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foods
- by shondaadams
- 2013-01-12 09:01:15
- General Posting
- 4700 views
- 21 comments
Hello I just got my pacemaker on Dec. 20, 2012. Can someone tell me what kind of food can I eat. My Doctor just told me to make sure the food is low in sodium...Can someone please help me.Thank-you Roshonda
21 Comments
whatever
by Tracey_E - 2013-01-12 09:01:37
If your bp is high or you have water retention problems, you need to watch sodium. Simply having a pacemaker doesn't generally mean any type of diet restrictions.
This is just my opinion and no dr has ever told me what to eat, but I feel all of us should stay as active as we can and eat a heart-healthy diet- high fiber, low in the bad fats, rich in the good fats (omega3), low sugar, avoid processed foods and too much salt. We already have wonky electrical systems, it would be crazy to compound it with additional problems that are preventable by not keeping the arteries clear and the muscles strong. YMMV, of course :)
Waitaminit...
by donr - 2013-01-12 10:01:44
Everything Grateful heart said is absolutely correct - But there HAS to be more to the story.
Having a PM in & of itself is NOT grounds for a cardio telling you "Low Sodium."
Do you have high blood pressure in addition to an electrical problem?
Don
Sodium
by APgirl - 2013-01-13 02:01:36
I followed the mantra of many. don't add salt without being aware that as I cooked food from scratch, I was not taking in the anywhere near the daily allowance.
The cardiac nurse who explained what was happening to me, after I had 'paused' and keeled over yet again, explained that as someone with naturally low bp and sick sinus, I really should be adding salt to my food and making sure that I drank enough each day.
My dear mother, (late 77s) said, don't you know that salt is essential and should be added, and you need to drink more, us old timers would make sure we had salt tablets and take on enough fluid.... (Yes, Ian and Framk, im with you guys.
Having felt crap for years, the pacer and a careful diet, lots of fluids and liberal sprinklings of salt on my food have improved my health no end. And I do so enjoy when people look disapprovingly at me, tut tut re salt, saying it will increase your bp to which my response is that's the plan.
Ap
Sodium
by APgirl - 2013-01-13 03:01:09
I followed the mantra of many. don't add salt without being aware that as I cooked food from scratch, I was not taking in the anywhere near the daily allowance.
The cardiac nurse who explained what was happening to me, after I had 'paused' and keeled over yet again, explained that as someone with naturally low bp and sick sinus, I really should be adding salt to my food and making sure that I drank enough each day.
My dear mother, (late 77s) said, don't you know that salt is essential and should be added, and you need to drink more, us old timers would make sure we had salt tablets and take on enough fluid.... (Yes, Ian and Framk, im with you guys.
Having felt crap for years, the pacer and a careful diet, lots of fluids and liberal sprinklings of salt on my food have improved my health no end. And I do so enjoy when people look disapprovingly at me, tut tut re salt, saying it will increase your bp to which my response is that's the plan.
Ap
Off Track
by Grateful Heart - 2013-01-13 03:01:18
Feeling a little feisty today so:
The original question in this post was Can someone tell me what kind of food can I eat?)
Roshonda is trying to follow her Doctors orders. My Cardios have told me as well to keep salt low.
Of course our bodies need some sodium but when your body retains too much fluid, your heart has to work that much harder.
The following was taken from the Mayo Clinic website: (not a cheap newspaper).
Your kidneys naturally balance the amount of sodium stored in your body for optimal health. When your sodium levels are low, your kidneys essentially hold on to the sodium. When sodium levels are high, your kidneys excrete the excess in urine.
But if for some reason your kidneys can't eliminate enough sodium, the sodium starts to accumulate in your blood. Because sodium attracts and holds water, your blood volume increases. Increased blood volume makes your heart work harder to move more blood through your blood vessels, which increases pressure in your arteries. Such diseases as congestive heart failure, cirrhosis and chronic kidney disease can make it hard for your kidneys to keep sodium levels balanced.
Some people's bodies are more sensitive to the effects of sodium than are others. If you're sodium sensitive, you retain sodium more easily, leading to fluid retention and increased blood pressure. If this becomes chronic, it can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and congestive heart failure. (end quote)
Don and Sparrow, thanks for the backup.
