Meniere's: Is there a good illness?

This is not a moment to celebrate, but I was diagnosed with Meniere's five years ago. After struggling with its symptoms, of which vertigo was the worst, I am now healthy. What a simple but great thing to say!

With Meniere's, I guess one can never say he has overcome it completely. Even if you don't experience its symptoms for years, you wonder if the root-cause is still there, hiding in the tiny canals of your inner ear. Regardless of being sure or not, thank God I am now symptom-less!

Looking back I wonder now if I am happy that I lived what I lived! Frankly, I experienced more positives than negatives. Yes, the negatives were real bad. Being dizzy until vomiting then passing out to wake up with no appetite and power to stand up was hell. Living this intermittently, not knowing when you will get hit by the attack again was neurotic! Yet I still believe MY positives were more than MY negatives. For instance:

1) I now have a constant reminder that I have to take care of myself well. Otherwise, vertigo may show its ugly head anytime! Taking care of myself involves eating healthier foods and staying away from stressful situations and people as much as possible.

2) I now know that when things get worse in life, you can get stronger by managing shorter spans of life. If a week is hard to manage, you go for managing a day. When a day is hard to manage, you go for managing an hour. When an hour... You got the point :-)

3) I now know who and what matters to me more. I also know better than I AM the most important person to me! Not in a selfish way. I am my own doctor, care-giver and care-taker, so I should treat myself even better than my loved ones. In this regard, the Meniere's experience made me more independent, realistic and mature.

4) This one does not apply to all Meniere's patients but I hope one day it does. Due to Meniere's I designed my first website, learned (and still learning) how to promote it, reached and assisted many people who want to be healthier and helped few improve their eating habits. If I had not suffered from Meniere's, I believe I wouldn't have shared a health-conscious message with others at the current level.

In summary, my five year experience with Meniere's made me wonder if there is good illness. Well, my short answer is no, BUT it can be turned into a positive experience as much as possible. It depends on your approach to life. Let me conclude by repeating a cliche "often you can't control what life throws at you, but you can control your reaction to it".

To healthier lives and more positive attitudes! Cheers :-)

Umit

THE list of low sodium diet tips is ready!

As some of the followers of this blog know, I have been running a Facebook fan page for low sodium dieters for sometime. The first comers to the page usually are starting a low sodium diet and look for quick tips and tricks to lower their sodium intake. When I was answering to one of these inquiries the other day, I had an a-ha moment and decided to put all the quick tips I can think of in a webpage. Just to have a central location where I can refer people to. Here is the link to this 'tips' page I made:

http://eatlowsodium.com/osc/low-sodium-diet.php

If there are any ideas you would like to add, please add a comment below. I will update the list per your comments.
Thank you,
Umit

Useful ideas on low sodium meals

Even though you watch your sodium intake, things slip sometimes. You cook healthy meals, bring home-made meals to work and shop for low sodium versions of foods, but sometimes you find yourself at a restaurant, worse a fast-food chain eating that delicious but not so healthy sandwich!

What do you do then? If only I knew which meals have lower sodium so I make a more conscious choice while ordering my food. I guess it is all about preparation!

So I decided to go through nutrition facts of restaurants and filter out the meals with the lowest amounts of sodium. I place my findings at the following link: Low Sodium Meals

You need to click on a restaurant name (on the left hand side of the page) in order to see my meal ideas for that restaurant.

Some of the meals I found are fairly low in sodium. Examples:

At Subway: 6 inch Veggie Delite + a chocolate chip cookie = 430 mgs of sodium.

At Wendy's: 5-piece chicken nuggets + garden side salad (no croutons) + sour cream and chives baked potato + apple slices = 540 mgs of sodium.

At McDonald's: A medium-size McNuggets + premium southwest salad (without chicken) = 750 mgs of sodium.

At Chili's: Grilled salmon with garlic and herbs + house salad (no dressing) = 880 mgs of sodium.

At Arby's: Chopped farmhouse chicken salad (roast) + marinara sauce = 840 mgs of sodium.

