Another salt question

#1

Since I eat OMAD mostly, how can I set aside a certain amount of salt for my dinner? I don’t cook my food with salt in it so I have to eat it on the side. I know everybody is different and I see such different recommendations everywhere. Is 1/2 teaspoon enough, or would 1 tspn sea salt be a good amount? I really can’t tell when I’ve had enough salt. I am a small person. Sometimes I wake up with cramps in my feet but this could be magnesium. Despite chinook salmon having half a days worth magnesium and all the avocados and kale, my bloodwork shows it on the low side. All of those foods have a lot of potassium too so I should be ok on that.

Second question, I have Gerd and slight imflammation in my stomach. Do you think a lot of sea salt aggravates this?

#2

I can’t help you with quantities, but I have been upping my salt mostly because of the heat wave at the moment.
I don’t like salty drinks, but I found this mini pot that holds a 3g of flakey sea salt.
Every 15mins or so, I just take it out and dab my tongue in it. It’s wonderfully crunchy and is great when you are fasting because it feels like a little snack.

I do believe that you should be spreading your salt over the day as you drink rather than having it in one sitting.

If you are OMAD, are you having any thing like lemon juice, bone broth or apple cider vinegar during you fasting hours?

(Edith) #3

I’ll put 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt in my 20 ounce water bottle and drink that. It’s gotten to the point where unsalted water tastes unnatural.

#4

It won’t really help as I eat my salt in my food on my OMAD days/times and it’s perfect for me.
I personally don’t even need to eat salt every day so I would never spread it out but I heard about many people who drink salty water even on some plain IF. Just like with supplementing, some people need it, others don’t. Oh and some people need a tablespoon of salt while they have problems if they just eat it at once, they probably should spread it out too. I am fine with one tablespoon and my stomach has a big capacity anyway (to store the huge amount of water I need with my salt) so that changes things (a little part of it comes from my food naturally, the rest is the salt I put on it).
I find salty water SUPER gross but if I had to eat salt (because I would do some long fast or have other reason to consume very much water compared to my food), I would just eat salt and drink water afterwards. Whenever I felt the need - and if I don’t, I still would eat some if I knew I must. I think the dizzy feeling I had 2 times in my life was lack of sodium, the circumstances were right for that. Cramps are always magnesium problem for me but it easily can be sodium, indeed.

Broth comes to mind as you can drink it for sodium and it’s not even gross. Some people use it even during fasting, I can’t as it’s not proper fast to me and it makes me hungry. But I seem to be an exception.

#5

I have tried 1/4 tea spoon in a pint of water but I can’t stand it. I can eat the salt and drink the water, bit can’t drink the salt water. I am trying to get myself used to it.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #6

Your magnesium and potassium levels will stay in better balance if you are getting enough salt. The regulatory mechanisms in the body are all inter-linked.

Don’t go bonkers with the salt, just be sure to get enough. My indications of insufficient sodium are migraine headaches and constipation. My indication of too much sodium is the opposite of constipation. On a couple of occasions lately, I actually got so much salt that it started tasting horrible. That was a clear sign of far too much sodium, lol!

(Edith) #7

That is the first sign for me that my sodium intake is too low.

#8

Why? Eating salt and drinking water is just as good, nothing gets better to consume them as salty water I would think… I tasted the gross salty water 1-2 times and never tried again as I don’t see the point. Not like I eat salt alone as I don’t need it but that would be my choice. But I wrote this already.

(Robin) #9

@VirginiaEdie @PaulL I need water, salt and magnesium before bed to prevent muscle cramps.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #10

Ain’t individual variability a hoot? :rofl::rofl::rofl:

#11

Probably not, but sure the kale would, especially if it’s raw. Nature makes it taste like crap for a reason, it’s so you don’t eat it. Try digestive enzymes or Betaine HCL for the GERD. That’s assuming you’re not taking PPIs or anything that makes it worse.