Mary Ellen
Real Salt
by timyanb - 2013-01-13 03:01:58
Many people don't know this, but there is a huge difference between "real salt" that contains all of the original minerals it had when it was mined, and what is now sold in most stores as "table salt". The sad truth is that most salt companies remove all of the essential minerals like calcium, potassium, sulphur, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, manganese,copper and zinc, and sell them seperately to make additional profit, leaving only the sodium chloride. Federal law requires that they leave the iodine in. Straight sodium chloride is what causes the blood pressure problems, but when you use salt in its original form with all of the trace minerals still in it, it is actually very good for you and does not cause the problems that table salt does with elevated blood pressure. I use a brand actually called "Real Salt" which you can read about at: www.realsalt.com, which is produced by the Redmond Trading Company in Heber City, Utah. It is mined there, and packaged exactly as it is taken out of the salt mine. You will also be surprised at how much better it tastes. I hope this will educate some of my fellow club members who, like me, religiously avoided salt and found that my body was very depleted and was craving salt, which is an essential mineral for life.
Tim
Where is...
by donr - 2013-01-13 04:01:13
..the woman who started this free for all?
I stand by my questions - "Why," in her case.
As someone said - we are all correct - but in reality, we have no idea if what we have said is applicable to her!
Take water & Grateful Heart'scomments about sensitivity. My kidneys will only process water up to an intake rate of 1/2 litre per hour. Once upon a time, I had a contract job in the Saudi desert in July & August. I put down 2 litres in my first hour, keeping up w/ a fellow contractor who was a old desert rat. I wound up in the hosp 2 hrs later, OD'd on water! BP was near 200/120. I had symptoms like you would not believe. took nearly a week to get my BP down to normal & stable.
We are all different.
Don
Mary Ellen ( Grateful Heart
by IAN MC - 2013-01-13 04:01:24
You didn't come over as being feisty at all but your quote from the Mayo clinic says it all :-
" SOME PEOPLE'S bodies are more sensitive
to the effects of sodium than others ....... "
Yes those people should be identified and put on low sodium diets but why should EVERY heart patient be given the same advice ?
Your opening statement in your first post that " As a
heart patient, too much sodium is our enemy" simply doesn't stack up with the evidence .
As Frank said ,so often good science identifies a sector of the population with a problem and a solution, and then bad science illogically says that the whole population should be given that solution whether they have the problem or not.
I don't blame you for accepting whatever advice your Dr gives you, but I hope you don't blame me for questioning some of that advice ...it is my body after all !
Regards
Ian
The thing is here............
by Tattoo Man - 2013-01-13 04:01:35
...............that every comment above is correct in its own way.'Cheap Papers' or 'Quality Press'....they do just punt out what readers want to hear / not hear.
A little story: Your TM is working in the house of Proff
essor John Hampton , as in Prof of Cardiology. Not a young man but a fit one. He is enjoying a slice of bread and butter with an evening meal.
"John, you're eating butter !"..I thought that was bad for you ?...a few seconds pass.."Its a very small amount of butter...everything in moderation" John returns to his meal.
Prof John is a globally respected cardiac researcher (look him up)
Pardon the crummy pun...but??Food for Thought ?
Tattoo Man
PS..try this NaCl...Not Always Completely Lethal..
I agree TM
by Grateful Heart - 2013-01-13 04:01:56
Of course they are correct in their own way. That's what makes the world go 'round.
Indeed, everything in moderation, including moderation.
Too much of a good thing ?
by IAN MC - 2013-01-13 05:01:07
Headache, nausea and vomiting, muscle cramps, drowsiness, fainting, fatigue and possibly coma.... all can be caused by sodium...A LACK OF IT !
Try running a marathon on a hot humid day when you're sweating salty sodium by the bucketful and you quickly learn about sodium deficiency and our need for sodium
As with all "medical religions" it is so easy to become a believer and end up preaching that sodium, or cholesterol, or alcohol , or whatever the fad of the day is, is the devil incarnate !
I believe that researches have shown that some people are more sensitive to the effects of sodium than others. If you are one of those people you retain sodium more easily leading to fluid retention and increased BP.
My mother used to smother her food with salt and nothing on earth would have stopped her ...she died when she was 97 . It must've been the damned sodium that killed her !
Without doubt convenience foods contain ridiculous amounts of salt and people who really need to reduce their sodium intake should try cooking their own meals ...then you can be in control of your own destiny !
Frank, I agree with your views 100 %
Ian
Don.........
by Tattoo Man - 2013-01-13 05:01:34
........for a Gentleman who has , for a pretty long time identified with British Culture..' a word to the wise'...Quote.."the woman who started this free for all?"
..." The Woman "
Known to you..?
Person,.. is the politically correct term in public speak.
These Threads run their own courses but lets not let ones eye off the socially accepted ..ball.
Your desert info really adds to this Thread of info. and as ever , many thanks for the input...for me.. I always learn a lot..thank you.