At Panera Bread: A four cheese egg souffle + Caesar salad (no dressing) = 830 mgs of sodium.

At Taco Bell: One gordita supreme chicken + cheese nachos = 740 mgs of sodium.

If you are on a strict low sodium diet due to a health condition, my suggestions may NOT be good for you. Also my suggestions only consider sodium content. If you need to consume less cholesterol or gluten or are allergic to certain ingredients, please check nutrition facts provided at the websites of these restaurants as well.

Download this low sodium cookbook for free

I did not know that there is a week for salt awareness! Frankly I found out by coincidence. I came across this article about the World Action on Salt & Health organization and then checked their website. The site gives some information on the upcoming World Salt Awareness week (May 21st thru the 28th).

More importanly I found a link on the site to download a low sodium cookbook for free. The cookbook can be very helpful to many as it has various categories of low sodium recipes. Now download the book and start low sodium cooking, at least for the sake of the World Salt Awareness week :-)

Here is the link to the book:
http://www.worldactiononsalt.com/publications/books.htm

Cheers,
Umit

My nutrition facts project is ready!

Just a few days ago I announced here a new, simple search engine project I have been working on. The project is finally ready for your use! It is @ searchnutritionfacts.com.

There are currently nutrition facts of approximately 7,200 fresh foods, food products sold in supermarkets and restaurant meals in my system. I plan to improve the content over time. Especially in regards to restaurant meals there is need to add meals of major food chains such as Olive Garden's, Subway, Quizno's, etc... The system has McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King's data, but for now that is pretty much it!

Feel free to use it on your computer or even better smart phone while shopping for foods or dining out! Be aware of the nutrition content of the foods before you eat them!!

Salud!
Umit

A new project coming up!

If you are following a diet (any diet; low sodium or not) you would most likely know the importance of checking nutrition facts of foods you buy. Nutrition facts are also known as food labels, nutritional info, nutrients list, etc... In the end they all mean the same thing: A chart that shows how much sodium, fat, carbs, vitamins, etc... a food has.

Well I wanted to create a small search engine where you can search for nutrition facts of any food product or restaurant meal sold mainly in the U.S. The project is up and coming and will soon be published at SearchNutritionFacts.com with thousands of food products searchable at the site.

Hopefully it will be a great tool for you to use while shopping for healthy foods!

Umit

101 Foods with No Sodium (Salt)

As you can see from the list below, many foods have zero or very low sodium in their natural forms. Sodium is abundant mainly in processed and canned foods. I also listed how much cholesterol, sugar and saturated fat each food contains.

