Salt or no salt

[TeflonT]

Just after I had 2 stents fitted just over 4 years ago, I was advised to cut salt out of my diet as it was considered that there was enough salt in the food already. Recently had a blood test that reveals that I’m low in sodium. Anyone shed any light on this? Cheers.

[RufusScamp]

I had the same thing. If you eat home-prepared fresh food, it probably contains very little salt. I now add a small amount to a meal that has none, (i.e. no cheese, processed meat, sauces etc.) and my sodium levels seem ok. It's worth discussing it with some of your care team.

[Bazmack48]

Hubby's sodium level was found to be very low when he was admitted to hospital with chest pains. He was referred to an Endocrinologist who changed three of his regular meds and advised to reduce his liquid intake. He has had one blood test since coming home and his sodium level has improved, due another test this week. He hasn’t added any salt to his diet.

[Heather1957]

I have never been told this, then again I rarely use salt on anything except poached eggs and tomatoes!! I don't use it in cooking either, not a lover of the taste. Not sure of my sodium levels?

[Hidden]

Personally I think the advice to cut down salt intake is well meaning but outdated and poor.

Salt causes everyone's blood pressure to spike, but it is a temporal effect. It is prolonged elevated blood pressure which is a risk to health.

Salt is essential for life, too little or too much is both harmful. Excess salt to some extent will be excreted by your body but too little is always problematic.

Now on a diet of processed foods and take outs you'll get more than enough salt, but switch to a diet rich in whole foods and it is easy to go short, especially if you have been told to avoid adding salt to foods.

A recent study (sorry no link, but you can find it on Google) carried out a controlled test of patients with T2D and put half on a low sodium diet and half on a high sodium diet, then swapped them around and did the same. The high sodium group had lower average blood pressures than the low sodium group, they also saw other improved health markers.

This was a small study, so we shouldn't put too much emphasis on it, but it is clear that not getting enough salt is really not helpful.

I hope this helps a little but it is worth discussing things through with your doctor.

[edplayer in reply to Hidden]

I have dilated cardiomyopathy and severe heart failure. I was also advised to take care to keep my salt intake low (but definitely not to cut it out completely). But this is not to reduce blood pressure - mine is already on the low side. Too much salt will cause fluid retention within the body which can lead to fluid building up in the lungs and congestive heart failure which is bad news. This is also why I have to monitor my weight daily and call the heart failure nurse immediately if it spikes up by 2kg or more over a few days. Such a quick jump in weight is very likely retained fluid. I have now observed many times that very salty meals cause my weight to jump a bit the following morning. I don't know if fluid retention is only a concern for heart failure patients. But thought it was worth highlighting that reducing salt is not just about reducing blood pressure and for some patients it remains important to get salt intake right.

[Hidden in reply to edplayer]

Thanks edplayer. Out of interest, were you advised to reduce your carbohydrate intake? Since cutting refined carbs out of my diet I do tend to find I can become dehydrated very easily. My body is definitely retaining a lot less fluid than when I was on a standard Western diet.

[edplayer in reply to Hidden]

Hi, no I wasn't and that's interesting. But I have been eating less refined carbs for a while anyway. But I definitely notice weight spikes after takeaways (just once a week, honest!!) which tend to be salty and rich in carbs and fat. Improving my diet is an ongoing project

[Hidden in reply to edplayer]

Apparently each gram of glycogen (stored carbs) requires 3 grams of water. The body can store 100-120 grams of glycogen requiring approximately a third of a kilo of water. A low carb lifestyle can remove the need for stored glycogen resulting in less retained fluid. It's probably worth talking to with your heart doc though, I wouldn't recommend making changes without doing so.

[Sunnie2day in reply to edplayer]

Nope, not just for HF patients - I have recurrent pericarditis with 'residual persistent' effusion - if I take in more than 2g salt in a 24hr period my effusion increases dramatically (and painfully, I might add). I cook from scratch and I'm very careful to buy iodised salt for the meals I need to add a very small amount of salt to, btw.

After you'd cut your salt intake, did you get to a point you could smell salt on a fork or spoon when eating something prepared by a cook who was unaware of your restriction? I can smell it 'a mile away' now (been on low-sodium/salt since the late 1990s).

[edplayer in reply to Sunnie2day]

Wow. No, I've not reached your impressively salt sensitized state yet! Are you able to eat out at all? Is there a heart disease specific benefit to iodized salt?

[Sunnie2day in reply to edplayer]

I don't think iodised salt is heart disease specific - I make sure it's in my diet for fear of thyroid goitre caused by iodine deficiency.

I can eat out but I'm very careful what I order - usually salads, or if I'm quite fortunate, the restaurant has a 'low-sodium/salt' menu I can choose from. I do love a good restaurant steak (no washing up, lol!) or burger but only if it's on a low-sodium menu offering.

[dinamariea]

If you use salt, use a good brand like ‘REAL’ salt or Himalayan salt. I have been told that vegetables, especially leafy greens and celery have naturally occurring salt. If you are low in salt or crave salt, you are probably not eating enough vegetables. This is what I was told.

[PeterpPiper]

You need a certain amount of salt especially in hot weather, just don’t pour loads ion your dinner … things usually balance themselves out .. a little sea salt is ok

[Hidden]

Fresh food here nothing processed, a little Himalayan Pink Salt only added after cooking.

[PhilGM]

Thought the reduce your salt intake advice had been revised to just not adding extra salt to food. I was told certain heart meds cause low blood sodium. Was therefore taken off Ranolazine which improved it. Worth discussing with your doctor.