[null and void]

Didn’t the clintons decorate the WH Christmas tree with condiments?

[Responsibility2nd]

My name is Rod Jaros, and I'm a saltaholic.

Good Morning Ron!

[MarkL]

I've never really added all that much salt to food, with the exception of beef. I love salt on my burgers, or especially steak! But for pretty much everything else, I don't really use much salt. But I can't live without condiments. Pepper, spice mixes (Chef Paul's * Magic,) and in particular, hot sauce, of one sort or another ("Louisiana Hot Sauce," "Sriracha," etc)... It can make "low sodium" versions of foods almost palatable. The only problem is that many of those hot sauces are very high in sodium too!

I LOVE V8 juice, but it's really high in sodium, and the low sodium version really sucks... By the time I "spice it up," it's probably got about the same amount of sodium as the "original."

Mark

[moovova]

One of these days, we'll be forced to buy little dime bags of white powder on a street corner from some gangsta wearing a "9 mil" and a ball cap with a sideways brim while rap music pounds in the background.

Just look for the Nikes hanging by their laces from the overhead telephone line.

All just for a little salt on our french fries...

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Nanny State PING!

[Berlin_Freeper]

I use a lot of this

It is salty but not salt.

[Fast Moving Angel]

When salt and sugar are outlawed, only outlaws will have salt and sugar.

[P.O.E.]

I’m kinda partial to dried hot pepper flakes, myself.

[goldfinch]

I do not avoid salt but it is my spice of choice with most things. I like a mix of paprika, cumin, and dry mustard for my eggs. I use garlic in most everything. I do like salt (and butter) on my baked potato and popcorn.

[B4Ranch]

I’ll never forget the woman who bragged to me that she didn’t use salt in her cooking or have it on her table as she munched on a bag of potato chips.

[Still Thinking]

At table, I don't like being cautioned about salt's presumed harmful properties by a gasping, well-intentioned, vigilant member of the thoroughly indoctrinated salt police. "Salt's bad for you!"

My response would be "You don't know what you're talking about, and until you do, you're not allowed to speak to me." I, my FRiend, am WORTH my salt and I'm damn well going to use it.

[MarineBrat]

You know, the ones with the bullet-like cap and one tiny hole that defies passage except by one grain at a time...

I feel the same way about pepper. They cram so much of it into the shaker that it's not free to move around, making it impossible to shake a decent amount onto your food without looking like a horny lib teenager behind the curtains.

Many are the times that I've just unscrewed the cap to shake out a righteous amount of pepper.

[Smokin' Joe]

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_247-248/ai_113807056/

(scroll down)

Sodium Deficiency (neurally-mediated hypotension) Symptoms associated with inadequate sodium intake include undue fatigue after moderate exertion, lassitude, headache, sleeplessness, and an inability to concentrate. (9) Neurally-mediated hypotension (an abnormal neurocardiogenic reflex in individuals with structurally normal hearts) is a common cause of recurrent lightheadedness and fainting which can develop as a result of inadequate sodium intake. After an episode, fatigue is prominent and may last for a long while. (10) This abnormal reflex is common in chronic fatigue syndrome. When patients were tested on a table designed to tilt them upright at various angles, all except one showed evidence of neurally-mediated hypotension as compared to only 4 of 14 normal controls; moreover, 9 patients reported complete or nearly complete resolution of CFS once this pathophysiologic response was adequately treated. (11)

Pass the salt, please!

[Joe 6-pack]

I try to go through one of these each week :-)

What I like is that you can adjust the size of the grains for coarseness depending on what you're salting.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

"Salt's bad for you!"

No, it isn't.

If you have certain types of health problems you might want to keep an eye on how much of it you eat but salt is necessary for life.

A friend of mine has Hyperkalemia (high potassium) which means that the "low salt" stuff is poison to her and she has to be careful about her intake of things like, apples, bananas, brown rice, beans, orange juice, potatoes and a whole host of other stuff that is considered "healthy food".

I love salt and I eat a lot of it, if I cut down then I start feeling ill and my blood pressures drops dangerously low. This happened a couple of times when I let someone talk me into a "healthy low salt diet." My doctor told me that if she ever heard of me doing that again she was going to slap me.

You body knows what it needs and no paper pushing bureaucrat should be able to tell you what you should or should not eat.

[OldPossum]

I absolutely agree. Many foods are yucky without salt. Heck, I knew one guy who even salted his bacon!

As for the stockpiling, I already have begun that. I figure that when and if TSHF a pound of salt might be a valuable medium of exchange.

[hadit2here]

I absolutely refuse to buy or eat (if I can help it) ANY product that says it’s “low fat”, “diet”, “light” (lite), “low salt” or “low sodium”, “sugar free” or most anything that has some “healthy” krap(tm) on the label [especially the damn “artificial sweeteners” that will cause cold sores to break out in 10 min.] And I actually READ the list of contents on anything I’m not familiar with.

Occasionally, I stop and McDonald’s and get a Big Mac meal. I just happen to like the taste of a Big Mac once in a while. But the place I usually go to has stopped putting the condiments like salt, pepper, catsup, etc. out on the counters. So I make a point of asking the person for four (4) salt packets. Then I put the bag on the counter and proceed to pour all four of them on the fries. I’m just waiting (and hoping for) some health obsessed busybody to say something to me about it.

I’ll say, “You know, it’s really upsetting that my medical lab gave you the results of my blood tests. Just how much do you know about hyponatremia and its effects? Now, exactly which medical school is it that you got your medical doctor’s degree from? I think you should go get your money back because you just showed just how ignorant their graduates are. But really, thanks for your concerns about MY health. When you get to the point where you have achieved optimum good health, then I might start to listen to something you might have to say. Good day!”

I don’t have hyponatremia, to my knowledge, but I’ve found that most supposed health obsessed busybodies wouldn’t even know what it was [or that salt is sodium [Na]+ chloride (Cl)- too many syllables for them] and I rarely get sick. Been to the doc’s once in about the last 25 years. Self diagnose and treat most anything I got when everyone else I know is running to the doc or having to go to the ER or hospital for some damn thing and getting sick all the time.

Unfortunately for me and my curmudgeonly disposition, nobody has said a word to me about the salt thing. Guess I’m gonna have to get more obvious about it.

[VisualizeSmallerGovernment]

I've been on a sodium restricted diet off and on for years.

Table salt isn't generally a significant source of sodium. A pinch of salt on your food is probably going to add about 80 to 100 mg of sodium, tops, and it's going to add real flavor. Brining, on the other hand, can add lots of sodium. So the food police get people to eat low fat protein, such as chicken or turkey. Then, to make it palatable, the stuff is soaked in salt water. A fast food chicken patty might contain 1,000 mg of sodium, while a beef patty at the same restaurant might have 200.

Another real culprit is bread. A 12 inch sub roll typically contains 900 mg of sodium, and upwards of 2600 mg for some varieties. A bag of potato chips, on the other hand, typically contains about 250 mg.

Low sodium versions of salty foods typically fail, just as meatless hamburgers / hot dogs typically fail. If you're watching your salt intake, it's better to eat something that tastes good but doesn't have much salt in the first place. Spaghetti or rice instead of bread, beef instead of chicken / turkey. Fruit, etc.