Makes me rather angry

[Tink]

I was told to avoid salt because of my blood pressure problems from the age of 18. So I got used to not eating salt... I avoided salty snacks, never added salt to my food and figured I was doing a good thing.

Then a couple of years ago, during a routine blood test my dr told me my sodium level was extremely low and I was to start eating salt to bring it up! Well heck yes it was low, I'd been avoiding salt for 35+ yrs as instructed!

Now I decided to research the benefits of sea salt over average table salt and stumbled on an article about studies on salt and our health. According to the article:

The past president of the American Heart Association, Dr. Suzanne Oparil of the University of Alabama-Birmingham, said her personal view is that the government may have been too quick to recommend that everyone cut back. "Salt restriction as a solitary recommendation for the population for the prevention or the treatment of hypertension. An eight-year study of a New York City hypertensive population stratified for sodium intake levels found those on low-salt diets had more than four times as many heart attacks as those on normal-sodium diets – the exact opposite of what the “salt hypothesis” would have predicted. (1995). Dr. Jeffrey R. Cutler documented no health outcomes benefits of lower-sodium diets.

Now I wonder if all those years of restricting my salt intake played a role in my heart attack! How frustrating! I tried to be healthier by following my drs (several different ones over the years) orders and instead was putting myself at risk.

[Janet]

I understand why you would be upset...but they were going by the information they had at the time. Maybe I should eat more salt...I've just never liked it. I never put salt on anything.

I guess when we know better....we do better.

[Marilyn]

Doctors don't know as much as the medical community leads us to believe that they know. They are doing the best that they can with the latest research.

Look at hormone replacement therapy. It prevents heart attacks and dimentia, it contributes to heart attacks and dimentia.

It's frustrating for us and for them.

[DianaB]

First the doctors tell you to stay away from it and then they change their minds. How are we suppose to know what to do? The medical community is too wishy-washy.

[Janet]

You're so right Diana! A person never knows for sure what is the best thing to keep healthy.

[judy]

That's why they say "everything in moderation." However, if I had been told to avoid salt like you were Tink, I would have. Maybe it did have a hand in your heart attack. I'd be upset too.

On the other hand, you made it through, and here you are, annoyed, but still here with us.

[AngieDoogles]

Wow, I'd be frustrated too Tink! It's sad that there's so much conflicting "health" information out there...

[Tink]

I know medicine isn't an exact science... there are no guarantees, yet it's frustrating when you do try to follow a course of action that's quite inconvenient just to find out it likely did more damage than good. I can't tell you how many times I turned down very good food at parties and such just because I knew I shouldn't have the salt. Rassenfrassen... lol

[HALEY]

My mom had about 5 heart attacks, thank God she is still with us, but she switched over to sea salt, i don't know what the difference is?

[Tink]

Haley, My understanding is that most table salt now has been SO processed and heated up to purify it that it doesn't have the mineral values our bodies need to function properly. Sea salt is processed differently, and even some of them are seriously lacking... but you have a much better chance of getting the needed benefits from sea salt than the others.

Salt is involved in maintaining a proper balance of water in the body, and regulating the heart rate among other things.

I'm glad your Mom has managed to survive all those heart attacks! How scary for her and you! I've had only one and that was frightening!

[HALEY]

Originally Posted by Tink

Haley, My understanding is that most table salt now has been SO processed and heated up to purify it that it doesn't have the mineral values our bodies need to function properly. Sea salt is processed differently, and even some of them are seriously lacking... but you have a much better chance of getting the needed benefits from sea salt than the others.

Salt is involved in maintaining a proper balance of water in the body, and regulating the heart rate among other things.

I'm glad your Mom has managed to survive all those heart attacks! How scary for her and you! I've had only one and that was frightening!

Just last year she finally got her heart defibrillator, and a pace maker keeping her alive, she has about 40 % of her heart that was not damaged by all her heart attacks, she had two of them the last two months, one she had a couple weeks ago when she was leaving the hospital, she laid on the garage sidewalk for about 20 min. and no one saw her !! i was so pissed i called the hospital and asked if they still had security people working there... she was out in that cold. laying on the side walk !! she woke up and sat in her car for awhile and drove home. My sister and i now have her car keys, and we take her everywhere she needs to go, and she went back down Pittsburgh hospital and there giving her stonger meds. so we will see if this helps..

[Chandra Amaya]

Well, i should be healty then. My husband says I would put salt on Chocolate cake, if he didn't fuss about how much I eat. now I can tell him its good for me

Wow! I wasn't aware of any of this! How scary for you guys!

I know what you mean though about getting confused. A few years back they were going on and on about vitamin C. How you couldn't get enough, how great it was, etc. And then they came out with something that was basically, "Um..yeah...just kidding! It's great, but don't take QUITE as much" lol. I'm big into that moderation thing as well!

That's interesting, Tink. I have some brothers in law who inherited a heart disease (cardiomyopathy, I think) and they are all on an extremely low sodium diet. So far, they are all doing well (that is, except for the one who passed away, sadly)

My husband, who is healthy (knock on wood) said he would never follow a diet like that. He said he would rather live a shorter happy life, than a longer life where he can't enjoy many of the foods that he loves.

Who knows what the right answer is? I agree with others-I think all things, in moderation, are fine. The secret is to know WHAT you are eating. So many people don't even realize how much sodium is in most processed foods. I, for one, never add salt to anything I eat (except french fries) And when I cook, I don't eliminate salt. But whatever amount of salt the recipe calls for, I will put in half that amount-that is my compromise.

Well, if nothing else-sounds like you can start enjoying more food that you haven't had for awhile!

[Lindsey]

Wow, Tink, you're my hero for being able to avoid salt for that long!! I love salt and I honestly put it on almost everything I eat. I do have problems with one kidney, and my doctor told me to cut out salt, and anything really salty including processed meat. I did it for about a month and then the cravings were so bad I couldn't do it anymore! So I continued with my salt obsession and the last time I went to my doctor, my kidney had improved 200%! So I'm glad I didn't cut out salt for the past two years lol