I am a 21 yr old male. My question concerns a low sodium diet. I am 6’5" 190lb, i eat 3-4 large portion meals a day and i don’t gain any weight. As a college student my diet contains a huge amount of sodium (avg of 3500mg/day). My father has primary hypertension and my family has a record of hypertension.
Whenever i visit the doctor they tell me that my blood pressure is fairly high and consider me to have pre-hypertension. My Doctor does not consider it high enough for me to take medication. He advised me to cut back on my sodium (which i have been trying to, bringing my average down from 6000+ mg/day). But, i still feel that my blood pressure fluctuates and is lower when i visit the doctor then on a regular day. I try to eat healthy and cut back on fast-food, but i still cant seem to get away from food that contains a extremely large amount of sodium(ie frozen, processed, canned foods, etc.)
1st question, Is there a way for me to get tested to see if i have a sensitivity to sodium? (Which may be causing my pre-hypertension.)
2nd question, Can anyone suggest any low sodium food that is fairly easy to make for 1 person and/or low sodium cookbooks? (remember the poor college kid aspect of my question)
(i found this cookbook "The No-Salt, Lowest-Sodium Cookbook" on amazon and looks like a good one, has anyone purchased this book and would you suggest it?)
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No need to buy a book. Look online…
http://www.lowsodiumcooking.com/free/Archive.htm
http://www.chfpatients.com/rec/rec1.htm
http://busycooks.about.com/od/healthyrecipe1/Healthy_Recipes_Nutrient_Dense_Foods.htm
There are lists of low and high sodium foods online.
No to the cook book question.
Are you sure your BP machine is accurate? The one your doctor has will be accurate.
Get yours checked when you visit the surgery.
It isn’t easy to test for sodium sensitivity, speak to your doctor.
Some sodium is essential.
It is the most abundant cation in the extracellular fluid of the body. It acts with other electrolytes, especially potassium, in the intracellular fluid, to regulate the osmotic pressure and maintain proper water balance within the body. It is a major factor in maintaining the acid-base equilibrium, in transmitting nerve impulses, and in relaxing muscles. It is also required for glucose absorption and for the transportation of other nutrients across cell membranes.