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Type 2 Salt

Munkki

Munkki

Well-Known Member
Messages
544
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Good evening all,

With all the wrong advice by GPs and nurses, I am doubting healthcare professionals when it comes to the advice about salt I was following for a long time.

A few years before I was diagnosed with diabetes I was having high blood pressure. I was told to reduce salt, which I did, increasingly. When I started making my own bread, I managed to spend days with hardly eating any salt. At times I even had strong headaches, which disappeared when I had a bit of salt. My blood pressure lowered somewhat, but the docs were never really happy, and continued to advise me to cut down on that salt...

I have some questions now, and I do not expect you to answer them all. If you can point me into the right direction, or give me some better nutritional recommendations, I would be grateful.

- Can the high blood pressure back then have been an early symptom of my diabetes?
- Can the absence of salt have made it even more difficult for my body to digest the (increased amount of) carbs, particularly sugar?
- Is the advice to reduce salt consumption to be taken with a grain of salt, similarly to the carb advice?
- Are there any tests I can take, or anything else, say other conditions, I can look into?

I find it very difficult to reduce several food groups at once. Hence, when I reduce carbs, I do eat more salt than before. My BP seems to be okay, not ideal.

Many thanks, and have a good night x
 
Hi. To my knowledge salt has no relevance to diabetes. Yes, we are told to reduce salt to avoid high blood pressure. In my personal opinion the effect will be small and irrelevant for many, but who am I say. I grew up in an era when we drowned our food in salt and I'm still alive. So, I can only suggest you form your own opinion and test your blood pressure from time to time and if it's OK with your salt level why worry.
 
The salt issue started years ago with one of the news reports which said something like "Research has shown that excessive salt causes narrowing of the arteries". From what I have seen it does. I have a salt addicted sister with stents but she still puts half a salt cellar on her lunch.

For some reason people got the idea that salt is bad and tried to do without it altogether. They forgot the "Research" said "excessive salt".

Salt is essential for life and the recommendation is that you consume up to 6g of it every day. People that try to do without any salt at all are prone to passing out and some of them have died. The reason you don't get an immediate enema in hospital is it reduces your electrolytes and if you didn't eat salt in the first place you run out of it and may die.

If soldiers go to hot countries they are issued with salt tablets since sweating reduces their salt.

"Can the high blood pressure back then have been an early symptom of my diabetes?"

All sorts of things can cause high blood pressure. Overweight, frightened by white coated medical staff. etc. My DN has just discovered that if she treats me for anxiety with beta blockers I have perfect blood pressure. If we relied on the one reading she took in her office I should have exploded by now. (Over 200 systolic)

"Can the absence of salt have made it even more difficult for my body to digest the (increased amount of) carbs, particularly sugar?"

No idea but I think that if you stop fiddling with it It's bound to get better.
 
As we have long known, all things (except Carbs :eek:) in moderation.

With blood pressure, the biggest culprit is excess weight, followed by 21st century life styles. I think Salt is a long way down the list.
 
Thanks. Yes. I believe salt in moderation makes a lot of sense. I have not started to add a lot of salt to my food, but I would not avoid cheese, meats or, say store-bought salads/mayo/whatever because there is salt in it.
 
I actually cut out all salt from my diet and I was having lots of problems with dizziness but as soon as I added salt back in the dizziness was gone. I think its only an issue if you absolutely drench everything in salt and you eat a lot of processed foods.
 
Squire Fulwood said:
.
If soldiers go to hot countries they are issued with salt tablets since sweating reduces their salt..
Click to expand...

Yes I spent a year in the middle east with my soldier father as a child and was fed salt tablets. And my body has continued since then to feel the need for it though not in such huge rather yukky quantities! . Both I and my husband were told to avoid salt due to blood pressure issues, so we stopped adding it in when cooking and I just add what I want on my plate. Being on a low carb diet, and losing plenty of fluid I think this love affair with salt has probably stood me in good stead.

Robbity

PS AFAIK salt has bee considered important to us throughout history...
 
I can't talk for the peoples experiences, I stopped adding salt to my foods over 34 yrs years ago when in my early twenties. It hasn't prevented me from developing high blood pressure or diabetes. Been fit and healthy
I developed gestational diabetes and high blood pressure. I was also under a lot of stress at that time. Developed T2 and been treated for high blood pressure for the last approximate decade. Still have very low intake of salt. I may actually put it back into my diet,
 
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