Question - sodium

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Barb L.

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My DH was just put on a low sodium died, question is - would unsalted butter be better for him than like the Promise brand they served in the hospital ? I have never been too concerned but now I have to.
Also how about evoo - yes or no ?
 
yes it would be better, Salt = NaCl in this case, Na= Sodium (Natrium was it`s old name hence Na).
so non salted butter is best, also evoo shouldn`t contain any sodium either.
 
Also switch to sea salt. There are other salts besides sodium in it so you get less sodium with all the flavor (I prefer the flavor of sea salt).
 
Jeff salt is salt (NaCl). Also all salt (again talking about the kind you put on your food) is sea salt.

Barb, these are questions your DH should be asking his doctor.
 
switch to Lo-Salt it`s 66% KCl (Potassium chloride) and only 33% Sodium chloride, although that`s Not an excuse to use 3x the amount! :D

be aware of Hidden Sodium in foods also IE/ E621 is monoSODIUMglutamate, there is Sodium sulphites and Nitrites and Acetates and Diacetates and citrates etc... used in foods, Often hidden as `E` numbers.

gimme a sec and I`ll see if I can find a table for you...
 
Hmmm... Thinking about it, it would be best to see the doctor before switching to Lo-Salt first, get him checked for a hyper kalemia propensity, most people will have no problem using lo-salt as lifestyle choice when in good health (Potassium is good for the Heart), but I`m assuming the low sodium is due to a hypertensive condition, so it`s always best to check 1`st ;)
 
Thanks all for your help, his doctor did tell him low salt, no canned stuff at all. Can't believe all the sodium in so many things, the net has many low salt recipes- (The Heart Association ) This is all new cooking for me.
 
Barb, yes this is going to be new cooking for you - cutting way down and I mean way down on the sodium means keeping track of everything per serving. Canned foods are out - include frozen. Some foods are naturally high in sodium, spinach and tomatoes come to mind. Have him ask the doctor what low soldium means - doctors are generally vague about diatary matters as they generally have no training.

Be careful of the Lo Salt option with potassium substitute because potassium too has to be maintained and in a specific range. Otherwise, like death - heart! You might get a Food Counter book that helps you keep track of sodium and if you look hard enough for one maybe potassium also.

This recipe book is well worth having and worth reading and using. It's "The No-Salt, Lowest - Sodium Cookbook" by Donald A. Gazzaniga. I think I got my copy from Amazon. Depending on the severity of the problem and how low sodium must go this has to be a totally new approach to cooking. Sad but true - even have to watch innocent things like milk - high sodium content.

Good luck (I really do recommend the book - Mr. Gazzaniga literally saved his life by learning and developing the recipes and book, he was almost dead. And the recipes are good - not phony!)

All the Best to you and DH as well. Email if you would like a good sample recipe from the book.
 
Sea Salt?

That Campbell TV adv that is running about their low sodium sea salt breakthrough in their soup - I don't believe a word of it. Nope!


Jeff salt is salt (NaCl). Also all salt (again talking about the kind you put on your food) is sea salt.

Barb, these are questions your DH should be asking his doctor.
 
My DH was just put on a low sodium died, question is - would unsalted butter be better for him than like the Promise brand they served in the hospital ? I have never been too concerned but now I have to.
Also how about evoo - yes or no ?

As far as the Sodium (NaCl - Salt) content - no difference, Promise (which is an artificial butter flavored spread) and unslated butter both contain 0gm Sodium per serving.

Promise Buttery Spread contains 8g fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 0g Trans fat and 0mg cholesterol per serving; Promise Light spread contains 5g fat, 1g saturated fat, 0g trans fat and 0mg cholesterol per serving (they didn't mention the Soduim content).

Unsalted Land O' Lakes butter (the one I use) has 11g fat, 7g saturated fat, 0g Trans fat, 30mg cholesterol, 0mg Sodium per serving.

The EVOO bottle that I have - 14g fat, 2g Saturated fat, 0g Trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 0mg Sodium.

So - health wise (fat content and types of fats they contain) with nothing to do with salt (they are all 0 sodium) - EVOO, Promise, Unsalted butter in that order.

To LOWER the sodium content in DH's diet - stay away from canned foods (salt is a food preservative). Opt for fresh or frozen vegetables - and think about how you can add flavor by using herbs and spices to replace the salt. Also, ask the Doc for a target level for sodium reduction ... the current RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) is about 2,400 mg/day (about 1 teaspoon table salt).

Whatever you do - DO NOT just grab the "salt substitutes" without looking at the contents first .... if they contain POSTASSIUM CHLORIDE (a different form of salt) they can be as deadly, or more so, than SODIUM CHLORIDE! It can result in something called hyperkalemia - another life threatening condition just as serious as hypertension. Talk to your DH's Doc first! If you want to use potassium chloride as a salt substitute the Doc may need to add a calcium suppliment to buffer it.

