1. < Heart & Blood Health

Salty Facts – Heart Failure and Sodium

Posted by Kanaaz Pereira, Connect Moderator @kanaazpereira, Feb 25, 2019

Dietary sodium restriction is one of the most common self-care behaviors suggested to patients with heart failure. Although putting less salt on foods is a step in the right direction, it isn’t enough. There is so much hidden salt in foods that people aren't aware of – more than 75 percent of sodium Americans consume is estimated to come from processed foods – not the salt shaker. In this video, Mayo Clinic cardiologist, Dr. Farris Timimi discusses ways patients with heart failure can more effectively control their sodium intake.

How do you monitor how much sodium you're consuming? Reducing your salt-intake can feel like a balancing act – what challenges do you face while trying to regulate sodium?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Heart & Blood Health Support Group.

Mentor
Dana, Volunteer Mentor | @danab | Mar 2, 2019
In reply to @kanaazpereira "Hi @riflemanz64 @pdilly @mlmcg @healthytoday @mayo33 @scardycat @carnes @gingerw @warpedtrekker @predictable @hopeful33250 @rosemarya @harriethodgson1 @danab @jillybeans22..." + (show)
@kanaazpereira

Hi @riflemanz64 @pdilly @mlmcg @healthytoday @mayo33 @scardycat @carnes @gingerw @warpedtrekker @predictable @hopeful33250 @rosemarya @harriethodgson1 @danab @jillybeans22 @tiredofbeingsick @murryone @camaroyo @suscros68 @success101 @tahoetaylor @carsue @karen00 @markm75 @maryrohrer1 @soliloquized @ttibsen @afrobin @chris24 @joma7862 @thankful @eileena @dothag @paladin1 @bjanderson @barbarajane @cynaburst @cynthiamary @lynnkay1956 @medic7054 @evelyn247 @c410djh @jigglejaws94 @thankfulalways @mpeters @sammysky @jwoj @brittalisse @pfazenbaker @pepper1311 @harmonybentley @mzhp1988 @wangs @gibbs,

Did you know that most of the sodium in our diet comes from processed foods such as canned soups, canned beans, fast food, and not from salt added to home-cooked meals? I’d like to invite you to add your "grain of salt” to this discussion about sodium consumption and heart failure management.

Do you read food labels and check sodium content before buying packaged foods? How do you make good choices when eating out? Any tips on how to get started on a low-sodium diet? Pull up a chair, make yourself at home and let’s get the conversation going.

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Hi im still not sure what the best way to reply is do i just reply like this to a post or do i need to add a bunch names to respond. But let me just try reply. Yes i am a dedicated label reader and always look for the lowest sodium level i can. I also run my recipes thru my fitness apt to check the sodium levels and when eating out most Resturant chains these days have nutrition facts which i can look up either thru my apt or from the internet. Most days i keep it to between 2000-2500 but eating out can get it up to 3000 pretty easily. So on days i treat myself to a diner out i watch the rest of the day closer to keep to my under 2500 level. Im not a heart failure anymore due to my transplant but i want to protect this new heart.

REPLY
lioness | @lioness | Mar 2, 2019
In reply to @contentandwell "@kanaazpereira As the others have also said, we use very few prepared foods. I do use..." + (show)
@contentandwell

@kanaazpereira As the others have also said, we use very few prepared foods. I do use some frozen vegetables, and I buy canned soup for my husband, but soups are generally ridiculously high in sodium. I use myfitnesspal a lot to track calories when I am working to lose weight and I like that it tracks whatever nutrients you want it to, and you can put in the maximum you want of the nutrients. I have 1500 mg for sodium and try to keep it below that. I very rarely salt my food.

My biggest downfall in sodium intake is cheese. Cheese tends to have a lot of sodium. I use goat cheese a lot in salads and omelets, it has about half of the sodium of other cheeses. When recipes call for sodium I just don't bother to add it. There are so many people watching sodium now that there are many products available without sodium. I made a great chicken stew this week and it called for 8 C of chicken stock. I was very happy to see that it can be purchased sodium free!