Humbly yours ..Tatoo Man
Frank and IAN.........
by Tattoo Man - 2013-01-13 06:01:13
..................when did the World stop taking responsibility for its own health ? Was it when people decided to take nutritional / medical advice from cheap newspapers ?
Salt Sugar etc......these will kill you !!
OMG
now, how about Tattoo Mans diet....you will not like this.
EAT LESS..drink more water.
If you eat less your sodium, sugar levels will go down in proportion. Drink plenty of water and all of your vital bits work just fine.
How many out there go a whole day with only one evening meal, while living an active life..?
Eating for the greater part is a social habit labelled with arbitrary titles like 'breakfast-lunch etc '...no..its called ..Feeding. Animals eat when they are hungry, not because they look at the clock.
Get on the scales..that silent giver of accurate information will tell you if you are hungry or not.
Tattoo Man..
Tattoo man
by IAN MC - 2013-01-13 11:01:16
I believe that there is some evidence that people who eat less , and eat less frequently live much longer.... or did it just seem longer ??
Ian
The First Church of Low Sodium
by ElectricFrank - 2013-01-13 12:01:14
This is just the current medical religion of which there have been much in my long lifetime. Like so many fads it started out being something we all benefit from. Then research used profane language in church by pointing out that only a small subset of us really had any medical need for low sodium. So the mantra was modified to admit that only some of needed to lower it, but it is a good idea for us all.
In the 1960's we drove around in the desert in 100 deg temperatures picking up missile parts.Each vehicle had a salt tablet dispenser mounted on the water thermos with instructions to take one with each glass of water. Those who didn't follow the advice sooner or later suffered severe muscle cramps followed by heat exhaustion.
Now to finish this sermon lets all stand and read from the first chapter of Heart-Healthy Diet.
:(
frank
Salt
by Blue - 2013-01-14 01:01:24
When we lived in New Guinea in the tropics in the early l960's I can remember salt tablets. Our bodies are so finely tuned. Whilst waiting for the overnight ferry from the Australia mainland to Tasmana 4 years ago my husband suddenly passed out and was taken to hospital by ambulance. The temperature that day had reached 42 c. . I thought he had not been drinking enough but he had had too much water. He had washed the salt out of his system and the level l was too low That was the diagnosis at the hospital.. It was later confirmed by his neurologist specialist that it had been a chemical reaction with his epilepsy medication. Something very rare and the medication was changed. I was interested in "Natural Salt" and will be hotfooting it to the health store today. What a lively session and again something learned from my wise pm pals. My diet mantra: if it is lean, mean and green, it must be good for you!!!
sodium
by Hope - 2013-01-14 02:01:49
Hi! Roshonda, Have not been on site for awhile. If I understand your question correctly, you are trying to find low sodium foods as per your doctor's inrtructions. Some vegies and fruits that are good choices in their natural fresh raw state are: tomato, greens, lettuces, cucumbers, white potato, asparagus, eggplant, green beans,avocado, banana, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, crookneck squash, kiwi, peach, pear, apple, orange, lemon, lime, etc.. Some even contain mild diuretic property if you are interested. If you need to be very careful, yummy things like bacon, olives, etc, can sneak up on you. Wishing you good health and hope this helps. Hopeful Heart
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Sodium
by Grateful Heart - 2013-01-12 09:01:09
As a heart patient, too much sodium is our enemy. Our body does not need to retain extra fluid and that is what sodium does. Almost everything has sodium in it.
The best food to eat is fresh fruits and vegetables, salads etc. Some can be frozen but check the labels for no additional salt added. Anything in a can has sodium in it, although you can find some low sodium but again, check the labels. Some claim low sodium but still can be high, just lower than the regular version.
Read labels for EVERYTHING, after awhile, you will be familiar with the foods you regularly eat. Use spices to season foods with no salt. There are some wonderful spices, just have fun. Better still, after awhile your taste buds will get used to and enjoy foods in their natural state.
I've been told to keep my sodium intake to 2000 mg. per day. I've got it down now to usually no more than 400 - 600 mg. per day. If I go over by eating out sometimes even though ordering carefully, I can tell when something is loaded with salt now and my body doesn't like it. It is just not used to it anymore and it takes a few days for me to detox and lose the 3 - 4 lbs. I can easily gain from the meal out.
When following a recipe, leave out the salt it calls for and use other spices if necessary.
Here is a low sodium site I sometimes use and you can adapt them as you see fit.
http://www.lowsodiumcooking.com/free/Archive.htm
Have fun with the recipes and create your own,
Grateful Heart