Salt in the Diet

[Billhook]

About five years ago, I was too fat and made a giant resolution to lose weight on a long term healthy diet. 

 

Cut out bread and beer.  Omlette with vine tomatoes, spinach and mushrooms for breakfast and a pint of whole milk.  Smoked salmon and fruit made up rest of diet.

Certainly lost the weight, over 40 lbs in all.  Coupled with exercise regime, daily bike ride and swim on top of farm/wood work.  Giant halo now floating above my head!

 

Started to gradually feel  more tired more easily, legs feeling heavy, strength not quite what it was.  Old age creeping on I thought as I approach 65.  Suddenly became apparent that I actually may not be having enough salt in the diet.  It says on the web that smoked salmon is 60% salt but on the Lidl packet it says 27% salt.  Then I wondered if a lot of that is lost in the washing/smoking process.  I never add salt to any meal except chips and I do not eat them any more either.

 

I started to have bad leg cramps in the morning and looking on the web found that salt deficiency could be a cause.

 

Anyway, I started putting a teaspoonful of salt in the omlette at the beginning of this week together with a twist of rock salt and the result seems quite stunning. Not only have all my cramps gone away but I do not notice the 1 in 7 hill on the bike ride and feel full of vital energy. There may just have been a sodium deficiency or perhaps iodine imbalance or even some other element that I needed hidden in the sea salt or Himalayan rock salt.

 

I mentioned this to the old shepherd and he said that when he came in from lambing, completely knackered and exhausted, he used to go for the bread in a big way and thought that the salt in it gave him the boost he needed to go back to work.  

 

Just thought this may be of use to some of you sweating away in the tree tops in this heat.  I know that most of us know to drink a lot of water in these conditions, but too much water can also make you salt deficient.

[arbwork]

''Started to gradually feel  more tired more easily, legs feeling heavy, strength not quite what it was.  Old age creeping on I thought as I approach 6*.''

 

me to and cut salt a few years ago! ta for sharing  may experiment with salt to see if helps, used to work with trainee whose mum always put a portion of salt in his lunch box, like the twist in the old crisp packets ! but that's another story 

Edited June 30, 2018 by arbwork

[difflock]

Certainly I have noticed how salty the sweat is running down my face, while working in this current heat.

Ergo one needs to replace the lost salt, which I mostly do via our lunchtime  salad.

As a Roman Empire Era salad recipe apparently stated; "salt , salt, salt".

mth

[Mark J]

I learned as a raver that salt cures cramps. 

I wish I could remember the rest... 

[peatff]

We were given salt tablets when I worked in foundries to replace salt lost through sweating. A friend of mine was complaining of calf cramps and when I told him it was probably due to lack of salt he said he never puts salt on or in anything. He does now and is not suffering.

[Graham]

A mate of mine started suffering bad and prolonged headaches.  Diagnosed as not enough salt in diet.

[Billhook]

15 minutes ago, difflock said:

Certainly I have noticed how salty the sweat is running down my face, while working in this current heat.

Ergo one needs to replace the lost salt, which I mostly do via our lunchtime  salad.

As a Roman Empire Era salad recipe apparently stated; "salt , salt, salt".

mth

Yes Salt was a driving force in the Roman Empire and I believe soldiers were paid in salt.  "Worth your weight in salt" etc.

The other thing I heard was that there were a couple more reasons why the Romans bothered to invade Britain.

Firstly there may have been a global warming spell which meant that the crops in Southern Europe were burnt off and they had an Empire to feed.  There was a bread basket here on the East Coast hence Lincoln and Norfolk being much more important than they are today the clue is in the Roman roads

Secondly there is not much of a tide in the Med which means that it is not so easy to fill basins as the tide comes in and then let them evaporate to find the salt.

We have many salt names in Lincolnshire, Saltfleetby, psalter road etc and they used the massive tides here and in Norfolk to their advantage.

 

I just feel that there is a lot more to salt than just simple sodium chloride.  It is a very delicate balance.  Too much will kill you and too little will also kill you .

So do not overdo it!

[Billhook]

21 minutes ago, Mark J said:

I learned as a raver that salt cures cramps. 

I wish I could remember the rest... 

Was it the sex , the drugs or the rock 'n roll??

[Mark J]

 

4 hours ago, Billhook said:

Was it the sex , the drugs or the rock 'n roll??

Probably.

Edited June 30, 2018 by Mark J

[Haironyourchest]

The heat is savage right now. Last few days out been coming home with a headache, drinking 6 lt or more over the afternoon, with rehydration powder every so often. Still got a headache. I take it to be simple heat stress, as not dehydrated, urine clear. But I'll try salting my water a tiny bit today, and see if it makes a difference. I thought the rehydration powder (dioralite) would have enough sodium to replenish but maybe not..