Guest guest Posted June 17, 2002 Report Share Posted June 17, 2002 At 05:22 AM 6/17/2002 +0000, you wrote: >His diet isn't great. He doesn't feel carbs are a problem and doesn't like me to buy >sourdough bread. At least now I have convinced him to cut out fast food to reduce his >salt intake. > >Anyone have experience to share with SVT? I would really appreciate any input on this. > >Thanks, >Daphne My dad and I both have heart arrhythmias, and I used to have a constant fast heartbeat. My mom told me his problem was due to lack of potassium -- he would ride his bike a lot in hot weather. She thought it was an issue of not enough hydration and not enough potassium: so she fed him lots of grape juice. So I started using " lite salt " -- it is half sodium and half potassium -- and taking more calcium/magnesium (I was also getting leg cramps), and got a lot better. Also see when these attacks occur. Mine were ate 11:00 every day, and bad enough I couldn't stand up. At 9:00 I was eating a bowl of Meusli with a little sugar and milk. It turns out that for some people, when they eat carbs, the insulin pulls the potassium out of the bloodstream and they get very bad heart arrhythmias -- it's a genetic condition. I read about it in Discover -- a guy had wound up in an emergency room with the problem. So I started having eggs for breakfast instead. Later I gave up gluten and a lot of other problems went away too -- so I don't know if that had something to do with the potassium/calcium issues or if they are separate (from the reading I've done I think they are connected, for me). Lowering salt intake is not necessarily a good idea, though it is touted a lot. Every farmer gives the animals a good salt lick! Lately it was shown that the people who are on low-salt diets for high blood pressure have a much higher death rate from heart attacks -- salt regulates the heart and the water balance in the body. I think the best bet is to have a balanced salt -- Celtic sea salt might be the right balance -- but you need both sodium and potassium. When you work out it lowers your salt levels even more. Heidi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 17, 2002 Report Share Posted June 17, 2002 >Lowering salt intake is not necessarily a good idea, though it is touted a lot. Every farmer gives the animals a good salt lick! Lately it was shown that the people who are on low-salt diets for high blood pressure have a much higher death rate from heart attacks -- salt regulates the heart and the water balance in the body. I think the best bet is to have a balanced salt -- Celtic sea salt might be the right balance -- but you need both sodium and potassium. When you work out it lowers your salt levels even more. Stossel, I hope I have his name right, did one of his muck racking expose programs about the salt myths in our diet several years ago. The whole idea of salt contributing to hardened arteries and the reduced salt after heart attack have all now been proven wrong, and are ignored by many doctors he discovered, It is just bad science. He confronted the head of the government agency that issued the salt warnings with the stats of *increase death rate* with the reduction of salt in the diet at the bleeping bureaucrat acknowledged it was true but said he had no intention of issuing a correction saying low salt was the government's position and that was the end of the discussion. The salt lobby must not be contributing enough to various politicians campaign chests! That being said, for those on a SAD diet, would they be able to cut the salt intake a lot and still be healthy, where those of us following NT practices might need to add salt because it is not naturally present in enough quantity? What signs are evident when salt gets too low? my mother had served a 'traditional cured/salted ham last year. She soaked it over night, according to instructions that came with it, but it still seemed too salty for me, though otherwise it tasted fined. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 17, 2002 Report Share Posted June 17, 2002 At 01:41 PM 6/17/2002 +0000, you wrote: >That being said, for those on a SAD diet, would they be able to cut the salt >intake a lot and still be healthy, where those of us following NT practices >might need to add salt because it is not naturally present in enough quantity? >What signs are evident when salt gets too low? Heart palpitations, for one thing. With animals, when they are low on salt, they crave it: I've heard you should eat salt to your taste. But I think lack of good foods also increases salt craving, and possibly the lack of good minerals (i.e. if you lack potassium, you will probably crave salt). Since I've been using Potassium/sodium salt, I use a lot less than I used to (and my health is better). And more things taste " too salty " now. So I just use my own taste as a guide. In nature, the different mineral occur together. I've toyed with the idea of grinding up an animal salt-lick (more minerals!). But I'll try the Celtic salt first. Heidi Schuppenhauer Trillium Custom Software Inc. heidis@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 18, 2002 Report Share Posted June 18, 2002 Mike wrote: > Stossel, I hope I have his name right, did one of his muck racking expose > programs about the salt myths in our diet several years ago. Kris replies: Unfortunately Stossel has done some bad reporting on organic farming, so I wouldn't trust what he says at all. He may be right about salt, but I dont' trust him. > That being said, for those on a SAD diet, would they be able to cut the salt > intake a lot and still be healthy, where those of us following NT practices > might need to add salt because it is not naturally present in enough quantity? > What signs are evident when salt gets too low? The typical SAD foods are processed and loaded with salt, so if you eleminate those junky foods you almost automatically cut salt a lot. They say you need a minimum of 500 mg of sodium per day. > my mother had served a 'traditional cured/salted ham last year. She soaked it > over night, according to instructions that came with it, but it still seemed too > salty for me, though otherwise it tasted fined. When you get used to less salt, salty things, such as 's soup, taste saltier to you. Your traditional ham is very salty. Peace, Kris , gardening in northwest Ohio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 18, 2002 Report Share Posted June 18, 2002 I can't speak to this specific heart condition, but since sodium came up I just wanted to add my voice to the chorus advocating balanced minerals rather than low salt. Most people's sodium/potassium balance is way out of whack. The same is true of peoples calcium/phosphorous balance. Phosphorous and sodium are too high *relative* to calcium and potassium. For most people, they are indeed getting a bit too much sodium, but they get far too little potassium. In addition, most people are woefully deficient in magnesium. And chances are, if the people aren't eating plenty of fish and/or animal products from good soil, they'll be lacking in a whole range of critical trace minerals. Excellent sources of potassium include all melons, tomatoes, bananas, oranges, carrots, and potatoes (actually, most root vegetables), most greens and legumes. Coconuts are a great source too (especially the coconut water from the center of the coconut). Mushrooms are too. Increase the potassium, and switch to celtic sea salt or RealSalt (cheaper). I'd consider a magnesium supplement until his diet improves too. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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