As most of us know, keeping to a low salt diet is one of the most important things for us to consider when we have Meniere’s Disease. Personally I have never been one to count my ‘mgs’ of sodium intake. Rightly or wrongly, I have always just kept away from fast food and processed food as much as humanly possible and not added salt to my meals at home.
If you like your food and enjoy cooking (or someone else’s cooking) then you may well be interested in this.
I have included a low salt recipe and a small article below. You can find
books on low salt cooking for Meniere's here
Eating without added salt doesn’t have to be boring and is far healthier, Meniere's Disease or not.
UPDATE 2016: In 12 years of supporting sufferers and 7 years research the importance of diet has become more obvious than ever. Read just why what you eat and do not eat can make all the difference to your condition. In relevance to this post a chapter titled 'The Salt Contradiction' is included. Read
The Importance of Diet by clicking the image below:
Article:
Cut the Salt, Keep the Flavor
The human body needs salt to function properly, but you don't need to consume much of this crucial mineral to reap its benefits. In fact, many medical professionals agree that too much salt can be a health risk for people with certain conditions, including high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes and kidney problems.
Many people consume more sodium than they might guess, especially if fast food and pre-packaged or convenience foods are a regular part of their diet. In fact, while the Mayo Clinic Web site recommends a daily sodium intake of around 2,400 mg a day (the equivalent of 1 teaspoon of salt) for healthy individuals and 1,800 mg a day for those concerned about hypertension, it also estimates that many people take in 5,000 mg of sodium in an average day.
Clearly, it is essential to monitor the amount of sodium in your diet, especially for those with health conditions that put them at greater risk. If you find you are consuming more sodium than is recommended, take gradual steps toward cutting back on your sodium intake. While your food may seem bland at first, your taste buds will soon adjust to your new, healthier style of eating.
As with all lifestyle changes, start slowly and give yourself time to get used to your new regimen. Here are a few tips to help get you on the right track:
Don't put the salt shaker on the table. Some people have a habit of adding salt to their food at the table whether it needs it or not – sometimes they add salt even before they taste their food. Leaving the salt in the cupboard eliminates this reflex reaction.
Try a salt substitute, such as "No Salt," for a simple way to add flavor to your meals.
Read the labels on processed foods and look for those with fewer than 200 mg of sodium per serving. Try different brands to find one you enjoy. Keep these definitions handy as you shop: sodium free means a product has fewer than 5 mg of sodium per serving; very low sodium means 35 mg or less per serving; low sodium means 140 mg or less per serving; reduced sodium means the product contains at least 75 percent less sodium than the original product; without added salt means no salt is added during processing to a product that would normally have salt added.
Replace the processed foods in your diet with fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains.
Make a conscious effort to use less salt in your cooking. Experiment with herbs and spices in place of salt to make your cooking more tasty. Try using fresh herbs instead of dried – they deliver more bang for the buck. Replace any old spices in your cabinet with new ones – spices lose their intensity fairly quickly.
For the most flavorful results, use the freshest, highest quality ingredients available when cooking.
Courtesy of ARA Content
Pasta With Chicken
Amount Measure Ingredient
8 oz Linguine, Or Spaghetti
2 tablespoon Oil
2 small Zucchini, Cut In Strips
1,2 cup Mushroom, Sliced
1,2 teaspoon Basil
1 clove Garlic, Minced
2 cup Chicken, Cooked and Cubed
1 cup Non Fat, Non Diary Creamer
6 each Roma Tomatoes, Sliced
2 tablespoon Parmesan Cheese
Preparation
Cook linguini or spaghetti according to package directions.
In a skillet, heat oil. Add zucchini, mushrooms, garlic and basil. Cook and stir until zucchini is crisp-tender, about 2-3 minutes.
Drain pasta and return to saucepan.
Stir in creamer, chicken and zucchini mixture and heat through.
Add tomatoes and cheese.
Toss and serve.
Yield: 6 Servings
Sodium Category: LowSodium
Sodium 118 mg
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Enjoy your food and stay Meniere’s free……
Some recent messages from people who used
supplements to beat Meniere's.
Thanks so much for your reply. Both Mum & Dad are well and Mum hasn't had any more vertigo attacks for quite a while. She is very self-sufficient again and I'm enjoying catching up on my life. I think she's cut herself back to a maintenance regime with the supplements and so far, so good. She is certainly making up for lost time by lots of socializing which entails dressing up beautifully - seems to have a new lease on life - which is just beautiful!
Do hope this finds you well and having lots of success with your
Meniere's research. We can't thank you enough for your support and advice when we were desperate.
Love
Karen.
I hope this email finds you both well. As promised i wanted to send you a testimonial that you are more than welcome to use in your news letter. Feel free to edit as you like. I still can't thank you enough for changing my life round completely.
Approximately four years ago i was diagnosed with Meniere's Disease following many tests and consultations with various specialists. My symptoms became very severe with the hearing in my left ear being virtually destroyed. On top of this i had sustained periods of extremely high levels of tinnitus in both ears and sporadic hearing loss in my right ear which could last for up to a month at a time. Oh yes and of course to top all of this off i had lots of vertigo attacks for these sustained periodsMost of which would leave me vomiting and bed ridden. Naturally this effected every element of my life and work became almost an impossibility as i work in a hectic office that requires a lot of interaction with customers and staff. Gradually this effected my confidence and i contemplated leaving my job.
During this time i saw yet more specialists and tried all of the recommended conventional treatments for Meniere's such as SERC, Steroids Diuretics etc etc. All to no avail, i was determined not to go down the surgery route as all of the information that i read about it had led me to the conclusion that it is maximum risk for minimum gain and my specialist said that it would only incur deafness in my good ear.
To cut a long story short after trying all kinds of alternative medicines too Acupuncture, Raiki etc i was at a loss and i joined SPIN the British Charity for Meniere's sufferers. All if the information in their help books was fairly negative and there appeared to be no way out of this nightmare and to make matters worse i was off work unable to attend due to the severity of the symptoms. At this point i would of literally tried anything when i came across Karin's website. At first i was very skeptical yet i was intrigued by others testimonials that mirrored my own symptoms and problems. The research and reasoning behind the supplements appeared to make more sense than just being told by doctors to "keep taking the tablets" I had no idea why i was taking them and they just seemed to aggravate the situation and not help me in any way. So i went for it as Karin's confidence in them was extremely high and they offered a money back trial period on the first month anyway if they didn't work anyway.
On receipt of the first batch i was probably at my lowest ebb that i have ever been at in my whole life hence my willingness to try anything. I followed the guidelines as to how to start taking the tablets and building up my immune system properly and within one week i had a massive remission of the deafness in my right ear and all vertigo with a drastic reduction of tinnitus in both ears. I have continued to take the tablets twice daily ever since and can honestly say that I have led a completely normal life since and have returned to work with renewed fervor and energy.
If anyone is still unconvinced by this then I would me more than willing to talk to people who would like any guidance or help as I would like to try and help in the way that Karin and Michael have helped me.
My Kindest regards
Richard
Read more about
the supplements they used here.
email me at meniereshelp@gmail.com
