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    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

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The Salt Poll

What is My Attitude Towards Salt?

  • I crave it, I salt (virtually) everything. I need salt!

    Votes: 183 51.0%
  • I like salt, I use it in moderate amounts but I don't crave it

    Votes: 126 35.1%
  • Salt? Puh! I'm neither one way or the other regarding salt.

    Votes: 36 10.0%
  • Salt is bad news! I stay away from salt religiously.

    Votes: 14 3.9%

  • Total voters
    359

L'engle

moogle
Messages
3,200
Location
Canada
Rrrr: thanks for the great info!

glenp: I found something called "popchips" that are baked potato puff things, salty but without the fat. They're expensive for a small quantity though. Kettle bakes might also be good, or asian rice crackers. I as well eat dulse, and vegetable juice, which seem to help me.

Overstrssed, Sunday: I agree about the nitrates, as well as MSG. they are completely different from salt and probably harmful.

Sensingprogress: I read your blog about the thermotabs. I've had trouble getting them in Canada, so I've been making my own salt capsules, but I think thermotabs could be more pleasant.
 

L'engle

moogle
Messages
3,200
Location
Canada
Easy salt and protein soup for adrenals:

2-3 egg whites
some rice or rice noodles
some boiling water
as much of your favourite kind of salt as you can stand!
maybe some vegetable like green onion or dulse.

Just boil the water and throw everything in. Egg whites from a carton are some of the easiest bioavailable protein I've found, important when my fatigued adrenals demand protein several times a day, but I don't want anything with a heavy feeling like fish or whole eggs. Rice noodles are really easy to cook, easier than rice, just throw them in boiling water for a few minutes and pour in egg whites, start mixing in the salt. It is so easy to cook and eat, and you get a big hit of salt and protein, easy on your stomach, provided you aren't allergic to egg whites.

cooks in 15 minutes or less, for when you need food now!

enjoy.
 

glenp

"and this too shall pass"
Messages
776
Location
Vancouver Canada suburbs
I like the sound of that soup -- looks good and easy for us Any more?

I think others may be like me when changing diet and eliminating the bad stuff we end up feeling worse because of no salt geeez

I never did eat much junk but I think the campbells soup and lipton noodle soup helped for the salt!!!

I am going to try that soup recipe - it looks good on the tummy.

Congee--when I have bad spells I make congee and it really helps me. Just rice with LOTS of water and salt - can be done in microwave where you can set it for 10 minutes everytime you are able to get up, eventually its cooked without spilling over. Many asian elders swear by congee

glen
 

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
I noticed something new the other day with me. That my previous salt craving (which i had for years) is gone. I think the CFS and POTS improving has lead to loosing the salt craving. The sports drinks i drink for the POTS, are now suddenly tasting too salty.
 

sensing progress

Senior Member
Messages
296
Location
Tucson, AZ
I noticed something new the other day with me. That my previous salt craving (which i had for years) is gone. I think the CFS and POTS improving has lead to loosing the salt craving. The sports drinks i drink for the POTS, are now suddenly tasting too salty.

Have you done any treatment(s) that lead to your CFS and POTS improvement?
 

Dainty

Senior Member
Messages
1,751
Location
Seattle
I noticed something new the other day with me. That my previous salt craving (which i had for years) is gone. I think the CFS and POTS improving has lead to loosing the salt craving. The sports drinks i drink for the POTS, are now suddenly tasting too salty.

I've noticed exactly the same thing, except not gone, just diminished with some improvement. When my CFS and POTS were much worse, I had to drink electrolytes all throughout the day in my water as well as adding huge amounts of salt to my food. I'd literally put more salt in my mouth if a bite wasn't salty enough, and to this day still need to salt my food throughout the meal. Back then I measured it once and discovered I was consuming around 5,000 mg of sodium per day, which is 2 1/2 times the maximum recommended daily intake, and yet my sodium levels tested as normal. (Great validation after being told all my life that I had just "developed a taste" for salt.)

As I improved, I found the electrolytes tasting too salty, so I cut back on them, and then with a little more improvement they tasted too salty again, so I cut back again, and so on and so forth until I cut them out completely. Yesterday I tried a small amount of electrolytes again, and even after diluting it multiple times could not get it down. My body knows what it wants and won't stand for anything it didn't order! lol But I still need a large amount of salt on my food. I'm planning one of these days to keep track of it for a day again to see how much I'm consuming.

I think it's ideal to go by taste rather than with salt pills, because you get immediate feedback from your body on how much you need. I sometimes have a day or two where I notice I need less salt, and the only way I know that is by noticing something that's normally fine tastes too salty. To my understanding, pills don't work that way. Still, I know salt tablets are a good option for those who need salt but cannot manage the taste of it.

