Counteracting the negative effects of sodium

Does anyone have any suggestions for how to counteract the retentive effects of sodium? I love love love salt and although I don't eat any processed foods I often add probably a bit too much salt to salads and my morning warm lemon water.

Would drinking more water dilute the salt and cause me to bloat less?

WATER!

 

And do you mean you put salt IN your warm lemon water?

Yes, with a dash of honey.

Add in a little more water. When I eat french fries or something salty I just remind myself I'm going to feel a little bloated, I try to sip on water all day and carry a bottle with me to remind me to drink it.

wow you do like salt my grandpa used to put salt on his ice-cream he liked it so much! I like it a lot too but I'm not sure I'd like it in my drinking water...

yeah, drinking more water is the way to go.

I used to put salt on my watermelon. Delicious!

I am so sensitive to salty foods now! I've lost 12 lbs but if I have too much sodium my wedding ring gets tight again on my finger.

mmm salt on watermelon... that sounds good.  although now salt and i dont really agree too much.  i usually drink lots of water to help with the sodium problem. I can see though where I was feeling bloated all the time before...being raised in the south we all seem to put salt in everything...load down our veggies with it...now i add a tiny dash of salt and feel less bloated after dinner lol

ooh good question... i'm a salt fiend too. my friends joke that their going to buy me a salt lick.  know what else salt is great with... LEMON DROPS... I always substitute salt on the rim instead of sugar!

Your problem is that your tastebuds are now 'salt tolerant'.  You need to add lots of salt to everything in order to taste it.  To solve the problem I'd suggest going cold turkey...  Stop adding salt to your food for about a week.  Everything you eat will taste really bland for a while but then your tastebuds will start to recover and become 'salt intolerant' instead.  Then you'll find you only need a tiny amount and you'll be able to taste it.

Bloating is minor issue.  Eating too much salt raises blood-pressure over the long term and that's potentially much more serious.  Worth tackling it now and save yourself the pain.

Make sure you're also getting enough potassium (in addition to drinking more water). Potassium and Sodium are a balancing act of electrolytes inside and outside of cells...too much of one and too little of the other can cause some problems. I was also taking in too much sodium and not enough potassium. Now that I have things more balanced, I feel better and less puffy. Remember to make any changes slowly.

Some light reading if you're interested:

http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/dp_fnut/_timely/POT. HTM

Or you can just google "sodium potassium" and get all sorts of information.