Help a brother out...

[eclark1894]

As some of you may remember, a year or so around this time, I had congested heart failure. I was tired, gaining weight, and probably eating way too much of the wrong kinds of food. Unfortunately, I can see the symptoms returning, and if I don't do something, I made be a fond memory for some... soon.

I'm trying to turn my life around, starting with my diet and exercise. I'm going to force myself to start walking more and to drop a few pounds. Foodwise, I need to reduce the amounts of sodium I consume, and I'm hoping some of you may have suggestions of low sodium foods I can try.

There are other dietary restrictions since I'm also dietbetic, but I won't impose those on you. Thanks for any suggestions, and happy new year everyone.

 

[mininessie]

hello ! i found this...i hope it helps!

Lower-Sodium Foods: Shopping list - healthfinder.gov

Your Game Plan to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes | NIDDK

 

[Glitterati3D]

Earl, there are 2 big spots at which you can reduce sodium:
1 - Look at labels of everything you purchase. Sodium content will astound you.
2 - Cut out all salt when preparing foods. Buy a container of Accent (it's branded MSG) which isn't much better than sodium but for your health is better.

After my husband's first heart attack and open heart surgery, I had the same issue you are having here. You will be astounded at sodium content of foods - even raw chicken is soaked in sodium. Put those sodium laden product back on the shelf and find a natural (not necessarily organic) food source where they don't add sodium to make the rubber you are paying for taste like food.

 

[eclark1894]

Thanks, Traci and Nessie for the advice. My doctor did want me to eat more salads, which is doable, but as you point out Traci, adding things like eggs, cheese, and even some meats, and dressings puts back whatever you try to avoid.

 

[Glitterati3D]

Thanks, Traci and Nessie for the advice. My doctor did want me to eat more salads, which is doable, but as you point out Traci, adding things like eggs, cheese, and even some meats, and dressings puts back whatever you try to avoid.

Look for Tyson brand chicken and pork - they don't add sodium to their meats. Use one of those generic George Foreman electric grills and grill the meat. No more fried foods, no prepared foods. I would also invest in a pressure cooker (now very popular InstaPots) so that you can prepare your foods properly and they are done as quickly as popping something sodium laden into the microwave. You can have a homemade beef stew in 15 minutes.

You can't buy an old fashioned pressure cooker anymore (thanks to the Boston Bomber) but the instaPots are a nice all in one appliance - pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker.

 

[Miss B]

Exercise will help a lot as well Earl, so consider joining a gym. I'm not sure if you're a "senior citizen" yet, but a lot of insurance plans allow you access to free, or low cost gym memberships, so that's something else you can investigate.

Even just walking has helped me over the years, as I usually try to walk at a nice pace, though I'm certainly not into jogging, but walking for about 1/2 an hour a day at a pace slightly faster than I usually walk when going to the neighborhood stores, really helps. I've lost 8 pounds since last summer, which for me is good, as I've been the same weight now for about 3 years.

Take care of yourself Earl.

 

[Hornet3d]

I am not a million miles away from your situation Earl. I have had type two diabetes for a number of years and, with the help of medication, in the last two years have managed to drop just over 10 kilos but recently that has stopped and I am in danger of putting it back on. My sugar control has also become and issue and the doctor has now told me I am more like a type one diabetic than I am a type two in that my body is just not producing it's own insulin. Many of the diabetic medications work by helping your body increase your insulin production but a boost of zero is still zero so not much use to me. Added to that, I already have the first signs of diabetic damage to my eyes as there are the first signs of bleeding in the back of the eye and, if that was not bad enough I have a fatty liver.

I do have some limited free access to slimming clubs and reduced membership to gym clubs but the ravages of time have begun to take its toll on my body and problems with my hip and knees limit the exercises I can do. Slimming clubs have never been my scene and my diet is pretty bland anyway as I suffer from the long term effects of Campylobacter many years ago. I already walk my dog twice a day so that is about hour or more walking each day but it is more a stroll than a walk so I am still not losing weight. Yesterday I joined a walking club and a fairly brisk walk for a hour with the added bonus of meeting new people. That went well so I am going back next week over the next few weeks I am looking to join a few more so I can have a brisk walk two or three times a week. I am also planning on a major revamp of the garden which will keep me active for a few months and it is something I can do a in small chunks spread over a number of days each time.

Who knows if any of this will work but there is only one way to find out.

I hope it helps in some small way knowing you are not alone.