By the way, I still recommend electrolytes for times of excessive sweating, diahrrea, or vomiting. You can buy them unflavored with nothing else in them. During those times I find my electrolytes invaluable.
 
Messages
18
Location
Leeds, UK
I chose the second answer but it dosen't quite reflect my view. I need a "likes salt and craves it on numerous occasions but tries to eat as little salt as possible as I have always been told it is bad and I will die if I eat too much" option. lol.

I have always had a sweet tooth, but am finding more recently I have had a lot of cravings for savoury - especially crisps, salt on chips, tinned tuna...I put too much salt on my chips the other day but really liked it (and incidentally I was really ill that day and I felt better afterwards). I am completely paranoid about eating too much salt and have spent so long avoiding it...now I'm starting to wonder whether I should just give in to my cravings?

I have normal blood pressure when tested at doctors, but often have dizzy/light headed spells especially when going from sitting to standing.

Have often wondered about having low electrolytes because I dehydrate very easily and urinate a lot. I also find it hard to drink plain water when I am dehydrated - I need lemonade, it’s the only thing that makes me feel better and not throw up. And to quote an earlier post I "pee like a racehorse".

I recently read an article on adrenal fatigue (albeit a very short article) and I wonder if that is an issue for me - I get very stressed very easily and sometimes feel stressed and on edge for no reason. Im just contemplating ideas at the moment - I havent been diagnosed properly yet, and am just basically trying to figure out my symptoms and try some ‘self help’ to make me feel a little better.

Hmmm.
 
Messages
25
I've always liked salt, more so than most I would say, so chose the first option. The results probably don't say too much in relation to our condition however, as I'd fully expect to see the very same results amongst the general population.

On the subject of salt, there is the Recuperat-ion supplement as well, which I tried a month or two ago. It's a mixture of sodium (mostly)/magnesium/potassium and calcium. I can't say I noticed any real difference over the course of the month I was using it, however it's said that a few months may be needed for it to take effect, so I may try it again for longer. Here's an analysis of how it may work to relieve symptoms : http://web.mit.edu/london/www/RRR.htm
 

Mya Symons

Mya Symons
Messages
1,029
Location
Washington
I do crave salt, but when I was pregnant it was like an addiction. I used to buy fries and salt them so there was more salt then fries. My doctor kept on telling me I needed to stop because it caused swelling and too much salt was dangerous. I used to smoke (not when I was pregnant) and I swear the salt craving was worse then any nicotine craving I have ever had. I also craved bannanas. Maybe it was a potassium thing. I still crave both, but it is not quite as bad. I can control myself. I wonder if it did not have something to do with my thyroid. I had undiagnosed Hashimoto's disease for years and they say pregnancy often triggers it. As I understand, when your thyroid is messed up your body can't get enough zinc and potassium.
 

sensing progress

Senior Member
Messages
296
Location
Tucson, AZ
I chose the second answer but it dosen't quite reflect my view. I need a "likes salt and craves it on numerous occasions but tries to eat as little salt as possible as I have always been told it is bad and I will die if I eat too much" option. lol.

I have always had a sweet tooth, but am finding more recently I have had a lot of cravings for savoury - especially crisps, salt on chips, tinned tuna...I put too much salt on my chips the other day but really liked it (and incidentally I was really ill that day and I felt better afterwards). I am completely paranoid about eating too much salt and have spent so long avoiding it...now I'm starting to wonder whether I should just give in to my cravings?

I have normal blood pressure when tested at doctors, but often have dizzy/light headed spells especially when going from sitting to standing.

I recently read an article on adrenal fatigue (albeit a very short article) and I wonder if that is an issue for me - I get very stressed very easily and sometimes feel stressed and on edge for no reason.

I think you should increase salt intake if it makes you feel better. See this excellent post by blogger Sue Jackson on why salt/fluids are so important for PWME: http://livewithcfs.blogspot.com/2010/02/orthostatic-intolerance-and-cfs.html. I think the perception that salt is "bad for you" is mostly due to the fact that so many now eat a highly-refined diet that is loaded with salt. If you have high blood pressure, then salt is dangerous. Otherwise I think it's not a problem.

Also, you mention "I get very stressed very easily and sometimes feel stressed and on edge for no reason." I used to have this feeling all the time too. The cause for me was reactive hypoglycemia, which is when your blood sugar rises after a high glycemic meal/snack and then suddenly plummets. Your body corrects this by releasing adrenaline, which can result in feelings of anxiety, heart palpitations, etc. Very uncomfortable, but correctable with diet modification.
 
Messages
97
Location
Philadelphia, PA
I'm having a bad day, so please excuse me if this post doesn't make a ton of sense.

I put salt on everything... and tons of it. I constantly get comments and I have one friend who keeps salt in his house just for when I come over. Despite, I have insanely low blood pressure.