FOOD NAME	Calories (kcal)	Sodium (mg)	Cholesterol (mg)	Saturated Fat (g)	Sugar (g)	Potassium (mg)
CEREAL: KELLOGGS SHREDDED WHEAT MINIATURES	339	0	0	0.40	2	452
CEREAL: KASHI ORGANIC PROMISE AUTUMN WHEAT	353	0	0	0.20	13.4	334
CEREAL: CORN GRITS,WHITE,REG & QUICK	370	1	0	0.34	0.57	141
CEREAL: CREAM OF RICE	52	1	0	0.03	0.02	20
CEREAL: ROMAN MEAL	61	1	0	0.05		125
CEREAL: KELLOGG'S, FROSTED MINI-WHITES ,MAPLE & BROWN SUGAR	356	1	0	0.30	24	338
CEREAL: CORN GRITS,WHITE,REG & QUICK,ENR	71	2	0	0.07	0.12	27
CEREAL: RALSTON	53	2	0	0.05		61
CEREAL: WHEATENA	56	2	0	0.08		77
CEREAL: QUAKER,FARINA,CREAMY WHEAT	349	2	0	0.24	0.3	98
CEREAL: QUAKER,HOMINY GRITS,WHITE	347	2	0	0.26	1	146
CEREAL: GENERAL MILLS,FIBER ONE,SHREDDED WHEAT	321	2	0	0.30	20.3	305
JAMS & PRESERVES: DIETETIC (WITH NA SACCHARIN),ANY FLAVOR	132	0	0	0.02	37.81	69
CRACKERS: MATZO,PLAIN	395	0	0	0.23	0.29	112
CRACKERS,MATZO,WHOLE-WHEAT	351	2	0	0.24		316
SALAD DRESSING: HOME RECIPE,VINEGAR&OIL	449	1	0	9.10	2.5	8
BEANS: BLACK TURTLE SOUP,MATURE SEEDS	130	3	0	0.09	0.32	433
BEANS: BLACK,MATURE SEEDS	132	1	0	0.14		355
BEANS: CRANBERRY (ROMAN),MATURE SEEDS	136	1	0	0.12		387
BEANS: KIDNEY,ALL TYPES,MATURE SEEDS	127	1	0	0.07	0.32	405
BEANS: PINTO,MATURE SEEDS	143	1	0	0.14	0.34	436
BEANS: SNAP	35	1	0	0.06	1.55	146
BEANS: NAVY,MATURE SEEDS	140	0		0.10	0.37	389
BEANS: GREAT NORTHERN	118	2	0	0.14		391
OATS	389	2	0	1.22		429
RYE	338	2	0	0.20	0.98	510
RYE FLOUR,MEDIUM	349	2	0	0.18	1.1	374
WHEAT FLOUR,WHOLE-GRAIN	340	2	0	0.43	0.41	363
RICE: WHITE	130	0	0	0.06		29
RICE FLOUR: WHITE	366	0	0	0.39	0.12	76
WILD RICE	101	3	0	0.05	0.73	101
POPCORN,HOME-PREPARED,OIL-POPPED,UNSALTED	500	3	0	5.05	0.54	225
POTATOES IN SKIN	87	4	0	0.03	0.87	379
MCDONALD S: APPLE DIPPERS	48	0			9.2
CORN,SWEET,YELLOW	96	1	0	0.20	4.54	218
EGGPLANT	35	1	0	0.04	3.2	123
PEANUTS,VALENCIA	570	1	0	7.33		332
SOYBEANS: MATURE	173	1	0	1.30	3	515
CORN FLOUR,DEGERMED	375	1	0	0.17	0.64	90
OAT BRAN	40	1	0	0.16		92
RICE,BROWN,MEDIUM-GRAIN	112	1	0	0.17		79
SEMOLINA	360	1	0	0.15		186
MACARONI	158	1	0	0.18	0.56	44
SPAGHETTI	158	1	0	0.18	0.56	44
APPLES WITHOUT SKIN	48	0	0	0.02	10.1	90
CHERRIES	63	0	0	0.04	12.82	222
GRAPEFRUIT	32	0	0	0.01	6.98	139
NECTARINES	44	0	0	0.03	7.89	201
ORANGES	47	0	0	0.02	9.35	181
PEACHES	39	0	0	0.02	8.39	190
PLUMS	46	0	0	0.02	9.92	157
PEARS	42	0	0	0.01	7.05	121
HAZELNUTS	628	0	0	4.46	4.34	680
PECANS	691	0	0	6.18	3.97	410
APPLES WITH SKIN	52	1	0	0.03	10.39	107
APRICOTS	48	1	0	0.03	9.24	259
BANANAS	89	1	0	0.11	12.23	358
BLACKBERRIES	43	1	0	0.01	4.88	162
BLUEBERRIES	57	1	0	0.03	9.96	77
FIGS	74	1	0	0.06	16.26	232
GRAPES,MUSCADINE	57	1				203
LEMON JUICE	22	1	0	0.04	2.52	103
MANGOS	60	1	0	0.09	13.66	168
TANGERINE JUICE	43	1	0	0.02	9.9	178
PINEAPPLE	50	1	0	0.01	9.85	109
RASPBERRIES	52	1	0	0.02	4.42	151
STRAWBERRIES	32	1	0	0.02	4.89	153
WATERMELON	30	1	0	0.02	6.2	112
DATES,MEDJOOL	277	1			66.47	696
PUMPKIN	26	1	0	0.05	1.36	340
PEPPERS,HUNGARIAN	29	1	0	0.05		202
MUSHROOMS,MAITAKE	31	1	0	0.03	2.07	204
FIDDLEHEAD FERNS	34	1	0			370
ALMONDS	575	1	0	3.73	3.89	705
PECANS,DRY ROASTED	710	1	0	6.28	4.06	424
PISTACHIO NUTS	562	1	0	5.56	7.66	1025
SESAME BUTTER,TAHINI	607	1	0	7.90		459
AVOCADOS	120	2	0	1.96	2.42	351
CARAMBOLA,(STARFRUIT)	31	2	0	0.02	3.98	133
CRANBERRIES	46	2	0	0.01	4.04	85
LEMONS	29	2	0	0.04	2.5	138
LIMES	30	2	0	0.02	1.69	102
PLANTAINS	309	2		3.69	3.63	482
ASPARAGUS	20	2	0	0.04	1.88	202
CUCUMBER	15	2	0	0.04	1.67	147
EGGPLANT	24	2	0	0.03	2.35	230
PEPPERS,SWEET	28	2	0	0.03	3.19	166
NUTS,PINE NUTS,DRIED	673	2	0	4.90	3.59	597
WALNUTS,BLACK,DRIED	618	2	0	3.37	1.1	523
LENTILS,MATURE SEEDS	116	2	0	0.05	1.8	369
SOYBEANS: MATURE SEEDS	446	2	0	2.88	7.33	1797
TOFU,HARD,PREP W/NIGARI	146	2	0	1.45		146
KIWIFRUIT	60	3		0.15	10.98	316
NANCE,FRZ,UNSWTND	73	3			8.31	244
OKRA,FROZEN	30	3	0	0.07	2.97	211
ONIONS	44	3	0	0.03	4.73	166
PEAS	84	3	0	0.04	5.93	271
PEPPERS,JALAPENO	29	3	0	0.09	4.12	248
SUNFLOWER SUN DRIED KERNELS	582	3	0	5.22	2.73	850
ALMONDS,DRY ROASTED	595	3	0	4.03	4.93	712

