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Please help me with my newly prescribed LOW SODIUM DIET! Everything has sodium in it, so I've discovered. I've cut all the obvious high salt foods, but this is hard. I've also got to lose about 30 lbs, and I am struggling! You'd think I could get it together since my life depends on it.
Any advice?
Marisa,
I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in August. Diuretics brought a lot of water weight off quickly. Since then, I've been eating low-sodium and losing weight. Low-sodium is very hard -- even harder because some low-fat or low-cal options are actually higher in sodium than the regular food. There are times that I have to choose between low-fat, low-calorie, and low-sodium. I take lots of time shopping because I read every label. And I have to shop 4-5 different stores because each carries different low-sodium items.
Some of my "secrets" are some salsas (various by brand and by flavor) -- good for snacks (with no-salt tortilla chips) or used as a condiment or glaze. frozen veggies (without all the sauces and butter), low-sodium tuna, and Simply Jif peanut butter. Swiss cheese and parmesan are lower in sodium. I have also discovered Boar's Head had reduced sodium deli meats and swiss cheese.
It takes hard work and planning, but it can be done.
Thank you joy2day
I hadn't heard of Boar's Head, and I love Jif!
Marisa
Simply Jif is less sugar and sodium than regular Jif. Still has fat and calories. A little PB on an english muffin (I like the Thomas Lite's) makes a pretty good breakfast for me. Fiber is high, plus protein.
When I got out of the hospital, 2 of my friends came over to help me with shopping and cleaning. One of them went to the store for a few things. She was gone over 2 hours because she had to read every label. It opened her eyes. We can do this!!!!! Low-salt snacks, watch for salt in seasonings, really watch deli-style meats, Discover Mrs. Dash seasonings and marinades and cooking from scratch. I'm down over 50 lbs -- and that doesn't count all the water weight they brought off with the diuretics.
Hi Marisa -- I've been on low sodium, low fat, low carbs for 2 years now -- other than that, I can eat anything, right!!
Plain rice cakes and PB are great -- WASA crackers are my "bread" a lot of the time; the Sourdough style has 45 mg sodium per good sized cracker -- Amy's low sodium soups are OK; they run between 280-340 mg per cup. The lentil is good as is the split pea. Another trick: instead of going to Round Table, etc. try a mom/pop pizza place and have them make you one with low sauce, lite on the mozzerella, fresh tomatoes, spinach, onions, and some tiny shrimp. That's yummy. I use the no-salt tortilla chips with salsa a lot. Other than that, we have pretty much discontinued using any packaged or frozen foods -- it's just ridiculous how much sodium is in things. I use a lot of garlic and spices and for the most part (at least now) don't miss salty stuff anymore. I will admit to the occasional hankering for black olives (I don't buy them anymore :( I don't salt anything I cook -- the shaker is on the table if anyone needs to add it on their plate. I try to keep mine to 500 mg per meal on average and so far have been able to avoid going on a diuretic. Good luck! Hugs, laura
When my son was born I decided I was not going to teach him a few things that I had to unlearn (like bread is something we use in order to have a base for fatty spreads and salt is something we apply before we taste anything). Partly I did this because he was a boy and I understood that given his gender he might need to watch these things some day! Another thing to unlearn! ;-(
I haven't got an HF diagnosis or a low sodium diet prescription yet, but I'm sure they are on their way, so I've been keeping an eye on the sodium and going through the food counter book to see if there are any surprises in there (of course, there always are). I looked at my low sodium chicken broth base and it's still really high. I'm discovering that just like fat and calories, there's truly healthier products and then there's clever marketing! I do note that the health food stores and some brands are genuinely low in sodium.
When my son was born I decided I was not going to teach him a few things that I had to unlearn (like bread is something we use in order to have a base for fatty spreads and salt is something we apply before we taste anything). Partly I did this because he was a boy and I understood that given his gender he might need to watch these things some day! Another thing to unlearn! ;-(
So far as fast food, TV dinners and frozen entrees go, I think the companies should have to put a health warning label on anything over 1000 mg!
Best of luck. Try to fill up on vegetables! Treat yourself and then go out there and burn it off!
Best wishes, Penny
Hi Marisa,
I love the individual packes frozen fish filets in a box sold at BJ'S, broiled or baked with lemon. I also use the Knudsen low sodium, low fat, vegetable. A little pricey, but good for something different. They also make good low sodium juices. I like the blueberry, cranberry and pomgranate.
I do find it a struggle some times, to stick with it, but I know how healthy it is for my heart.
Good luck,
Carol
Marisa,
One thing I do know for sure is there are virtually no prepared foods in the grocery that are low salt - even the ones marked low fat have ridiculous amounts of salt. We cook from scratch almost everything, but I'm lucky that I like to cook. Also, try to incorporate as much fresh food as possible -fruits and vegetables and lots of them will go a long way in your new diet.
I was sorting through a stack of medical papers and found a handout they gave me at the hospital. I haven't been to all of these sites, but you might find something useful here -
www.abouthf.org
- extensive low sodium diet module
www.lowsaltfoods.com
-says its primarily a commercial site for its books but has lots of free info
www.nhlbi.nih.gov/public/heart/hbp/dash
-eating plan for Hypertension
Also, they list the following that you might want to look at as well-
"If you are interested in very low fat diets that may reverse heart disease - well researched and successful lifestyle change programs include:
The Pritikin Program : www.pritikin.com
Dean Ornish Lifestyle Program: www.ornish.com"
The Pritikin diet is well defined at
http://www.pritikin.com/pritikin/pritikin_EatingPlan.shtml
The Ornish diet has recipes that do sound good, starting at
http://www.webmd.com/content/pages/17/99886
My husband's heart surgeon who did his cabg 8 years ago told us then that there were diets that would reverse his CAD - John was not interested then but I think we will incorporate more of these ideas into our regular diet.
Good luck with the change, you can do it!
Laura
And here's an interesting take on fast foods (the worst high-salt/high fat/high everything culprits) - did you know that South L.A. has become the world's first community to ban fast food chains?
"...Dr. Larry Frank, a professor at the University of British Columbia and an authority on the relationship between health and urban design, a thriving research field, admires the South L.A. initiative. "It's your classic obese-ogenic environment — conducive to obesity in terms of urban design and food options," he says. "They're sitting ducks," he says of South L.A. residents.
To read more.... http://www.macleans.ca/science/health/article.jsp?content=20080813_34253_34 253
Oh Marisa, I'm your girl! I've actually been working on a low sodium, low fat, low cholesterol cookbook, I can pretty much make any meal, 300lm-500ml or less :D. A few tips:
Invest in herbs & spices!!! They are low in sodium and will bring flavor to your food!
Like another of the ladies said fresh fruits and veggies are your friends they have a lot of fiber, protein, low in sodium, and are filling! But limit celery, it has about 15-20 ml per stalk and they can add up!
Go for egg substitute vs real eggs (they have less sodium)
Organic foods generally have less sodium
Oooo Natural Peanutbutter has NO sodium!
Switch to whole wheat pastas wherever possible, they are more filling and have more fiber.
Mrs. Dash makes GREAT marinades and seasonings with no salt or msgs. My fav is the hamburger one!
Stay away from salt substitutes they have too much potassium
Stay away from condiments, in particular Ketchup!
There is such a thing as no salt added products (chips, canned tomatoes, etc) but be weary they'll sometimes still have sodium, so read the labels to determine if they are right for you!
Oh, my personal favorite..."Pinch of Salt" Fritos and Lay's Potato Chips...delish and low in salt!
Read all your labels! You'd be surprised what you'll find!
If you (any of you) need any recipes message me!
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