in which alex's body is a special snowflake

[alexseanchai]

Doctor's orders: Eat more salt.

(Also drink more fluids, and when moving from lying down to sitting or sitting to standing move extra slowly, and take it easy at least the next few days. Because doctor says the lightheaded shit is probably just a variation on the standing-up-dizzy I am accustomed to having, which makes it a low-blood-pressure problem.)

I hate salty foods.

(Except salt-and-vinegar Pringles. Those are okay. But they're actually not all that salty, because the Pringles makers have responded to the fact that most people are supposed to eat less salt!)

So. Rec me high-sodium foods that don't taste salty?

(I realize this may be a fool's game...)

Comments

[ruuger]

If you need to get your blood pressure up, black liquorice candy or liquorice tea is very good for that.

[alexseanchai]

Huh. Worth a try. Thanks!

[ruuger]

Black liquorice is not that popular in the US, is it? Because in Finland it's so popular that eating black liquorice before a doctor's appointment is a well-known cause for mysteriously high blood pressure and doctors will often ask if you've eaten any before they take your blood pressure :)

[alexseanchai]

heh heh heh.

I have never had it, I believe.

[onyxlynx]

Cheeses mostly don't taste salty, but many of them are (usually the harder the cheese, the more sodium content), and I don't know about jalapeño jack.

Skim and non-fat milk and yoghurt are somewhat higher in salt content than whole milk. If you do dairy, that is.

Sushi and seafood generally. Although there the salt is a feature... Hmmmmm... Cookies and cakes have a lot of sodium (both salt and leavening) but the sweetness covers it.

(Coming from the opposite end after a lifetime of low bp and currently having a bout of rebellion.)

[alexseanchai]

Oo cheese.

Bleh yech dairy. (I do it, I'm just not happy about it unless it's quite chocolatey.)

OO COOKIES

Thanks!

[topaz119]

Bread itself is pretty high in sodium.

[alexseanchai]

Huh, okay! Thanks.

[armaina]

Do you like canned soups at all? They don't taste salty but most of them have a significant amount of sodium in them.
for example
http://www.progresso.com/products/soup/rich-hearty-ne-clam-chowder

actually most packaged foods tend to be high in sodium

[alexseanchai]

canned soups nooo.

And of course I'm trying to reduce my consumption of processed foods, for unrelated reasons. Gaaah.

Thanks, though!

[armaina]

haha oh well
I'll keep that in mind if I think of anything else

[senmut]

You probably already know this, but avoid the processed food-high sodium game. Plenty of research that says the sodium introduced to preserve food is the wrong sodium for our bodies. Straight up table-salt type salt is the best (with iodine to prevent thyroid issues).

If you don't like salty foods, but do like potatoes (boiled or baked), add the salt to that. It tends to absorb and mask how much salt is in it.

[alexseanchai]

Nod! I did not in fact know that, but it makes sense.

Potatoes are good, yes. (I think they're dinner tonight, in fact, I have to ask Mom.) Thanks!

[senmut]

I've already walked this road, so anything I can do to help. I've had three separate docs say 'eat more salt' and I laugh at them because I can be a salt-a-holic. But back then my BP was averaging so low that a nurse went and got the doc to double check her once. He looked at me, shook his head, and told me I should be unconscious.

[alexseanchai]

Wow. That is some low blood pressure.

(Potatoes are dinner! Also chicken and spinach and maybe carrots.)

[niqaeli]

My SIL's grandmother has been told to go walk around until she's not dead by doctors. Because her resting blood pressure will run so low they can't even pull a reading.

I'll ask my SIL for her suggestions -- she also has low blood pressure and has to get a lot of sodium dietarily.

[madgastronomer]

Chinese and Japanese foods in general. Soy sauce, fish sauce (which is more Vietnamese and Thai, but gets used in Chinese and Japanese too sometimes), miso paste. And many of the recipes that are high in salt also use sugar, which covers the salty flavor, or are strongly umami, which distracts from it.

[alexseanchai]

Ooo, intriguing avenue to try! Thanks!

[madgastronomer]

The blogs Just Hungry and Just Bento have some great Japanese (and other) recipes. Some of the ingredients are pretty specialized, and she often suggests substitutions. I really recommend at least trying to get hold of some miso paste (the main flavoring in miso soup) as well as soy or fish sauce if you're trying to get salt into your diet. It's delicious, it can be added to so many things, and it goes a long long way.

[alexseanchai]

Shiny!