Online sources for low sodium dieters

If you surf the net to find information on low sodium diet, recipes, etc or to shop for low sodium foods, you will see many sites with very basic, trivial information or with very limited spectrum of foods. Therefore I wanted to write here the names of a few sites that I personally benefited from one way or another. Clicking on the site names below will take you to the corresponding site.


Diet information sites: (lists of foods, meals, recipes, tips, etc...)
Eat Low Sodium

Low Salt Foods

Recipes by Mayo Clinic


Online grocers:
(Note: Before you buy foods, always check the sodium content in their nutrition charts)
Amazon Grocery

Healthy Heart Market

Low Salt Market

Salt Watcher

Heart Wise Foods, Inc.

Frontier Soups and Pasta Dishes



Blogs (diet tips, recipes, cooking techniques, etc...):
Eat Low Sodium Blog (you are currently reading it!)

Do Not Pass The Salt Blog


If you know other sites that would help people that are on low sodium diets, please add them in the comments section of this writing.

Thank you!

Umit

Low Sodium Chips

Here is a list of low or no sodium chips (mostly potato). They can be great for major get-togethers like Super Bowl parties. Enjoy them in moderation!

Salt free potato chips by Dirty Chips: Sodium per serving: 0mg (0%) (contains no MSG, no cholesterol)
Crispy cinnamon apple chips by Good Health: Sodium per serving: 15mg (1%)

No salt added sweet potato chips by Terra: Sodium per serving: 15mg (1%)

Vegetable chips by Terra: Sodium per serving: 50mg (2%)

Potato chips with dried tomatoes by Terra: Sodium per serving: 85mg (3%)

Natural tostitos chips with Yellow Corn by Frito-Lay: Sodium per serving: 100mg (4%), no cholesterol, no trans fat.