I eliminated sodium so long ago that I really notice salt in foods when we go out to eat. Restaurants tend to use a lot of salt. I find that the better restaurants cook the food to order and I can often get things without salt added.
JK

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@danab You can do a general post like this or if you want to reply to a post use the @sign then that person's handle like mine is lioness

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2 replies
thankful | @thankful | Mar 2, 2019
In reply to @harriethodgson1 "The roast is in the slow cooker now. I browned it in a cast iron skillet,..." + (show)
@harriethodgson1

The roast is in the slow cooker now. I browned it in a cast iron skillet, transferred it to the slow cooker, sprinkled it with Mrs. Dash's Italian seasoning, topped it with sliced onions, and 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce. Hope it's good.

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@harriethodgson1- Don't forget to roast some spuds and carrots! Yum yum! Jim @thankful

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1 reply
JK | @contentandwell | Mar 2, 2019
In reply to @lioness "@contentandwell I'm like you since I had my by pass I don't eat any more salt..." + (show)
@lioness

@contentandwell I'm like you since I had my by pass I don't eat any more salt then I can don't do canned products hardly at all and no can soups to much salt . A couple of things I have to have salt on eggs and green beans but watch to keep salt to below 1500 mg . Soup day today with all this rain and chilly weather here plus the Golden Milk .

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@lioness You are not alone in feeling that eggs need salt, I am that way too, and I have another friend who feels the same way! I often put some low sodium cheese on top of the egg and that does provide some added taste without much sodium.
JK

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1 reply
JK | @contentandwell | Mar 2, 2019
In reply to @lioness "@danab You can do a general post like this or if you want to reply to..." + (show)
@lioness

@danab You can do a general post like this or if you want to reply to a post use the @sign then that person's handle like mine is lioness

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@lioness @danab Thanks Lioness for mentioning this. It makes it a lot easier if you are responding to a specific message, to put the person's name in there, preceded with the @ sign. That way in the email the person sees that they were mentioned in a message. Sometimes my time is limited, a problem I am sure many of us have, and those will be the first I will respond to.
JK

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Mentor
Dana, Volunteer Mentor | @danab | Mar 2, 2019
In reply to @thankful "@kanaazpereira - Definitely read all labels when deciding to purchase items I'm not familiar with. We..." + (show)
@thankful

@kanaazpereira - Definitely read all labels when deciding to purchase items I'm not familiar with. We really stay away from processed foods and I am a big fan of cooking from scratch. I can control what we eat a lot easier that way. I eat lots of wild chinook salmon and steelhead that comes out of local rivers or the cold waters of Alaska. The beef and poultry we eat is in small amounts and is always local grass fed beef and local pastured chickens. I do most of the cooking and love to experiment with different things. I love to make stir-fry's using small amounts of protein with lots of different vege's. "Yum yum, give me some"! Jim @thankful

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One other trick i was told and its true. Use Himalayan pink salt at half the AMT the receipt calls for Himalayan has a stronger taste so using half almost tastes the same but half the sodium than regular salt

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1 reply
Mentor
Teresa, Volunteer Mentor | @hopeful33250 | Mar 2, 2019
In reply to @danab "One other trick i was told and its true. Use Himalayan pink salt at half the..." + (show)
@danab

One other trick i was told and its true. Use Himalayan pink salt at half the AMT the receipt calls for Himalayan has a stronger taste so using half almost tastes the same but half the sodium than regular salt

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@danab I have seen that in stores, but had no idea what it was for. Thank you for providing that information.
Do you use Himalayan pink salt on a regular basis?

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1 reply
Mentor
Dana, Volunteer Mentor | @danab | Mar 2, 2019
In reply to @lioness "@danab You can do a general post like this or if you want to reply to..." + (show)
@lioness

@danab You can do a general post like this or if you want to reply to a post use the @sign then that person's handle like mine is lioness

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@lioness ok thanks

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