Lower your sodium, save your life

[Tube_Fan]

Check out these articles. I knew about the effect of sodium on blood pressure for a long time, but from what I figured out recently, it appears to be a lot more important than I thought before.

Sodium, Blood Pressure, and Cardiovascular Disease
Further Evidence Supporting the American Heart Association Sodium Reduction Recommendations
https://od.lk/s/OV8yNTE0MDQzNjJf/whelton-Na.pdf

USC study showing loss of salt and body fluid stimulates kidney regeneration in mice, suggests new therapeutic approach to chronic kidney disease.
https://stemcell.keck.usc.edu/to-regene ... -the-salt/

The body needs only a small amount of sodium (less than 500 mg per day) to function properly.
https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living ... at-per-day

Tips for extreme low sodium diet
https://www.reddit.com/r/LowSodium/comm ... dium_diet/

Also search for "no salt" and "low sodium" on amazon and Ebay.

[rickenbrother]

What people really need to do is stop eating ultra-processed foods (all the "food" in the middle aisles of supermarkets) and eat real, whole foods. Then you'd actually need to add a small amount of sea salt (not table salt) to your food every day.

[admin]

Joey, those are powerful words. When it comes to salt, a whole lotta shaken is not a good thing.

[jps]

We eat that healthily for the most part (I am NOT giving up my ice cream ). Usually Asian, sometimes Mexican or Mediterranean.

[rickenbrother]

Joey, those are powerful words. When it comes to salt, a whole lotta shaken is not a good thing.

Especially if the whole lotta shakin' going on is regualr table salt.
I should also have mentioned that people should cut down their consumption of fast food. Those are real salt bombs.

[admin]

Joey: Yes, your comments are most responsible. Still I see many like the late Jimmy Buffet, looking for that "lost shaker of salt."

[cjj]

Joey: Yes, your comments are most responsible. Still I see many like the late Jimmy Buffet, looking for that "lost shaker of salt."

I prefer the margaritas... Without the salt...

[iiipopes]

The Star Trek TOS episode where the salt monster kills people by leaching all the sodium out of their bodies is relevant here. Yes, too much salt in a person's diet has well-documented detrimental effects. That said, there must be a balance. A person doesn't need much, but does need a small amount of sodium in order to maintain muscle function with the calcium cycle and to provide electrolyte for other functions of the body that substitute minerals (potassium, magnesium, etc.) just can't do, although those minerals are needed in their own way and amounts.

So, yes, leave the salt shaker on the table. Avoid foods that are inherently high in salt. Review all food labels to find hidden salt. Cook fresh as you can with the minimum of salt necessary to bring out the flavor and help vegetables soften. Use herbs and spices for real flavor. Take a cooking class if you have to. Re-train yourself about what "real" food tastes like without being masked by a blanket of salt.

After years of doing this, I have a fairly low-sodium diet, and all my numbers are in the range my primary physician prefers.

Remember: balance: cut out excess, intake as required (for example - you will need a little more after significant perspiration activities).

[admin]

The Star Trek TOS episode where the salt monster kills people by leaching all the sodium out of their bodies is relevant here. Yes, too much salt in a person's diet has well-documented detrimental effects. That said, there must be a balance. A person doesn't need much, but does need a small amount of sodium in order to maintain muscle function with the calcium cycle and to provide electrolyte for other functions of the body that substitute minerals (potassium, magnesium, etc.) just can't do, although those minerals are needed in their own way and amounts.

So, yes, leave the salt shaker on the table. Avoid foods that are inherently high in salt. Review all food labels to find hidden salt. Cook fresh as you can with the minimum of salt necessary to bring out the flavor and help vegetables soften. Use herbs and spices for real flavor. Take a cooking class if you have to. Re-train yourself about what "real" food tastes like without being masked by a blanket of salt.

After years of doing this, I have a fairly low-sodium diet, and all my numbers are in the range my primary physician prefers.

Remember: balance: cut out excess, intake as required (for example - you will need a little more after significant perspiration activities).

Scott: Excellent comments. You are right. Balance is the key. During my undergraduate studies I had a colleague that rationed food to the extreme. He would not eat anything that he considered unnecessary. How wrong he was! His diet consisted of very low sodium as he had limited money for food. We nearly lost him following a couple of weeks of hot weather, too much tennis and no salt. He bounced back quite quickly once he made sure he ate the required amount of salt.

[rickenbrother]

I drink a lot of water and try to eat a minimally processed food diet as possible, which consists of real, whole foods, which are naturally low in sodium, if any. I need to add a couple of grains of sea salt to water, coffee, or tea a few times a day, or I'll lack energy and get leg and foot cramps at night. Going to a restaurant, a party, or having a meal at someone else's home is when the diet goes out the window. I avoid chain restaurants.

[Tube_Fan]

Daily Nighttime Melatonin Reduces Blood Pressure in Male Patients With Essential Hypertension
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161 ... d%20P=0.80).

Oral melatonin reduces blood coagulation activity: a placebo-controlled study in healthy young men
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1828916 ... oung%20men

[rickenbrother]

Joey: Yes, your comments are most responsible. Still I see many like the late Jimmy Buffet, looking for that "lost shaker of salt."

Margaritas are too sweet. I prefer an occasional shot of tequila and skip the salt.

[cjj]

Joey: Yes, your comments are most responsible. Still I see many like the late Jimmy Buffet, looking for that "lost shaker of salt."

Margaritas are too sweet. I prefer an occasional shot of tequila and skip the salt.

That's because the "modern" versions use cheap "margarita mix" which has a lot of sugar. I make 'em with tequila, a bit if orange liqueur (Cointreau) and fresh squeezed limes...

But, back to the salt subject, my mother had high blood pressure so she didn't add much, if any salt to things. Me being a lazy teen, didn't bother wasting time with adding salt, I just wanted to eat.

So, I've never been much for salt. Most restaurant (and ready prepared) food just tastes too salty to me. I got my wife on the low salt thing too, probably due to me complaining that things were too salty...