Lay's lightly salted potato chips (50% less sodium than Lay's classic potato chips): Sodium per serving: 90mg (4%)

For more detailed information on most of the chips described above, please visit:
http://eatlowsodium.com/osc/crackers-cookies-snacks-chips-c-3_47.html

Tips for stocking your kitchen

Here are some tips to help you make healthy cooking quick and full of flavor:

Stock your kitchen with herbs and spices, fresh lemons and limes, onions and garlic, flavored vinegars, reduced-sodium broth and soy sauce, evaporated skim milk, and butter-flavored powders.

Use nonstick skillets and pots, and cook vegetables in a steamer.

Invest in a cheese grater. Replace high-fat cheeses like cheddar, American, and Swiss with grated part-skim mozzarella or other low-fat cheese.

Use a blender to puree vegetables and beans for soups and fruits for smoothies.

Sharpen your knives often so you can cut vegetables quickly and thinly slice meat.

Cook favorite, low-fat recipes in batches and freeze, extra portions to have ready when you are in a hurry. Or take leftovers for lunch the next day.

Reference: Healthy cooking brochure by Krames with contributions by Ann Del Tredici (MS, RD) and Sally Mackey (MS, RD)

Healthy meal and snack ideas

Rather than skipping meals or grabbing something that is fast (and probably full of salt and fat), try these quick, healthy meal and snack ideas:

Breakfast

Toasted bagel or English muffin with jam

Hot oatmeal or corn flakes with nonfat milk

Fresh fruit or juice

Nonfat yogurt or nonfat milk

Lunch

Turkey or ham on whole-grain bread with mustard

Pasta and vegetable salad with light or fat-free, salt-free dressing

Rice and black bean burrito (no cheese)

Iced tea or mineral water

Dinner

Meatless chili or spaghetti with tomato sauce

Roast chicken breast without the skin

Steamed vegetables or a salad with fat-free, salt-free dressing

Angel food cake

Snacks

Plain, air-popped popcorn

Fresh fruit and vegetables

Low-salt pretzels

Frozen juice bars

Flavored sugar-free gelatin

Fat-free crackers or cookies

Important note: Always check nutrition charts of the recommended snacks above before purchasing them, and make sure they have low sodium (approx. 200mg of sodium or less per serving).

Reference: Healthy cooking brochure by Krames with contributions by Ann Del Tredici (MS, RD) and Sally Mackey (MS, RD)

Cooking heart healthy meals

Here are a few cooking methods to add flavor without adding fat and salt:

Chill soups and stews and then skim off the fat before reheating and serving.

Wrap foods in foil instead of using fat to keep in moisture and flavor.

Use vegetable cooking sprays to keep foods from sticking without adding fat.

Pour natural cooking juices over meat and poultry in place of gravy or cream sauce.

Marinate for flavor. Try ginger, lemon juice, wine or salsa. If you are using teriyaki or soy sauce, make sure it is low sodium and does not contain any MSG.

Use two egg whites instead of one whole egg.

Use butter-flavored powders on potatoes and noodles.

Although it is well known, let me mention that always broil, grill, or bake poultry, fish, and meat instead of frying.

Stroke warning signs

A stroke is simply an interruption of the blood supply to any part of the brain. It is very important to get to the hospital quickly if you are having a stroke, but to do so, you have to realize the warning signs of stroke first.

The signs are:
Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
Sudden, severe headache with unknown cause

If you experience one or more of these signs, call 9-1-1 or emergency services so an ambulance can be sent for you. If given within 3 hours of the start of the symptoms, a clot-busting drug can reduce long-term disability for the most common type of stroke.

Stroke can happen due to long-term hypertension, which can be reduced by following a low sodium, low fat diet.

Reference: An American Heart Association pamplet on high blood pressure

Tips to follow a healthy diet while dining out

Before giving you the tips, I would like to mention that you will see a lot of statements below such as “avoid this, don’t eat that, or do not order if”. Unless you have to be on a very strict diet, please don’t take these prohibitive suggestions too seriously. Just follow the ones which you think would help you the most. This way following a diet does not feel like burden to you.