Your levels are low because other than the Salmon vegetable/plant nutrients aren’t as bioavailble to us. Humans aren’t herbivores, we don’t have enough cellulase enzyme to get the job done unless you’re supplementing it in.

#12

When it comes to certain things like vitamin A , I would say you are right. But magnesium? I would think plants could do it. I struggle with constipation. I used to take magnesium pills and nothing would happen. Ate a half cup of almond butter and things went through eventually. When I was in the hospital as kid with low potassium they pumped me with all kinds of IV fluids and it wouldn’t go up. They finally gave me banana and it started to go up.

#13

I hadn’t noticed you mentioned kale.

Kale is not a food for humans. It was developed for cattle fodder.
In the 90’s some food companies (some of the people I work with now) started working selling animal feed as human ‘health’ food.
Kale was one, so was millet which we now call quinoa.

Make has been eaten in the past only as a last resort in times of poverty.

You can eat it, but it has less nutrition than you think. You really need several stomachs like a cow to get the nutrients out of it.
Undigestable fibre needs bacteria to break it down, which is what causes gas.
So its really not worth it.

#14

So it’s just deliciousness without nutrients? Some people totally appreciate that… I prefer when I get everything at once in the right ratio but a nice tasty nothing is still okay.
(I personally dislike almost all green leaves, kale is an optional exception. When it made into the only dish my SO use it for, it’s either bitter and I don’t touch it or I can’t resist and eat half the pot. Some plants have this hit and miss taste. My SO always loves it though. It’s green so must be good for magnesium? Oh well, I still don’t eat green leaves, my one per year accident aside :smiley: And a few sorrel leaves where I couldn’t care less about nutrients, I eat about 5 leaves per year anyway but it’s SOUR and I have it in my garden without effort. Yum.)

Millet isn’t the same as quinoa and it was widely used ages (well, hundreds of years at least) ago as well. It was discovered again lately and it’s definitely way more fun and tasty than some plain rice, at least according to the taste of my family.

#15

Sorry, yes you are right. Quinoa has always been a food. But millet was only used in the UK as game cover until a team decided to rebrand it.
The same team developed kale and some squash into foods for human consumption. I work with one of the guys and have seen all the trial data from the varieties they put together.

I don’t understand how anyone can like kale, but you may have a better variety and a better climate for growing than we have here in the UK.

I really love spring greens. I make them really tastey by frying a bit of onion, garlic and 1 rasher of bacon in a deep pot, then adding the greens. Then I add a bit of bone broth or chicken stock, salt and pepper. Then put the kid on and let it cook down for 30mins.

Sometime I get some really tough leaves. So I slice them thinner, then massage a teaspoon of salt into the leaves. Leave for 20mins, then come back and massage again. The leaves really break down and need a lot less cooking.

(Joey) #16

Sure sounds like magnesium. But skimping on table or sea salt (NaCl) is part of the story too, as @PaulL notes above.

That’s a good start :wink: To get enough each day I use a full teaspoon of Redmond’s sea salt along with another teaspoon of magnesium citrate (=500mg Mg element) in my 32 oz of morning jug of water. A real thirst quencher throughout the morning until first meal time midday. And unsalted water sure does taste weird, doesn’t it?

@anon69861679: For the most fact-based research about human salt consumption needs and consequences of deficiencies see Dr. James DiNicolantonio’s “The Salt Fix.”

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#17

One of my favorite stories in this vein is the fact that Pizza Hut years ago was one of the largest commercial kale buyers in the US so that they could line their salad bar with it over the ice, not for human consumption…

#18

Kale Chips…De-stemmed and dry roasted in a 375* oven for 10-12 minutes with a little olive oil lightly drizzled over the top and then sprinkled with salt is actually really good. Nutty flavor. Potato-chip-y texture.

#19

You sound well researched in this.
How much sodium would you recommend per day as standard. And then how much during a heat wave, working hard in the sun constantly sweating?
Most advice is 7g max. But I feel very dehydrated even on 10g of salt with 3liters of water during the day.

#20

Millet is for the birds, literally.