all4family Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Hi everyone,I was told by my doctor to eat 10 grams of salt a day. So I said ok sure, thinking no problem I like my food a little salty! Until I started reading how much salt there was in food. What is it 500 mg=1g? or is it 1000? Either one is a LOT! I've got sea salt before, but I didn't eat it fast enough, and it got little worms in it. Can you eat sea salt instead? And is it the same grams? Thanks for the help...Salt logged Suzy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delphicdragon Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Hope this helps.There are 1000mg in a Gram. Ten grams seems like a LOT. Start slow, and work up.Sea salt is salt + some minerals. The minerals supposedly give it it's flavor. (Though if there are worms in it I wouldn't eat it.)Some things that help me get in a "shot" of salt if I'm feeling down include Cup A Soup (920mg of sodium) or any sort of fast food.Salt content is also known as sodium content. Lots of packaged foods are very high in sodium. Sara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Hi,You can take salt pills which are more easy to swallow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all4family Posted January 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Hope this helps.There are 1000mg in a Gram. Ten grams seems like a LOT. Start slow, and work up.Sea salt is salt + some minerals. The minerals supposedly give it it's flavor. (Though if there are worms in it I wouldn't eat it.)Some things that help me get in a "shot" of salt if I'm feeling down include Cup A Soup (920mg of sodium) or any sort of fast food.Salt content is also known as sodium content. Lots of packaged foods are very high in sodium. SaraHi Sara,Thank you. Yes that does help. (especially the part about the worms! You'll be happy to know I didn't keep it!) I was working on the 500 mg=1g assumption! Boy do I have a long way to go!Thanks dewormed salt logged Suzy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all4family Posted January 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Hi,You can take salt pills which are more easy to swallow.Yes that would be easier to swallow. Where do you get them? Just a drug store?ThanksSuzy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Hi,I got mine at the drugstore. They are 1 g each and it costs about 13$ for 100 pills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzysillyak Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Hi everyone,I was told by my doctor to eat 10 grams of salt a day. So I said ok sure, thinking no problem I like my food a little salty! Until I started reading how much salt there was in food. What is it 500 mg=1g? or is it 1000? Either one is a LOT! I've got sea salt before, but I didn't eat it fast enough, and it got little worms in it. Can you eat sea salt instead? And is it the same grams? Thanks for the help...Salt logged Suzy I believe your doctor made a mistake here. If you google sodium deficiency, you'll see that we need between 2500 - 3000 mg a day. My doc messed this up too. He told me to eat a bag of potato chips a day ... And I was all ready to follow his instructions when it dawned on me that potato chips don't have nearly enough sodium ... Also, you need to go slow when salt loading. It gave me headaches and caused a spike in my BP if I had too much at first .. those symptoms lasted at least a month and aren't a problem now .. Oh and it's best to use natural salts like Redmond's real salt, celtic salt and Himalayan. Sounds extreme, I know, but these have minerals in them that our bodies need ... I just add 1/4 tsp to my water 3 - 4 times a day and get the rest from my food. You get used to the flavor and actually begin to crave it ... HTH .. Marcia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all4family Posted January 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Hi everyone,I was told by my doctor to eat 10 grams of salt a day. So I said ok sure, thinking no problem I like my food a little salty! Until I started reading how much salt there was in food. What is it 500 mg=1g? or is it 1000? Either one is a LOT! I've got sea salt before, but I didn't eat it fast enough, and it got little worms in it. Can you eat sea salt instead? And is it the same grams? Thanks for the help...Salt logged Suzy I believe your doctor made a mistake here. If you google sodium deficiency, you'll see that we need between 2500 - 3000 mg a day. My doc messed this up too. He told me to eat a bag of potato chips a day ... And I was all ready to follow his instructions when it dawned on me that potato chips don't have nearly enough sodium ... Also, you need to go slow when salt loading. It gave me headaches and caused a spike in my BP if I had too much at first .. those symptoms lasted at least a month and aren't a problem now .. Oh and it's best to use natural salts like Redmond's real salt, celtic salt and Himalayan. Sounds extreme, I know, but these have minerals in them that our bodies need ... I just add 1/4 tsp to my water 3 - 4 times a day and get the rest from my food. You get used to the flavor and actually begin to crave it ... HTH .. MarciaMaybe I misunderstood him. We had the conversation on the phone, maybe he said 10g per week. What is the dose for everyone here? Well either way I'm no where near even 3 grams yet. I will ask him maybe on monday. Thanks.Also have you noticed the natural salts get little worms in them when they sit to long? I had regular salt, and sea salt in the same cupboard in my kitchen. the lid was missing from the reqular salt, but my sea salt that had been there for much less time was full of those little bugs that get in flour. I guess the bugs know which way to get there minerals too huh? Thanks for the info. Suzy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramakentesh Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 If you are taking an increased amount of salt for Orthostatic Intolerance / POTS then I would follow your doctor's orders - Sodium deficiency is a completely