Now, the tips…

Before Visiting Restaurants

Call or, even easier, check the website of a restaurant to make sure there are foods that are good for your diet in their menu. Pick the best two meals for your diet in the menu (in case they do not have the one item, you have a back-up plan!)

And once you get to the restaurant…

Ordering Beverages

Ask for water, unsweetened tea, club soda, fresh fruit juice, tea or coffee (in moderation). Avoid tomato juice, unless it's low in sodium. Avoid coke, soda as they have a lot of sugar. (Please note that tea and coffee may not be good for you if you have Meniere’s disease.)

If you must order an alcoholic drink, forget the margaritas, piña coladas, and other exotic mixed drinks. They include sugary additions. Opt instead for a glass of wine, a light beer, vodka and tonic or a simple martini (without the chocolate liquor, sour green apple schnapps, or triple sec).

Ordering Soups

If you are following a low sodium diet, avoid ordering soups in restaurants as there is a very high chance that they are high in sodium.

Ordering Salads

When we are hungry, we tend to order more, it is a good idea to start your meal with a salad to help control hunger and feel satisfied sooner. However, salads can be healthy only IF you are careful about their ingredients. For instance, you should avoid salty salad toppings like bacon bits.

Get your salad dressing on the side. To use minimal amount of dressing without sacrificing the taste, dip your empty fork into the dressing, then skewer a forkful of salad. You’ll be surprised at how this tastes just right, and how little dressing you’ll use. Plus, your lettuce won’t wilt and drown in a sea of oil.

Ordering Appetizers and Entrees

If you go to a restaurant notoriously serving big portions like Cheese Cake Factory, order appetizer or side dishes instead of an entrée.

Ask your server if the kitchen can alter preparations to meet your needs such as not adding salt to your meal or excluding some high sodium ingredients from your meal. You can also request that visible fat be trimmed from meat and skin be removed from poultry before cooking.

Thou shall not add butter or salt to your food!

Choose fish when you can rather than meats, but make sure your fish is not fried or sautéed.

Order foods without creamy sauces or gravies.

Order steamed, grilled, or broiled dishes instead of those that are fried or sautéed.

Ask that your food be prepared with olive oil, rather than butter or fat.

Use salsa instead of butter or sour cream as potato topper.

If you are on a strict low sodium diet, avoid Teriyaki sauces or any sauce served for sushis and sashimis in Asian restaurants, even the ones tagged "low sodium" as they most likely contain MSG. If a sauce tastes salty to you but there is no or low quantity of sodium mentioned in its nutrition chart, it probably has high amount of MSG or any other salt substitute. Your taste buds don't lie!

Ordering Desserts

Wait until few minutes after you finish eating your meal to order dessert. By then you might already feel full as it takes time for “full signals” to be received and processed by the brain. If you are feeling very full, skip dessert.

Choose fruits for dessert or fruit-based desserts more often. Take the cream off. Even if they aren't on the dessert menu, many restaurants can offer you fruit or sherbet instead of high-fat pastries and ice creams.

To limit your food intake

When we have more options, we tend to order more, so order an item from the menu instead heading for the “all-you-can-eat” buffet.

When your food is delivered, if it turns out to be more than you expected, set aside or pack half of it to go immediately. You can also share it with a friend.

Ask for the lunch size, even if you're eating dinner.

If given the choice, choose a small or medium portion. In the U.S. meal portions are big anyways.

On your commutes or trips, always carry fresh fruits like banana or apple in your bag. This will help you feel less hungry when you arrive at a restaurant. In fact, you can do this when you are not a trip as well.

In between your meals, drink plenty of water!

References:

Tips on eating out, My Pyramid web site

Eat smart when dining out, Reader’s Digest

Dash diet tips, Mayo Clinic web site

How do you know if you are having a heart attack?

About 1.1 million Americans suffer a heart attack each year, about half of which is fatal. Learning the signs of heart attack and what to do during it can save your life.

The first thing to do when you or someone around you experience the warning signs of a heart attack is to call 9-1-1 fast. Simple as that.

