I think my body runs low in salt

[ordinaryordinary]

I’m wondering if I need more salt than other people. I have noticed for a while that extra salty food helps cure my headaches/migraines, and recently I’ve been suffering from dizziness every time I bend down low. Googling, I’ve self-diagnosed 😝 low blood pressure, and advice for high blood pressure is to cut down on salt. So, adding 2 and 2 together and getting 9, anyone else the same, or would like to diagnose me with any other deficiency?

Have you taken your blood pressure?

I think it’s hard to make a diagnosis without a blood test to check sodium, potassium etc and a check to see what your bp is doing.

My daughter is a fainter and the consultant recommended upping the salt in her diet, asfaik they didn't check her sodium levels. It didn't help because it turned out to be hormone related, but it does seem to be an accepted thing.

Not I’ve not checked it, it only occurred to me this morning that that might be what the dizziness is. I will have to book in at the GP but as it’s not really serious I will prob put it off for a while with the virus, silly I know. Previous blood pressure checks have always been fine.

That’s interesting SusannaSpider I don’t think it would hurt to up my salt for a short while, I don’t really add salt to anything but chips, not when cooking from scratch or anything. And I do drink a lot of water which may flush what I do have out!

A few years back I cut out as much salt as I could and I felt ruddy awful so reintroduced it!

I’ve just checked my My Fitness Pal from when I was logging last year and my sodium and potassium intake does seem to be consistently under half the recommended daily allowance.

If you add the 'Salt n Low' to your food, it's less than 50% sodium with potassium. It tastes salty but it's better for you whilst giving much needed potassium.

www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/lo-salt-reduced-sodium-salt-alternative-350g?catalogId=10241&productId=80732&storeId=10151&langId=44&krypto=rZFWcU5ZF%2FXpZMcIWKHPfLi3eJWPvqG1HT0ebmqjbviUu8uj7pk4koJQgSTbxAo9C6ajdNLeCykCbjzPWqFzl%2B7IFEh9NEIfOMpDb%2BRTNvjEvIjmh%2Fol7ET5M39M8T7OLS11um5fi2071m2dZW%2BFSKYftK%2BaHDQtKoH4YheIZeOGiKv6BrQPNwOl6RIfk2hfmpJ8LdJpnIdRNsc25VKn%2Fw%3D%3D&ddkey=https%3Agb%2Fgroceries%2Flo-salt-reduced-sodium-salt-alternative-350g

Again, no actual science behind it, but in both my pregnancies I craved salty things. Mash with tonnes of gravy, salty crisps, even to the point I wanted to dip my finger in salt and lick it 😩 and I had really low blood pressure throughout both pregnancies. I had a couple of dizzy spells due to my bp dropping.

So you could be right, but best to get it checked out!

I definetly run better if I have something salty first so I can sweat it out.

Thanks everyone, v interesting, I’ll try and up my salt for a couple of weeks and see if it makes a difference, then I’ll book in with GP if needed.

planningaheadtoday thank you so much for that recommendation, I’ll add it to my shop!

I've always had naturally low blood pressure, I also take propranolol for a neurological condition (take it as long as my body tolerates it then off for a few months and then on again....). That makes for fun times fairly often I absolutely hate salt/salty foods though.

I’ve had episodes of low sodium. I was put onto massively restricted fluids until Na increased. I was told to eat things with a high sodium content too but the definite focus was on restricting fluids so not to flush out what sodium I had.

That’s interesting AtleastitsnotMonday because I drink lots of water usually and when I have a migraine I feel always feel like drinking more doesn’t help, even though that’s the advice you always read.

I have naturally low blood pressure which meant with both my pregnancies I was dizzy a lot. My consultants prescription was just to eat lots more salt - not something they usually tell people 😂

You need more hula hoops in your life op

I’m quite active and noticed when I was a teenager on a low salt diet (my dad had high BP and so my Mum got the salt free/low salt version of everything and cut a lot of salty foods out the cupboards) that I’d get cramps and headaches. It can be dehydration. You need some salt, especially if you’re active.

@NiceGerbil

You need more hula hoops in your life op

Love the idea of medicinal hula hoops 😊

I had an op and was told I was salt deficient; which surprised me as I always tried to not eat salt... now I add it to my food.

It's well known that too much fluid can cause electrolyte (inc. salt) imbalance. Can you try to log how much liquid you're drinking per 24h? Include all liquids, not just water.

If your brain medication is anti-psychotics, they could be causing excessive thirst (common side effect). Or if you suffer from schizophrenia that can also cause increased thirst on its own.

I often get low sodium, as a consequence of surgery I've had. I watch for low BP but high pulse, simultaneously, a sign my body is struggling.

The best thing are the diorolyte drinks.

@NiceGerbil

You need more hula hoops in your life op

Hula Hoops also going in the food shop!

I'm on a low carb diet and was getting dizzy and headaches, I've upped my salt and reduced my water intake and it's helped.

I used to faint and was advised that it was due to low salt levels.

And drink less, (water, not jack Daniels )

Salt is really important in our diet - and if you're drinking lots of water it's even more important.

Cook with it and add it to your food. Hopefully that will make you feel better!