HELP ...I need low salt

[patsher]

I just yesterday smoked some pork ribs without putting ANYTHING on them -- just removed the membrane from the back side, and put them in the smoker. Low and slow. They were absolutely delicious! Not a hint of seasoning or spice anywhere.

My husband has cut down his use of salt also, and his taste buds have adapted. Now he fusses at me for "over-salting" foods, so I'm trying to learn, too.

The point is, attitude seems to be key in learning to live happily with less salt intake.

[DLCTEX]

Just last week The CDC said they have been in error when recommending low salt diets and that many need more salt in their diets. In the same vein, the latest study showed that men who took the Omega 3 oils and ate more fish were 71% more likely to have prostate cancer.

[Char-Gar]

I have always salted all of my food and did not see how folks could exist on a salt free diet. Until I ended up in the hospital having a heart cath four years ago. The result was my blood pressure inside my heart was twice the normal level. My Cardiologist put me on meds and told me to quit adding salt to my food.

I thought life was over and I might as well go out to the graveyard and surrender as life without salt seemed to be impossible.

I stopped adding salt to my food at the table and just went with whatever was in the food. There was a period of angst and adjustment, but when I got the other side of that, I found myself not really missing the extra salt. I take my BP twice a day and it remains in the normal range.

So my counsel is just "cowboy up" and learn to deal with it. Trying to find substitutes and all of the food games is just a temporary stay of execution. Gut it up, get on the other side, and go on living.

Life, particularly as you get older, is a head game. You can't have everything the way you want it. The object of the game is to learn, live and be happy with the hand life has dealt you.

[mold maker]

Since you can't avoid sodium when eating out, drink a full glass of water, both before and after eating. You'll get exercise to and from the john, and your kidneys will eliminate much of the extra salt. While not the whole answer, it will help you avoid extremes.

[GSM]

Eat slower. Try to get the real flavor of food not manipulated with salt. Sounds weird, but it is different. Has to be adjusted to over time. When you can pass up the salt shaker margarine/butter on a baked potato to get the flavor of a good potato you're there.

Works for a lot of other food - shows how good and not so good (mostly WM stuff) food tastes.

Does not seem to work in the summer. Salt cravings get bad in the 100F heat (potato chips, margarita glasses...)

[MaryB]

Why eat bland food when herbs and spices can help the lack of salt?

[Artful]

Bingo - remember up thru the middle ages, salt was precious and was even used as money. Most just used herbs and spices they could cultivate or hunt down in the woods.

Any one else remember "worth his salt" as a saying - this was from roman times when they paid you in salt.

[handyman25]

Switch to sea salt. Regulate your intake to 700 to 800 mil a day, its not that hard. Use spices like cinnamon, cayenne etc. No canned foods, No packaged foods, No fast foods ever. Work out every day. 30 to 60 seconds of hard work and 2 minutes of easy work out. Buy hard I mean HARD, if you can not make it to 30 seconds then it is too hard if you make it to 60 seconds then it is too easy. Then doing the same work out but easy for 2 minutes to let your body rest and build. Do this 6 to 7 times or reps. BUY the following books, The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf, The virgin diet by jj virgin and read them you will learn a lot. Get your weight down where it should be and your body in shape and eat the right foods and you will not need the blood pressure medications. They have bad side effects.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I've had High BP since I was 20...I'm 48 now.
It's a long crazy story, that I ain't gonna go into tonight.
But I've learned that salt isn't always a problem with High BP.
some people are salt sensative...some aren't.
I don't seem to be, but as I get older, I notice if I have too much salt in a day, my lower legs/feet swell more. they tend to swell anyway, just worse if I have too much salt.

The several CDC reports about low salt diets may be bad for you is a good indicator for me that I am right about it doesn't always cause high BP. I do watch my salt intake, but I am not a NAZI about it. I rarely add salt to food, and when I eat processed food, like canned soup or corned beef, I tend to use it as an ingrediant to other food and count the sodium.
Some things i really like...like some aged cheeses that are high in salt, I just limit my intake of those. AND a Hamburger made from local Beef and ground up by the local butcher and fried in a smokin' hot cast iron pan to medium rare just has to have some course ground sea salt on it. I don't do that everyday...but I did do that today
Good luck,
Jon

[MaryB]

I made up a seasoning mix for beef/bison/chicken/pork... base is equal parts salt/garlic powder/onion powder then about 1/4 of that total amount black pepper, some ground rosemary, ground celery seed, and a tiny bit of ground dill seed. Overall salt level is low even when used heavy and it sears to a nice crust

[gbrown]

I made up a seasoning mix for beef/bison/chicken/pork... base is equal parts salt/garlic powder/onion powder then about 1/4 of that total amount black pepper, some ground rosemary, ground celery seed, and a tiny bit of ground dill seed. Overall salt level is low even when used heavy and it sears to a nice crust

I make basically the same thing less the salt to season ground meat for burgers and meat loaf. In 2 # of ground meat I put a tablespoon of seasoning salt (brand doesn't really matter). I'm not on any dietary restrictions, just decided not to use so much salt about 30 years ago. No salt on the table, use fresh or frozen vegetables, add a little salt to some recipes that don't have another source (like JonB says, if your adding canned soup to a recipe, you don't need to add any additional). Same with making a tomato sauce using canned tomatoes--they already have plenty of salt in them. I'm always amazed about the people I see who add salt BEFORE tasting their food.