What are the warning signs?
Every person's signs can be different but usually there is:
1) Chest discomfort: Usually happens in the center of the chest and lasts more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back. The discomfort can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
2) Discomfort in arm(s), back, neck, jaw or stomach
3) Shortness of breath: Often accompanies chest discomfort, but may occur before it as well.
4) Cold sweat, nausea or light-headedness

Most heart attacks are not sudden, they start slowly with only mild discomfort or pain. Therefore, it might not be clear if you are having an attack at the beginning. Don't wait longer than 5 minutes and call 9-1-1 as treatments to restore blood flow to the heart are most effective if given within 1 hour of the start of the symptoms.

And the best prevention for coronary heart disease is to eat low cholesterol foods and reduce blood pressure (if hypertension is a factor) by exercising and following a low sodium diet!

Reference: Hypertension Sourcebook, First Edition edited by Dawn Matthews and Karen Bellenir

My new diet partner: Facebook!

As followers of this blog know, we recently started a Facebook page for EatLowSodium. Since then things started taking different shapes in my mind. Low sodium dieters from California to Istanbul, Turkey began ‘liking’ our page and asking dietary questions, sharing their experiences.

Then a few days ago, a Sun-Sentinel front page article about a local man, Rob Graulau, having already lost 45 pounds and targeting 300, prompted me to do a slightly different sort of research. Mr. Graulau had a Facebook account like millions of others. However, his wall was full of messages supporting his effort to loose weight. “Go man, you can do it!”, “We are proud of Rob, you are an example to many”.

I wondered the days when people were kind of outcast since they were obese or sick and following a strict diet nobody else around them did. The challenge of changing dietary habits were dwarfed by psychological effects of what others, especially loved ones, said and how they behaved about your struggle. The worst reaction was indifference!

However, now we have a truly different world I thought. Rob had hundreds of friends and making new ones faster after this article. He has people who support him and more importantly desire to be on the same boat with him. What a change!

This change was possible, thanks to social networking sites like Facebook. Our new diet partner! Through our Facebook page, people not only find immediate answers to their questions but also let some steam off when they get frustrated about following a low sodium diet. They also see that some other people struggle too, that they are not the only ones who want or need to eat better.

As we move toward having our 100^th fan within less than a month only through word of mouth, I am so glad that we opened this page. It gave me the please of sharing some information that others can benefit from. Hopefully you share with us what you know too.

Thank you,

Umit

http://facebook.com/EatLowSodium

A flexible recipe: Vegetables and chicken soup

Making chicken soup with vegetables your own way (the beauty about this recipe is you can change it any way you like it):

Boil chicken thighs or legs in reasonable amount of water (not too much water).

Then add chopped vegetables (any kind you like such as broccoli, celery, carrot or potatoes) along with a table spoon of grains to give more taste. Grains can be rice, vermicelli or bulgur (choose one you like).

You can add spices (black pepper, red pepper, oregano or cumin) if you want your meal spicy.

Then continue boiling the entire mix until vegetables get fairly soft. That is it! As you see, the recipe can be modified per your taste and budget.

You can add some herbs (cilantro or parsley) before serving your soup, again if you wish.

Enjoy your low sodium soup!

Why is dieting hard for many?

I heard many complaints about difficulties of following a diet, whether it is low sodium, low fat, low carb or another sort of diet. I wonder why changing eating habits is so hard for many. It is true that changing habits in general is difficult, but when it comes to eating habits, there is also a major factor of someone’s metabolism being used to functioning and consuming at certain pace.


Though biological factors are accepted, I believe for many, dieting is hard because we make them hard to adopt in our minds. Let me list some of the mental hindrances we create in our minds:

1) “Dieting is only for the ill or the weak”: A typical weight loss commercial shows a guy who has just lost 65 pounds in three months. We sometimes hear a relative or a friend getting hospitalized due to cardiovascular problems and put on a low sodium diet by his doctor due to his condition. Events like this, whether happening in real life or commercials, tilt our view of dieting, as an activity we engage in when we are sick, weak or have some sort of health problem.