 

[Hornet3d]

Earl, there are 2 big spots at which you can reduce sodium:
1 - Look at labels of everything you purchase. Sodium content will astound you.
2 - Cut out all salt when preparing foods. Buy a container of Accent (it's branded MSG) which isn't much better than sodium but for your health is better.

After my husband's first heart attack and open heart surgery, I had the same issue you are having here. You will be astounded at sodium content of foods - even raw chicken is soaked in sodium. Put those sodium laden product back on the shelf and find a natural (not necessarily organic) food source where they don't add sodium to make the rubber you are paying for taste like food.

I would agree on preparing your own food where possible I have not used salt in cooking for well over ten years. I also tend not to cook or eat bacon joints as they have a massively high sugar level. Having now retired I tend to cook a lot more and where I do have processed food I take the time to read the labels to see just what the salt levels are. Not only was I surprised at the levels when I first started checking I was amazed at the levels in so say healthy low fat or low sugar products which you would think were healthy but had more salt than the non reduced equivalent.

 

[HaiGan]

Exercise is far, far easier to keep up with if you are doing something you enjoy that happens to involve being active. Willpower is finite, trying to keep it up by willpower alone is setting yourself up to fail. Try stuff that might be fun or that interests you. Dance class, or fencing, or playing frisbee with somebody's dog, or medieval swordfighting, or rock climbing, or even photography if that gets you exploring the outdoors on foot. It doesn't have to be labelled an exercise class to count as beneficial physical activity.

Exercise is also easier to maintain if you can find a way to make it part of everyday life rather than something unenjoyable that you also have to make a special effort to do. I got a deskcycle, which is an exercise bike small enough to fit under my desk, so I can pedal whenever I'm working at the computer, that works for me.

Cooking your own food can be quite quick, cheaper than buying ready meals, and cooking can be fun and relaxing (Or in the case of kneading bread, stress relieving and surprisingly good exercise- there you go, exercise and low salt food in one). If you have the opportunity, growing your own food provides tasty, healthy eating and exercise as well.

I hope you can find a combination of solutions that works for you.

 

[Miss B]

What kind of bleeding in the back of your eye Hornet? I ask because back in 2012 and 2013 I went through 6 procedures because I had BRVO (Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion), and it cleared up about 95% after the procedures. It couldn't be completely cleared up because, as my Retina Specialist explained, he couldn't go in and sew up the vein that was bleeding.

Luckily for me it was a Branch vein, and not the Central vein, as that can be a major issue.

 

[Miss B]

@HaiGan You make very good points. I first joined my gym over 13 years ago, mostly because in the previous 1 1/2 years since I had retired, I lost 22 lbs. just by eating normal meals for lunch, instead of cheeseburgers and french fries, and not snacking on things they had in the lounge of my office every day. I decided it was time to tighten up, and lose some of the remaining flab. It wasn't the first time I had belonged to a gym, and at first, the treadmill was the one exercise equipment I used regularly. I liked it because I didn't have to stop at corners for traffic lights, or try passing around the women out strolling with their baby carriages when I was walking the streets. Eventually I hooked up with a trainer, and learned to use a lot of the other equipment regularly.

Of course, that's not to say you need to have a trainer. I see a lot of the same women at my gym whenever I'm there, and they have their set of exercises they do all the time, so they seem at ease with them. Start small, and if you're so inclined, increase a little at a time until you have a routine you can follow.

 

[Hornet3d]

What kind of bleeding in the back of your eye Hornet? I ask because back in 2012 and 2013 I went through 6 procedures because I had BRVO (Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion), and it cleared up about 95% after the procedures. It couldn't be completely cleared up because, as my Retina Specialist explained, he couldn't go in and sew up the vein that was bleeding.

Luckily for me it was a Branch vein, and not the Central vein, as that can be a major issue.

So far they have not been specific but I think it is more general in my case in that it is from the blood vessels at the back of the eye. It was picked up a couple of years ago after my yearly retinal photography screening showed a change in the image from the previous year. So far it has not been bad enough to require treatment but I am due another screening in the next month or so. The biggest worry I have with it at the moment is when I loose control of my blood sugars which happens as my body changes. When this happens I am just very aware that the the damage to my eyes can only get worse.

 

[Miss B]

So far they have not been specific but I think it is more general in my case in that it is from the blood vessels at the back of the eye. It was picked up a couple of years ago after my yearly retinal photography screening showed a change in the image from the previous year.

I was lucky in that I noticed I wasn't seeing things as clearly as I should, and I had an appointment a couple/three weeks later with my Ophthalmologist, who told me what he thought it was, and he had his girl call a Retina Specialist he knew to make an appointment right away, so he was able to get it under control more easily.

