 There can be far more salt in many holiday meals than people realize, and the proof can be found at hospital emergency rooms. Often heart problems are either aggravated or unmasked after consumption of a significant amount of salt. This tends to make holidays such as Thanksgiving, Passover, Christmas and New Years very busy times for doctors and Emergency Rooms and uncomfortable, and even painful, times for people like you and me.
During the holiday months people tend to stop watching their diets and what they eat. They eat more and they take less care in watching the salt content of what they do eat. If you or a loved one suffers from heart failure, salt can be a very dangerous component of the foods that they eat. Salt increases water retention, and people with weak hearts can be very sensitive to water retention and easily worsen their heart failure. When the heart becomes decompensated and starts to fail, these individuals will often experience shortness of breath, chest pains and sweating, which, in a very severe state, almost feels like they are drowning. This usually means a terrified call to 911 or a frantic drive to a local emergency room or urgent care. While insurance may cover the cost of the visit, nothing covers the anxiety, fear and risk to the individual.
The problem is that even individual who have no known history of heart disease the high salt conrent of holiday foods may well unmask a previously unknown underlying cardiac disease even after only ingesting what might be considered a small amount of salt.
Anyone already experiencing such symptoms should seek medical attention and discuss what limits of salt they should be allowed. Since during the holiday time we often tend to minimize our symptom and maximize high salty food, unless everyone takes care, the burden will fall on family and friends to deal with your emergency medical problems. It is always important to recognize symptoms when they are occurring and to get medical attention quickly. The sooner one gets medical attention, the less likelihood the problem will worsen and your life will be at risk. You will also get better faster and get back to having a good time with friends or family, if you pay attention to your limits and do not over do them.
It is estimated that there will more than one million admissions of patients with acute decompensated heart failure this year. This will cost our country more than $20 billion for hospitalization, drugs, treatment and followup. The reason behind all of this is our own medical or dietary indiscretions.
It is important to watch out for large salty meals which can and do precipitate acute decompensated heart failure, make sure that you do not run out of or forgot to take your medications for any period of time as fluid can gradually accumulate and this can lead to an episode of acute decompensated heart failure.
To prevent illness that may result in a trip to the ER, take precautions when preparing and ingesting holiday meals. Here are a few things you can do:
Make sure that everyone, those who are preparing the meals or if you eat out the waiter and chef know that you are salt restricted. Tell them to cook your food without salt and then you can add salt as agreed upon with your doctor.
Read labels. If you are preparing your own food cook without adding salt and read all of the labels of all of your ingredients and food components. Make sure none of the meals have more than what you are allow at any one meal and that total all of all of the food you will eat in any one day is within what you and your doctor have agreed on is safe for you.
Make sure as we suggested above, that everyone cooking for you, wife, mother, friend, neighbor or lover knows what to do how to manage your salt needs. If you eat out tell the waiter or waitress and if necessary talk with the cook or the chef.
- You can reduce salt by using herbs, spices or other natural flavorings instead of table salt when cooking.
- Avoid condiments like pickles, relish, mustard, and ketchup as they are often loaded with salt.
- Avoid processed and refined foods and especially processed meats for the same reason.
A Few Other Tips
- Spread your food intake out a little more over the day rather than having one large meal. Large meals can increase the workload on the heart as increased circulation is required to digest and metabolize a large meal.
- Eating smaller portions and smaller meals is especially important for people with underlying heart disease, whether it be heart failure or coronary artery disease.
- Avoid smoked meats as they tend to contain large amounts of salt. Stick to to freshly cooked meats such as chicken and turkey or fish and other sea foods which have lower fat content.
- Eat small desserts and limit the total number of desserts you eat during any given day and over the holidays. It is good to enjoy dessert but without gaining the weight or feeling bad after eating it. Share dessert with a fellow family member or friend, or take little sample bites of each dessert.
- For the same reasons, watch the starches during each meal. Have smaller portions of potatoes, bread, and biscuits. This will allow you to eat a reasonable dessert without feeling guilty or feeling like you have over done it.
- Moderation and balance are the most important thing to remember. Enjoy the meal, but enjoy the people more!
A Message For the Cook
If you are the cook, remember that the amount of salt you add while cooking may be more than what the person or people you are cooking for are allowed in anyone meal. Allow salt restricted individuals, to add salt to food on their plates, if they choose, but avoid adding salt while preparing the food.
Making your food more tasty in other ways:
- Use different types of herbs and none sodium seasonings such as thyme or sage or stir-fry a little bit of garlic to spice up what you are making.
- Avoid processed and canned foods, which can contain significant amounts of sodium. Prepare meals from scratch as it will allow better control over the amount of salt that ends up being served.
- Use only heart-friendly monounsaturated or polyunsaturated oils, like olive, canola or vegetable oils. Avoid Crisco, butter or lard.
- Make more low calorie desserts, use less sugar, as little white processed or bleached flour as is possible, and more fruits and fruit juices.
For more information on restricting salt in your or a loved ones diet, click here.
For information on Natural Food and Herb Based Diuretics, click here.
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