Your tips for a low salt/no caffeine diet please

[Noitsnotteatimeyet]

I've just been diagnosed with Ménière's disease and the consultant has recommended I try a low salt diet and cut out caffeine altogether, so no 'normal' tea, chocolate as well as coffee. (I also need to avoid MSG but that's not too bad as I'm not a huge fan of Chinese food anyway).

Anyone else following this sort of regime? What are the best/easiest ways to cut down?

I'm currently trying not to sob as I contemplate the box of salted caramels in dark chocolate which dh just brought back from New York (sob)

[1frenchfoodie]

The caffein side should be fine, just switch to decaf tea and coffee or alternatives (redbush tea, herbal tea etc). You can get caffeine free coke too. I'd question whether the odd square of choc would do real harm but I suppose it is best to exclude and seeif symptoms settle before seeing if you can reintroduce.

Low salt is arguably harder (depending on how attached you are to caffinated products ) as food will taste bland initially though you will get used to less salt over time. I was a cook for a chronic disease charity and we reagularly had to cook low/no salt food. The most successful dishes were ones with plenty of spices or fresh herbs and it made it important to wring flavour out of other things so caramelising onions for sauce bases etc. you can get low salt stock cubes, soy etc though unless you regularly cook from scratch you are probably going to spend a lot more time reading labels.

[Noitsnotteatimeyet]

Thanks - we do mostly cook from scratch but I do rely on things like cheese and stock and one of our favourite quick mid-week meals is stir fry and presumably soy sauce is out ?

[AtleastitsnotMonday]

I think the best way to lower salt intake is to cook as much from scratch as possible. The number of products which have added salt are amazing. Everyday things like bread and cereal. Some of the jars of sauces are absolutely laden. I agree with the pp just use herbs, spices, lemon juice etc instead. Do you add salt to cooking or meals presently?

[AtleastitsnotMonday]

Kikkoman Make a reduced salt soy sauce (you can get it in Waitrose)

[BitOutOfPractice]

Just a word of warning. Msg isn't only on Chinese food. It's in lots or processed food. You need to check ingredients.

As PPs have said, the easiest way is to avoid processed food as much as possible.

Good luck op

[AtleastitsnotMonday]

Msg is in foods other than Chinese but far fewer than 10 yrs ago. My sister is anaphylactic to it and 10 yrs ago it was a nightmare, but as awareness of additives has grown it has been removed from about 90% of the foods it was once in.

[LegoCaltrops]

I don't have caffeine, at all, aside from what's in chocolate. And I don't eat block chocolate any more either... I get very severe migraines so am careful of what I eat.

Good drinks (IMHO) are: redbush tea, honeybush tea (a bit like redbush but more honey scented), herbal teas - I like chamomile, spearmint, limeflower, lavender, rose. I like licorice too but it raises blood pressure so I can't have it. Douwe Egberts & Millicano are about the nicest brands of decaff instant coffee, IMHO - but we do have very soft water so that might make a difference, I understand much of Britain has harder water. Fresh decaff brands are rather better generally better.

Sodium, & MSG in particular have a lot of different names in food, definitely recommend you look it up. YY to cooking everything from scratch if you can. Salt & MSG is often added to compensate for flavour lost due to manufacturing & preserving methods...