Anyone follow a low sodium diet?

[starryfish]

I have been recently diagnosed with a kidney disease and it's super important to keep my sodium around 1500-2000mg. I also have to go lower protein as well.

Any tips or tricks? Especially with eating out?

[MrsE]

Sorry, no tips, just want to wish you well. That sounds like a challenging diagnosis and I hope you are able manage the sodium levels and enjoy foods that will keep you healthy.

I would imagine eating out would be difficult - it seems like nearly everything has added salt in some shape or form.

[sadlebred]

I don't have any tips but wish you well, too!

[starryfish]

Jul 30, 2015 21:01:53 GMT -5 MrsE said:

Sorry, no tips, just want to wish you well. That sounds like a challenging diagnosis and I hope you are able manage the sodium levels and enjoy foods that will keep you healthy.

I would imagine eating out would be difficult - it seems like nearly everything has added salt in some shape or form.

ETA: looks like Grilled nuggets are ok, I had put in reg nuggets, so it's not as bad

Thanks!

Yea eating out is going to be tough. Especially fast food when needed...even my go to staple of chickfila grilled nuggets have a lot of sodium. Luckily tho ice cream and sweets are usually low in sodium, so I plan on having dessert to get some calories in :-)

[starryfish]

Jul 30, 2015 21:37:45 GMT -5 peachy said:

I don't but as far as cooking low sodium (which I assume you'll have to do a lot of) adding fresh chopped herbs (basil, Rosemary, cilantro, dill, parsley) and acid (lemon juice, orange juice, tomatoes, vinegars, etc) will be a big help

Yes and I need to stock up on Mrs Dash!

[zoidberg]

Me! I am supposed to stay under 1500mg sodium, 35g animal protein and 50g total protein.

I haven't been doing it that long, so I don't know how much help I will be.

I use myfitnesspal to track my nutrients. It is not the greatest for the tracking, but I like the interface.

My nutritionist told me to try to avoid going over 145mg for any single item. This makes it easier to control your total intake. Of course, I don't stick to that 100% of the time, but it makes shopping easier.

Eating out: check websites before you go out. Five Guys does not salt their burger patties (many/most places do) so if you want to treat yourself a little, you can get a no-bun single cheeseburger for 320mg. Sushi, plain rolls without a bunch of extra crap on them, with the super low sodium soy sauce (my kind has 490mg per tablespoon, but I don't use even half of that amount).

Otherwise, eating out is pretty much the suck.

I eat a lot of salads. Do you like grapefruit? If so, I find that adding grapefruit to my salads is the best replacement for salty flavor that I have found.

You can make decent low sodium treats like puppy chow using the lower salt peanut butter. It comes out to be only around 50mg per serving.

[audry80]

I do! My tips:
I try to only eat out once a week
I eat a ton of fruit
I read the label on everything even water. Some water has sodium!
I make my own pasta sauce
I make my own taco seasoning
Look around, there are many speciality stores that have salt free spices
watch out for bread, it's full of salt!
Canned corn has sodium buy frozen corn does not
I do not miss salt at all.

[starryfish]

Are yall training for anything? I will be half marathon training soon so I want to see if I need to up my sodium on long run days?

[zoidberg]

My nutritionist said i could go up to 1800 on heavy workout days.

[starryfish]

Aug 3, 2015 18:57:44 GMT -5 zoidberg said:

My nutritionist said i could go up to 1800 on heavy workout days.

Thanks! I am going to see one soon. Do you go to a RD or dietitian? Is there a big difference?

[zoidberg]

Um, honestly I am not sure what her title is. She is just who my endocrinologist sent me to see.

She didn't give me any earth-shattering info, just some basic tips about how to eat low sodium that i was probably too stressed to search online. Plus when my endo said "low sodium" I really didn't have a clear picture of what that really meant, or even whatm y normal daily consumption was. I think it was helpful.

[awick14]

I don't have many tips but maybe looking up "heart healthy recipes". They will be low sodium.

Like @audy80 said I would make as much from scratch as possible.

I make homemade pasta sauce; canned tomatoes (that I can) go into a food processor, after I pulse it to a good consistency I add a small can of low sodium tomato pasta to make it a little thicker. Then I add chopped onions, garlic, green peppers and zucchini. I had basil to taste.

Try not to eat lots of canned veggies, they are all high in sodium, frozen is better.

[starryfish]

Thanks all! After 2 trips to the grocery store this weekend, I have found that the organic version of things have much less sodium and I found some pasta sauce that has 180mg of sodium instead of the normal 400-600mg.

I am not a cook, so easy things are better for me. But I will prob start with small easy things soon.

[cuadrado]

Aug 3, 2015 19:27:21 GMT -5 starryfish said:

Aug 3, 2015 18:57:44 GMT -5 zoidberg said:

My nutritionist said i could go up to 1800 on heavy workout days.

Thanks! I am going to see one soon. Do you go to a RD or dietitian? Is there a big difference?

You should go see a registered dietitian (RD) who specifically works with patients who have kidney issues. Are you seeing a nephrologist? They should be able to recommend an RD. 

The primary ways to decrease sodium in your diet are to avoid processed foods and not eat out as much. Foods that are especially high in sodium are going to be your processed foods: canned vegetables, soups, deli meat, canned meat, anything frozen with a seasoning/sauce, seasoning mixes, and condiments (anything out of a jar or bottle). Bread also has sodium. 

Some tips for a good starting point:

-Substitute processed foods with fresh/frozen fruits and vegetables as well as lean proteins. This will help you feel more satisfied overall so you're less likely to snack on higher-sodium foods.

-I would also look into ways to make start making items from scratch. It takes more time but you will see a big decrease in the amount of salt. For example, a cup of plain brown rice (seasoned it yourself with herbs) has almost no sodium but a 2.5 oz of Rice A Roni can have 900+ mg sodium. Things like salad dressing and marinara sauce are not hard to make from scratch. With marinara sauce, you can make a large batch and freeze it for later. 

Hope that helps. 

[starryfish]

Thanks! I have an appointment with an RD next week!