 

[Szark]

added to what has been said watch out for Sodium Nitrite (not nitrates) which is added to cured meats like bacon and ham etc. Nitrites are a cause of cardiovascular issues. I am not sure where you live but I know the States has more harmful additives than here in the UK.

About 18 months ago I discovered The Joe Rogan Experience (warning he swears a lot) on Youtube and one of his guests a Doctor Rhonda Patrick had me captivated by her knowledge of the human body. She is on the cutting edge of this subject in her work. Since watching every video of when she was on a few times to drill the info in I have lost a stone and a half by adjusting what I eat. This is without any extra exercise though I do walk the dogs everyday for at least an hour. I have had blood works done and I am not defincent in any micro nutrients. My LDL cholesterol has lowered because my triglycerides count went down after a year.This is the best indicator. I can't wait to see what it is like in July. But I feel a lot better.

I don't eat processed foods, refined sugar, fruit with a lot of fructose (we can't metabolise fructose without fibre and it just turns to fat especially in the liver , so I stick with berries and grapes. Semi sweet apples are ok as they contain fibre. No Juices due to the lack of fibre and if we eat good quality meat our bodies can produce Vit C no problem. I don't eat wheat I opt for sourdough rye bread. I never worry about salt but I don't go overboard with it. I only use Rock salt too.

I have always cooked so cooking everything with good quality unprocessed foods was a no brainer for me. I cook two chinese type meals a week, full of fresh organic veg and always broccoli with is a good source of fibre. Why organic as there is most micronutrients in organic veg. non organic has about half the micronutrients as organic does due to how it is grown in almost sterile soil.

Fibre is key for a healthy microbiome and refined sugar really messes with the microbiome leading to all sorts of health issues like inflammation. Yes all inflammation starts there. My arthritis is much better these days with feeding my microbiome good fibre. Mainly from dark leafy greens.

I take 4000 mlg of fish oil a day ( 4 x 1000 mlg capsules)
1 Garlic tablet to flush out any mercury in the fish oil.
1 Curcumin with added Pepperine to help slow down absorption. This help with my arthritis but a side effect is it helps with lowering LDL cholesterol . LDL Low Density Lipids which is the bad cholesterol as opposed to HDL (high density Lipids) which we need for many things heart and brain for example.
1 vit D a day in the winter
1 Multi vit a week as a top up.
I magnesium a week as a top up.

I could go on with more but too much info at once isn't good for the gray matter.

 

[eclark1894]

A bit of good news, I hope. I feel better today. I'm still tired, and I certainly won't be running any marathons anytime soon, but I was able to push myself a little further today than I was yesterday. I'm trying to cut back on drinking anything to minimize my fluid intake, but the danger there is that I might become dehydrated. Balance is the key.

 

[Miss B]

How much liquids do you normally drink in a day? I always have a good number of glasses of fluids, but then I'm usually trying to flush my Kidneys so I never have another Kidney stone.

 

[eclark1894]

How much liquids do you normally drink in a day? I always have a good number of glasses of fluids, but then I'm usually trying to flush my Kidneys so I never have another Kidney stone.

I honestly can't say. Sometimes I drink when I'm thirsty, other times, just because I want to finish off a soda. I do know I need to drink more water. and leave the diet soda's alone. I also discovered that's a sneaky source of sodium. Including the bottled water. I like a brand called "Splash" which has lemon or wild berry flavors, and it has about 25 mg of to it. Coke zero and Sprite zero which they served me in the hospital, has about 50 to 60 mg of sodium.

 

[Miss B]

I don't know if they have it where you live, but I only drink Smartwater, and it has 0mg of Sodium. I drink about 5-6 glasses a day (2 sports bottles), plus 2 glasses of lemonade, because my Urologist said lemon juice is a good way to prevent another Kidney stone incident. It's worked for 9 years now, so I'll continue drinking it.

 

[Szark]

save money by getting a good water filter and filter your tap water. Plus is cuts down on plastic bottles. Man soda even diet soda is poison. Leave it well alone and save more money or even better put that money toward better quality food.

 

[Hornet3d]

I was lucky in that I noticed I wasn't seeing things as clearly as I should, and I had an appointment a couple/three weeks later with my Ophthalmologist, who told me what he thought it was, and he had his girl call a Retina Specialist he knew to make an appointment right away, so he was able to get it under control more easily.

I am glad it was noticed in time and sorted quickly it could have been a very different story if left so I am so pleased for you.

I have both an eye test and the retina image scanning done once a year so they do notice even small changes but hopefully it will mean anything that needs to be treated is picked up quickly.