On taking the doctor’s advice with a pinch of salt

I don’t eat a lot of salt.

Approximately 15 years ago, my dad was diagnosed with high blood pressure and told he should cut down his salt intake.

My family had always made a point of cooking one meal and eating it together, so it was something like a group sentence: we no longer used salt in cooking, and after a stretch of getting used to not using it, we stopped bothering to put it on the table. In other words, we practically cut additional salt out of our diet altogether. ‘Additional’ because you would have to make everything yourself in order to ensure that you were eating none, and as amazing as homemade bread/pasta/marinated meat/etcetcetc is, there are time restraints placed on good intentions.

15 years later, the low-salt habit has well and truly stuck.

I went to see a doctor for a blood test and it turns out I don’t eat enough of the stuff. This causes various problems, especially when it’s the main source of dietary iodine in Germany.

It seems I have iodine deficiency (among other deficiencies*).

Yay! Bring on the salt!!

She prescribed me iron tablets and told me to rest more drink less milk and eat more salt.

* iron, transferrin, vitamin b12, organisation, punctuality. …. The list goes on.

0 thoughts on “On taking the doctor’s advice with a pinch of salt

    1. Exactly! There are so many other things you can use instead – herbs, spices, lemon/orange juice, vinegar, wine….

      Salt is incredibly salty when you’re not used to it… (duh! 🙂 )

  1. Salt is the main source of nutritional iodine here in the US, as well. I’ve always been an over-salter, but have cut back considerably since being diagnosed with high blood pressure a couple years ago. It’s funny that you don’t really miss it after awhile, although there are some things that just still need salting (like from-the-vine tomatoes, for example).

    Here’s to more salt! 😀

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