirst Quencher

Over half of your body is made up of water. It's in every cell and every tissue. Biological processes like circulation, digestion, absorption and excretion depend on water. It forms the foundation of blood and lymph, maintains hearty muscles and young-looking skin, lubricates joints and organs and regulates body temperature. You can't function without it.

As you grow older, it becomes vital to pay attention to your water consumption. Mature persons hold less cellular water, with a loss of 10 to 15 percent of previous capacity by the age of 65. A contributing factor is the loss of thirst sensitivity. Because water is so important for digestion, a lack of fluid in your body might make it more difficult for you to digest food. You may suffer from cramps, bloating, gas, constipation, diveritculosis or even colon cancer. Drinking more water, combined with a high-fiber diet, can prevent these problems.

To combat this loss of fluids, the answer is simple. Drink more water. Six to ten glasses of pure water each day are necessary to enhance your body's functioning. Beyond helping your digestive system, getting enough fluids will give you fresh skin, clear eyes and shining hair. Signs of hunger may be a warning flag that your body is need of a good drink. Try consuming several glasses of water before diving into a snack to see if that takes care of your craving. Because fruits are largely made up of water, they are perfect choices for a mid-afternoon treat.

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi Patch,
I drink loads of water throughout the day , probably 10+ glasses, but there is no way that I would add more salt to my diet. Table salt or the makes you describe still contain sodium and using it would create problems for me with high blood pressure.
There is so much hidden salt in what we eat and traces can be found in the most unlikely foods.
Even fresh cream, cheeses etc. has traces so I would not recommend your suggestion for anyone with high blood pressure.
Regards, Catherine.

 

[fergus]

Gary Taubes is interesting on the subject of salt.
His research told him that by halving the avarage daily intake of salt, one might lower blood pressure by 4-5mm Hg in hypertensives, and by 2mm Hg in everyone else. In other words, if your bp is up around 160-180, it's not going to make a significant diference.
It has long been known that carbohydrate rich diets cause the body to retain water and hence raise blood pressure, whereas diets which shift the emphasis to fat instead cause the body to lose water and therefore lower blood pressure.
Overall, it seems that any diet which replaces processed foods with natural foods is going to benefit people in both ways.
There will be less salt ingested, and fewer starches and sugars, so that there will often be a significant drop in blood pressure.

All the best,

fergus

 

[hanadr]

Hi Patch
It doesn't matter if it comes from the adriatic sea or underground in Cheshire, It's still good old Sodium Chloride. It's the sodium that's supposedly troublesome. you can get LOSAlt which is potassium Chloride.
They say you can use herbs to season instead, but I don't like them. Just avoiding added salt at the table is probably good enough.
Not being English by birth, I've never understood that habit of emptying half the salt shaker onto your dinner before you've even tasted it. Apart from anything else, it's discourteous to the cook.

 

[Doczoc]

Not being English by birth, I've never understood that habit of emptying half the salt shaker onto your dinner before you've even tasted it. Apart from anything else, it's discourteous to the cook.

Not sure you're gonna win many English friends with this one Hanadr LOL.

I love cooking and entertaining and must admit I hate it when people do this. although to be fair it rarely happens, I can only think of two people I know who might add salt before tasting. In fact we don't have table salt in our house, but I do ensure the food is properly seasoned before it reaches the plate.

Anyway, I bought an Omron M7, half price in Boots (which made it a few pounds cheaper than the internet prices I found and no P&P either). The readings make me in the normal range just short of the 'optimal' catergory, so no worries there. I'll keep enjoying the salt!

 

[Patch]

It doesn't matter if it comes from the adriatic sea or underground in Cheshire, It's still good old Sodium Chloride.

Table Salt is almost 100% Sodium Chloride. This is the bad stuff. All Salt is not equal. Table salt is bleached and refined so that it is pretty much pure Sodium Chloride (NaCi). All the good stuff (including Magnesium!) is stripped out until you are left with the clean, white, pure "salt".

The Celtic Sea Salt that I use is made up of all this stuff:

Chloride 50.63%
Sodium 31.88%
Magnesium 0.48%
Potassium 0.12%
Calcium 0.26%
Iron 69 ppm
Floride 4.8 ppm
pH 8.52 (10% solution)
E. Coli ND
Boron 9.9 ppm
Mercury ND <0.05 ppm
Bromide 242 ppm

Table salt is BAD STUFF. Celtic Sea salt is NOT.

 

[Trinkwasser]

Gary Taubes is interesting on the subject of salt.
His research told him that by halving the avarage daily intake of salt, one might lower blood pressure by 4-5mm Hg in hypertensives, and by 2mm Hg in everyone else. In other words, if your bp is up around 160-180, it's not going to make a significant diference.

One of the problems of statistics, that's probably true over an entire population but misses the point that some people are more sodium sensitive and in them it will have a much greater effect.