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katie20356
katie20356

I have had Meniere's for about 18 months and have just been told to reduce my salt intake to 1g daily. I need some help on this as this week I've only really eaten chicken and salad. I made soup today but without stock cubes is awful. I know I will need to go back to cooking from scratch but still need some flavouring and stocks. Any advice would be great fully received.

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • naomi68931
    naomi68931 katie20356

    Posted

    Hello Katie,

    I have been on such a diet (also no alcohol and a minimum of caffeine...just some from dark chocolate) for more than 10years and it has improved the quality of my life greatly.  I have found that cooking with lots of herbs helps.  The two ingredients that seem to "mimic" salt the best are dill and lemons.  I use lots of dill when I make soup and lots of lemon juice on fish and chicken.  When I make soup I use low salt stock that I get from stores that carry it or I use water and lots of extra herbs.  I also have found Mrs. Dash products (the ones without salt) helpful.  I have shelves filled with dried herbs and use a ton of them on all my food.  

    Good luck with this new way of eating...it really helps.

     

    • katie20356
      katie20356 naomi68931

      Posted

      Thank you for responding. I am also off caffeine and alcohol. With regard to salt, do you eat fish? I have checked so many packs now and it seems its there naturally. Also which cheese have you found to be the best. I admire you, 10 years is a long time with such restrictions. I am making my own salt free bread which is good but its snacks I find tricky.

      Sorry to ask so many questions, Happy New Year

      Katie

    • naomi68931
      naomi68931 katie20356

      Posted

      I do eat fresh fish...not frozen...as frozen fish has salt added as a preservative.  The only canned tuna I eat is from a store that carries low sodium tuna (Trader Joe's).  I eat small amounts of cheese with the lowest sodium possible (usually about 180 mg. for 1oz).  It is difficult to maintain this restricted diet but I made a decision to make food less important in my life so I could enjoy the rest of it.  When I was in the midst of frequent vertigo attacks and feeling sick most of the time eating food I like became less important.  The diet has changed my life for the better so I stay with it. It's well worth it.

  • christine_35821
    christine_35821 katie20356

    Posted

    Hi Katie. I’m not sure how one is supposed to measure exactly how much salt intake in a day but all I can do is just not use it and assume the amount I ingest from sources out of my control are not excessive. My diet is restricted anyway due to a dairy allergy so cutting out salt caffeine and alcohol is adding insult to injury!  However I just googled cooking without salt and there are plenty of books on amazon so maybe that can be my new year resolution. I am not sure what the benefits of low salt are but I have noticed a reduction in tinnitus plus at the moment the lowest dose of betahistine is keeping me stable. It sounds like you are a more enthusiastic chef than I am. 
  • david4242
    david4242 katie20356

    Posted

    I have my sodium intake target at 1000 mg per day.  No prepared foods, olives, lunch meat fast food, and read your labels.  If I have a hot dog it's cooked in water to help leech out most of the salt.  Once you have most of the salt out of your diet it's easy to live without it.  It's been about a year since my last episode and that's about the time I stopped eating so much salt.  Best of luck and have a Merry Christmas.

  • Candy1130
    Candy1130 katie20356

    Posted

    My chiropractor and other health food people have told me using Himalayan salt is OK. Have you guys heard this or tried it? I got some. It is pink and tastes just like table salt. Do any of  you think it is OK to use Himalayan or Celtic salt? 
    • james33446
      james33446 Candy1130

      Posted

      According to this article, the sodium chloride content in Himalayan salt is 95-97%. In other words, it's not significantly different from table salt in terms of sodium content. https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health-and-nutrition-quackery-you-asked/himalayan-pink-salt

      The dietary restriction so many of us are on is about sodium content. It's not just about which kind of table salt we use, and in fact I never add salt (of any kind). Many foods have lots of sodium even if you don't whip out the salt shaker. I check nutrition labels routinely now. Chain restaurants have been getting better about listing sodium content online. Many restaurant dishes are sodium bombs, but some places have choices that are low in sodium.

      I keep plenty of sodium-free seasonings at home (Mrs. Dash and Penzey's) to jazz up dishes. For a zingy hot sauce, I like Brother Bru-Bru's African Hot Pepper Sauce - 0 mg sodium. A few drops of that is plenty spicy.

       

    • david2salsero
      david2salsero Candy1130

      Posted

      The issue is not salt. MM is more about sodium, of which salt is a big source. But so are baked goods. Reading labels and eating lots of salsa and fruit have become the norm for me. I also use a pressure cooker to prepare basic foods. I use Tabasco Sauce on just about all my warm meals. 
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