different kettle of fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all4family Posted January 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 If you are taking an increased amount of salt for Orthostatic Intolerance / POTS then I would follow your doctor's orders - Sodium deficiency is a completely different kettle of fish.Yes. He said I have Orthostatic Intolerance. And I know my blood pressure can drop very low. Just not all the time. For the valsalva manuver it dropped to 77/I think unreadable because when I finally was aware enough to look the second number was a -. Does your blood pressure usually go that low for the valsalva manuver? Anybody know. Thank you for the help.Suzy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzysillyak Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 IMHO, regardless of why you're taking sodium, you have to be careful not to overdo it. I got horrible headaches when I started salt loading and I was going about it slowly .. and my BP was up way too high several days in a row too .. IMHO, it's not something to play around with ..I'm only at 2500 - 3000 a day msyelf and I've been at it since May 2008. I can't imagine taking 3 -4 times this much ... You should probably google this and see for yourself ... Don't be afraid to call your doc and ask again .. and be prepared to tell him which website to look at ... the USDA probably has one he'll appreciate but from what I read, they all say basically the same thing ... I've never seen worms in my salt. EW ... Gross ... Now I'm going to be watching for it .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaneEyre9 Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Salt is only 39% sodium (the rest is chloride). This means that 10 grams of salt is only 3.9 grams of sodium (or 3900 mg). This really isn't that high considering that a 6-inch Italian BMT from Subway is 1770 mg. If you make it a footlong, it would pretty much meet your daily requirement.I had the same problem when my doctor first prescribed me 8 grams of salt per day. I was horrified!! I was trying to eat 8 grams of sodium and coming nowhere close. It was obviously gross and unhealthy to do that. Hope this helps. Someone on here helped me with this info back in August of 2005, and it was a great relief. Also, if you can't get to Subway, it helps to just add table salt to whatever you eat. I add it to toast, sandwiches, the water for boiling hot cereals...it really adds a nice flavor and you get used to it and do crave it after a while like Marcia said.Happy salting!Kristen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkoven Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Some people are more "salt sensitive" than others. When I'm not on florinef, no matter hos much salt I take in, I eliminate it, and it doesn't affect my bp. the clevelang people told me to shoot for twice as much salt as the amount recommended for others-- don't remember if if was salt or sodium, but the number was 5g? I don't really count, I just salt liberally. When I"m feeling really crummy with low bp, I get a big bowl of Asian noodle soup and add lots of soy sauce, and that perks me up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all4family Posted January 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Wow,I begining to see how different everything is for each person. Thank you for the clarification on the salt vs. the sodium. I will definatly have to ask him which one he meant. Because I'm working on grams of sodium. Guess I will just have to go to subway for lunch! Darn! Well thank you all for helping me with this. And to dizzysillyak...I would check that salt soon...I discovered the worms when I was sprinkling it on food. And I don't know how long it had been that way!!!! All I could think was how many times did I use it and not notice?!? It was very ew! Suzy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flop Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 I'm glad that people have posted about the difference in dose between sodium and salt. The UK public health advice is that 1g (or 1000mg) of salt contains 500mg of sodium.My doctor prescribed slow sodium tablets for me, 6g sodium per day.As with any "medication" with POTS I would advise slowly increasing your salt and keeping a check on your BP (too much salt will give you a high BP).I now use salt rather than sodium tablets. I have some Himalaayan salt (lovely pink colour) that I add to my drinking water. I put a pinch into each glass of water. Not enough that it tastes salty but so that the water feels different / softer in your mouth.I hope you find the right salt balance for you (and beware eating high-fat salty snacks, try plain salted pretzels instead!).Flop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all4family Posted January 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 Thank you for that advice Flop. So if it's salt I need 10 g of than that would mean 5000 mg of sodium. I am still not near that, but getting closer. I am taking it slowly, kind of out of nature. I thought if I ate the salt I would just naturally drink the fluids I need. But interestingly enough it's not making me thirsty. So I have to kind of make myself drink. I want to use a natural salt like the himalaayan. And how cool would that be pink salt! I really enjoy soft warm pretzels. I'll have to get some of those. Thanks so much.Suzy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runningshoe Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 I was told between 4-11g a day. My dr thinks salt pills are two harsh on the system. I drink chicken broth and get both the salt and the fluid that we need. You get used to the taste and I buy the organic kind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all4family Posted January 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 Thank you Lina, good idea the broth. And to think I've been buying the reduced sodium broth for my health. Thanks Suzy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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