I also crave salt, especially at night time. I don't really crave sugar or sweets....but cheese, with salt all over it, and cheese with salt and pickles. I eat that every night. And, no - I'm not pregnant!

When I was a patient of Enlander, he put me on an electrolyte solution in the morning which helped. But I haven't been on it for years...even though I would like to go back on it. Just don't seem to have the time, energy or money to work it out right now.
 

L'engle

moogle
Messages
3,200
Location
Canada
I'm having a bad day, so please excuse me if this post doesn't make a ton of sense.

I put salt on everything... and tons of it. I constantly get comments and I have one friend who keeps salt in his house just for when I come over. Despite, I have insanely low blood pressure.

I also crave salt, especially at night time. I don't really crave sugar or sweets....but cheese, with salt all over it, and cheese with salt and pickles. I eat that every night. And, no - I'm not pregnant!

When I was a patient of Enlander, he put me on an electrolyte solution in the morning which helped. But I haven't been on it for years...even though I would like to go back on it. Just don't seem to have the time, energy or money to work it out right now.

Hi,

I'm still working on how to get a good electrolyte going at home that is inexpensive. Most days, I put sea salt and ginger in boiled water and drink that, so it's kind of like soup. I get really sick of it but at least it's a cheap way to get salt. I've been going the lazy route eating cheap ramen noodles lately but they all seem to have either MSG or yeast extract (and gluten) which is terrible for me.

Stevia and sea salt in water is another one, but stevia can also lower your blood pressure so you'd want to have small amounts, just enough to get the salt down. Good luck! I need tons of electrolytes to even get any functioning out of my day (if I'm lucky!)
 
Before I was sick I never used much salt thinking that was good for me, and didn't crave it at all. However over the almost 20 years of having ME/CFs I have definitely discovered that saltt is very helpful in raising my blood pressure. I am normally around under 90/60 but with salt I go up to almost normal levels. I take 2-3 tespoons in a litre of water and sip it through the day. My doc says you need to do it like this as it goes out of your body really quickly. It has a definite positive affect on me when it lifts my bloodpressure. When I'm on it my b/p also lifts when I stand up. This is one of the symptoms of ME/CFS - that B/P goes down when you stand in comparason to it sitting. A normal persons B/P goes up when they stand as well. I have a B/P monitor so I have proved this consistently.
 

rlc

Senior Member
Messages
822
hi all salt cravers, i've looked up salt craving on a site named diagnosispro.com which has diagnostic software designed to be used by doctors, in the differential diagnosis section you can enter symptoms and lab tests results and it tells you the diseases that cause these problems. I entered salt craving and cronic fatigue and it came up with Addison's disease (chronic adrenal ins) and adrenocorticoid (isolated) deficiency see link http://en.diagnosispro.com/differen...ving-chronic-fatigue/24940_25271-154_154.html reading througn the posts i've seen people saying that they feel better taking florinef, this is used to replace a lack of aldosterone, which is caused by these conditions, it is responsible for maintaining salt balance in the body. Also seen people saying that their cortisol levels are ok, however this test is very unreliable, the gold standard tests for adrenal problems is the ACTH stimulation test here's a link about it.
http://www.acthstimulationtest.com/ heres a link about adrenal insuficiency it's got a good graph that shows all the tests that need to be done for these problems http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenal_insufficiency and here's a couple more links about addisons and adrenal insufficiency http://www.suite101.com/content/addisonsdisease-a1714 http://www.suite101.com/content/adrenalinsufficiency-a1543 hope this helps all the best
 

Nico

Senior Member
Messages
104
Location
New York State
I did not start eating anchovies until severe CFS. One day I remember putting salt in a glass of water, but it hurt my stomach. I alternate between table salt and celtic sea salt. I will eat anchovies with rice (and a few other ingredients) for breakfast.
 

L'engle

moogle
Messages
3,200
Location
Canada
Hi all,

The amount of salt that I need is also not great for my stomach. So the last couple of days I've been trying out dissolving the salt under my tongue. It seems to at least somewhat dissolve and I do get the feel of getting salt intake from it. I hope this way I can get by on less salt overall and on eating less salt. There's a limit on this too of course, since you can develop a sore mouth from the salt. But at least it is sparing the stomach.
 

sensing progress

Senior Member
Messages
296
Location
Tucson, AZ
Hi all,

The amount of salt that I need is also not great for my stomach. So the last couple of days I've been trying out dissolving the salt under my tongue. It seems to at least somewhat dissolve and I do get the feel of getting salt intake from it. I hope this way I can get by on less salt overall and on eating less salt. There's a limit on this too of course, since you can develop a sore mouth from the salt. But at least it is sparing the stomach.

have you tried buffered salt tablets? they are supposed to be easier on the stomach. Dr. Rowe recommended a brand called Thermotabs