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Natural ideas for more salt intake?


SammyJo

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I tried the saltstick tablets and they make my headaches a lot worse. Currently trying NormaLyte packets and Banana bag packets. I eat pretty healthy food, vegetarian, etc. so getting salt in my food is difficult unless I literally just pour salt all over the food... any smart ideas for natural salt intake? For example I read from another post someone liked to eat sunflower seeds. Something I would have never thought of! Any idea is great I'd love to hear everyone's little tricks and tips! 

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I try to combine higher sodium foods in different combinations to add on the sodium. I try to eat healthy too because of my other autoimmune issues, lots of fruits and veggies, so I know it's difficult to get a lot of sodium that way. Some of my go to foods are: 

cereals, bread, tortillas

cheese, pickles

tomato: salsa or marinara sauce

canned foods, like garbanzo or black beans; soups

deli meat or gardenburgers

sauces like Asian style pad Thai or soy sauce, poppy seed vinaigrette 

So I will do something like a stir fry with fresh veggies and a sauce, or black beans,tortillas, cheese and salsa. A turkey sandwich with the bread, meat, cheese and pickles adds up to almost 1000mg of sodium. Packaged foods and frozen foods also have a lot of sodium. I also just found organic Gatorade which I'm pretty excited about. It has the sodium but cuts out all of the food dyes etc. 

 

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Thanks that was very helpful! I heard vitamin water has a lot of salt but I'm worried about the sugar content. I loveeee soy sauce I would have never thought about that! 

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I literally put some salt on a teaspoon, put it in my mouth and wash it straight down with water. If you put it nearish the back of your tongue and don't close your mouth until you are swallowing the water, you don't tend to taste it. I find it helps a lot to do this in the morning. For some reason it can make me feel sick if I do it later in the day, but no problems with that in the morning.

 

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My neurogenic bladder has been acting up recently and I read on an interstitial cystitis website that drinking a glass of water with 1 teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate, baking soda, helps plus it has a high sodium content.  No potassium but I eat a banana or two every day.  Salt replacement also has a significant amount of potassium.  

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I have found some good foods include tomato juice or v8,  chicken broth, bagels, pretzels (high salt to carb ratio compared to other snack foods). I also add 1/8 to 1/4 tsp salt to a serving of watermelon and other fruit, tomatoes, oatmeal, broccoli, and chocolate (ice cream too!) . These foods can take a lot of salt without tasting salty. I usually eat a fairly low carb, low refined sugar diet (aside from a serving of pretzels every day...) and get 4000 to 6000 mg sodium daily without Gatorade, salt tabs, etc. 

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My general advice is figure out which foods work for you, that you like the taste of, that don't make you sick.  Read packages of foods you like.  Pick the ones that are high in sodium.

I need a TON of salt to function in my worst times. I don't love processed foods (which are the ones that have the most salt) - for multiple reasons. Many are processed and high in calories.  I like carbs, but when I am sick, too many carbs - chips, pretzels - make me worse. The sugary drinks with artificial colors and corn syrup - though they work - are also a turn off. And I really don't want to change my food to add salt.  When I tried salt pills, I threw up.

For me, the ONLY way I can get to the POTS recommended salt levels is to drink broth.  After lots of experimentation, Better Than Bullion (organic) is the brand I use.  I buy it at Whole Foods. It doesn't taste great, but not awful either.  

Edited by yogini
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  • 1 month later...

I add a salt tab to my smoothies. It's nice because there are so many flavors and natural sweetness that covers up the saltiness. I just dissolve one in a little bit of water and dump it into the blender with everything  else. I don't even taste the difference. Mixing it into things helps me take it in slower, because if I just swallow the salt tab I get super nauseous. 

I also drink diluted Gatorade. Pure Gatorade has way too much sugar. But I do a ratio of 1/3 Gatorade and 2/3 water, plus a pinch of salt mixed in, and I find that helps immensely. Mostly because I HAVE to drink my electrolytes. Adding salt to my food doesn't do much other than give me stomach cramps and I still don't absorb fluids the way I should. But if I'm taking in the electrolytes with the fluid, it's more effective. 

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