My uncle had congestive heart failure and I had to help my aunt learn to adjust her cooking style to reduce the salt content in his diet ... it wasn't that hard, and he never missed the salt - except for chips-n-dips while watching football or baseball on the weekends - but we worked that out, too.

That Campbell TV adv that is running about their low sodium sea salt breakthrough in their soup - I don't believe a word of it. Nope!

Yeah, me too! The only advantage of sea salt is the flavor of the minerals in it. It is just as "salty" as any other form of salt (NaCL). But - it does make for a good marketing gimmic for those who don't know anything about food, nutrition, chemistry, general science or cooking!
 
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Also switch to sea salt. There are other salts besides sodium in it so you get less sodium with all the flavor (I prefer the flavor of sea salt).

Sea salt is primarily sodium chloride. Yes, sea salt does contain other mineral salts - but they are only "trace" amounts. Yes, they can be flavorful ... but many times the minerals that flavor the salt is not from the sea but from the clay beds where they are evaporated - like the gray salts from France - some of the pink and black sea salts from Hawaii actually contain pulvarized volcanic rock to impart the color and mineral flavors.

I'm sure that sea salt derived from the East River in NY would be most flavorful ....
 
Barb, you are best to avoid as many salt items as you possibly can as there will be many items that have a natural saltiness or are just extremely hard to avoid. He is going to find the food very bland - you really do notice when you suddenly have your veges and pasta cooked without any salt in the water! Try upping the spices or garlic to compensate. Coat the veges in a bit of oil and garlic for a variation, or honey and balsamic vinegar (assuming no salt is added).

Cheeses often contain a lot of salt. So be wary there too.

Just remember also that he is on a low sodium diet not a NO sodium diet, so the trick here is wherever you can avoid the salt do so, that way he can still get some of the foods with natural salt in his diet (occasionally). If he has no-salt veges, he can have a few cheese and biscuits for dessert every so often. It is a balancing act.

With the change in his diet, you may also find that he changes the way he drinks too as he may not be as thirsty. A side point that may or not be true, when my father came out to Perth in the 50's, he found the beer here to be almost salty, inasmuch as you needed to have another beer after the first cos the thirst wasn't quenched. Much different from the English ales he was used to. Now whether they added something to the beer here then to increase sales or what, I don't know. I also freely admit to not having a clue about what goes into beer (past the obvious) and don't drink the stuff, but it might be worth posing the question to some of the beer-makers at DC if DH is a beer drinker.

You both will possibly find the change very difficult at first but after a while you adjust but the biggest warning I can give to him is, don't indulge in salt items two meals or two days in a row. It does not take long for your taste buds to reacclimatise. I had to avoid salt for four years while on dialysis so as not to drink too much but I love seafood, Asian and cheese, so I had to walk a careful line.

Good luck!
 
Another two cents worth Barb, Without all the salt the food will taste sweeter - that's the big difference. In prepared foods we buy so much salt is added to mask the miserable quality of food to begin with. It doesn't have to be that way but for store bought it is.

A sweeter tasting food will soon be adjusted to and as the natural flavor of the veges, grains, meats, etc emerges they will actually begin to taste better because one is tasting the food and not a handful of salt. Once the taste has been conditioned to much less salt I found that "normal" recipes and processed foods would actually gag me from the saltyness. That's a fact. Hope this helps you and your DH.
 
That's very true David. It is very difficult to eat the over-processed foods after restricting your salt intake. I went over to roasting my veges mainly for that better flavour.
 
Wow, you all are awesome, thanks for all the input. Doctor told him to keep it around 2,000mgs. He has never salted food for years, just what was in the cooking. So now its really me doing all the changing !
Luckily there is a lot of info on the net, been doing much reading.
He has always lived to eat ( over-weight) now its time to eat to live.

One more thing I remember, his Dr. said no salt substitutes.

 
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I've found all of this info very helpful----I try and watch my sodium intake because I have treated hypertension (not because my doctor has told me to cut back on sodium but I know that it helps) and now it's very difficult to eat at any fast food place because everything tastes so salty that it's almost inedible---I will stab my son's hand with a fork when he tries to salt our nacho chips at a Mexican restaurants--Ha! Anyway getting back to Barb's thread, glad to know about the different margarine/butter spreads......Mike--you're awesome.........
 
Adjusting to a low-sodium diet can be a challenge, but it can be done. When I was pregnant with my first child in 1969, about halfway through my pregnancy, I experienced severe bloating and heavy water retention. Rather than use medication to treat the problem, my physician advised me to restrict my sodium intake severely. That meant only fresh and/or frozen fruits, vegetables and proteins. I was never much of a "salter" for my food, so I didn't have to adjust much in that area.

As soon as I began eating as he advised, the water problem essentially went away. I've kept to that style of eating and, if I need canned broths or canned fruits and veggies, I reach for the ones I canned myself. Actually they taste better than the ones commercially produced IMO.

Best wishes, Barb, on making the change. It can be done. It'll just take a little time.
 
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