We should understand that a ‘diet’ can be followed by perfectly healthy individuals. For instance, any individual that is aware of extremely high content of sodium in canned soups can choose to avoid regular canned soups in favor of their low sodium or “heart healthy” versions. In other words, you can follow a diet just to stay healthy. Being on a diet should not mean acceptance of weakness for you.

In fact, when you are on a diet, forget that you are on a diet! Just remind yourself that this is how a healthy person should eat.

2) “Dieting is boring”: That is true especially when taste element is sacrificed in a diet. When you cut down on carbs, you crave for breads and desserts more. When you cut down on salt, you crave salty foods more. There is no way we can deny that!

However, don’t you think we give up too fast by saying that? Maybe we can find alternatives. For instance, for the lack of salt, a low sodium dieter can use spices while preparing their meals. A person on a low fat diet can prepare a delicious sandwich at home rather buying it from that chain restaurant that makes the best subs! I understand some of these alternatives are not our top choices, but think about the prize: Your health. Isn’t it worth some sacrifice?

3) “Dieting is difficult”: First find out what ‘difficult’ means for you. Is it financial or you just don’t have the time for it? Time and money are the most common difficulties I hear. For those that claim following a diet is expensive, first let me say that you don’t need those diet programs that cost you every month or the “health” drinks that cost you few bucks at each purchase. All you need to do is to understand which foods are good for your dietary goals and use them to make your own meals!

Now I hear many complaints about that too: “I don’t have time for cooking”, “I work 12 hours a day”, or “I never cooked in my life”. Well, not cooking for yourself is like letting another person drive your car. Unless you are very confident about his driving skills, you wouldn’t let him, would you? I am not claiming that with restaurant chefs and cooks we are taking big risks. No, what I am saying is cooking your own meal means having more control over what you put into your system! Nobody knows how to take care of you better than you.

4) “Dieting is hard to start and easy to end”: This complaint usually comes from those following “diet programs” advertised out there. Most diet programs specify which meal you should eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day of a week. These programs are very harmful for new dieters, as they are very difficult to follow. Most of them are not personalized. Even the ones that are do not consider your work schedule and finances. Some people can’t buy fish or avocados three times a week! Therefore, these programs make dieting more difficult rather than easier for many. Once started, it is easy to lose track of these programs as the program itself is hard to track especially for those with active work/family schedules.

The good news is you don’t need to eat certain meals at certain order to improve your health. You just need to learn and understand the right foods for your dietary goals (such as losing weight, decreasing blood pressure, strengthening immune system, etc.). Make your own system, a system you can easily follow, something achievable, reasonable for your conditions. Make sure the system is flexible, so anytime you can’t follow it you don’t feel like you failed it. Writing down your own diet program will not only increase the chances of sticking with your diet but also help you keep your money in your pocket!

Realizing that my comments may be too harsh or direct, I apologize to those whose dietary conditions don’t apply to any of the cases I mentioned above. The gist of my writing is to share with you the following views:

- Forget about what others say about diets. Just eat the right foods for your health to enhance your well-being. Don’t even call it ‘diet’; just accept it as part of healthy living.

- When encountered difficulties following a diet, search alternatives first (like cooking instead of dining out, using spices instead of salt).

- Last but not the least, control your diet: Don’t let food manufacturers, supermarkets, restaurants and those fancy commercials dictate your decisions.

Be positive, one small step at a time, you can do it.

Best Wishes,

Umit

Eat Low Sodium is on Facebook now!

Happy New Year to all who eat healthy or want to eat healthier!

We are starting the new year with plans to raise more awareness towards eating better, healthier foods and improving our health. One of our plans is to reach more people via the most extensive social network site in the World, Facebook. We created a page with the following address:

http://www.facebook.com/EatLowSodium

We will post there many new tips on how to follow low sodium diet as well as new recipes, food information, and most recent news on healthy dieting. We plan to assist not only low sodium dieters but also hypertension and diabetes patients with their diets.

Please help us by spreading the word on our new Facebook page and help your loved ones by promoting them to eat healthier foods.

Thank you,
Umit