No salt - no sugar?????

[Catherina]

no salt - no sugar?????

Have been put on preednisolone again and I just stop eating!!! This is not good but usually I am pretty much living on salt and sugar. Put 3 1/2 spoon in my coffee, drink approx 1 liter Coca Cola and I do like salt on my food. Can I replace the sugar with fructose and the salt with Lo Salt??? I am not (yet) fat, 60 kilos with 1.76 height but I did not like the hamster cheeks I had last time. It seems that I will be on Pred for quite a while. Please help me on alternatives (no chemical stuff please, they cause flares with me).

 

[rygon]

rather than replacing the amount of sugar and salt it maybe worth cutting down on it. You will soon find your taste buds changing and you wont notice the difference. I cook all my foods from scratch and will put the salt in then, wont have it out on the table. Instead of putting loads of salt on, say chips, why dont you put different herbs and spices on it instead (thinking on the lines of spicy wedges).

With regards to coke, that has quite a few chemicals in it already, I find it irritates my stomach a lot (so does coffee and tea due to caffine). Not sure if fructose would help as its still sugar, Heard people using honey as a substitute but not sure how that would taste in coffee.

 

[Catherina]

thank you for your answer. I know, it's weird but I cannot drink or eat 'light' products, especially those with sorbitol or other artificial sweeteners are a killer for me. Also yellow, black, green and some other colorourings have an immediate impact on my frequency of running to the bathroom, funny but the 'caramel colour' does not have this effect. dairy products except yellow cheeses, yoghurt (not too much). some feta cheeses, are bad as well as high fiber stuff. I love cheese, meat, eggs, rice, potatoes, pastas, potatochips, and snack frequently on this stuff. I am trying now and changed Coke for tonic, have not touched the salt shaker but eat fish, unsalted cheese, crackers without salt, steak with garlic, potatoes with olive oil, lemon juice and chopped parsley, boiled green beans with a little unsalted butter but it is boooooooring! Honey with coffee is bliagh and also fructose is not the same. I allow myself coffee the way I used to drink it but drink only one in stead of three or four. Already I never added salt during cooking but always afterwards. It's just that I understand from the doctor that I am not allowed any salt or sugar when using Prednisolone and that is very difficult. Could I for example make boiled zuchini with lemon juice and a little honey?

 

[kekemonster101]

Steroids can have the effect of raising your sugar levels and I believe your blood pressure as well, so thats probably why your doctor said that. However, if your levels are fine, I dont think eating these foods would be a problem. Maybe ask your doctor about periodically getting your levels checked and if they are satisfactory, maybe you can eat more sugar and salt.

One seasoning that I found in the hospital that I really like is called "herb-ox". Its basically a packet of bullion, and they have sodium free varieties that taste quite good. I put the chicken flavor as a seasoning on sandwiches, chicken, just about anything. Also, just having a nice cup of warm broth can be satisfying. Its much better then the gross broth they usually give you, in my opinion. Chicken Flavored Sodium Free Bouillon Instant Packets

Also, if you can tolerate it, you might want to look into using small amounts of things like garlic powder, onion powder, etc.

Another great product is called Braggs Liquid Aminos. Basically its very similar to soy sauce, but its much lower in sodium. But it still tastes great on lots of stuff, and its even got healthy amino acids in there! On the left of the website they have a button for a free sample of one or two of their seasonings. Ive never tried that one, but it sure looks like and its also sodium free.

Many people have trouble with artificial sweeteners. I know if I have any, I get tons of gas. If in the nutrition facts you see a line that says "sugar alcohols", then you know theres artificial sweeteners in there.

Enjoy!

 

[Catherina]

Wow, Thank you

Thank you so much for your help. This is really great. I don't want to whine but there are three things that are supposed to bring great joy to people on a everyday basis. It's Food, Sleep and Sex. We say here in Greece that a hungry bear doesn't dance and I confirm that a hungry bear doesn't sleep either and besides that they get really grumpy. Thanks thanks thanks, I will try all of them.

 

[kekemonster101]

I dont know where you live what kind of grocery stores you have, but ive seen all of these products in the regular grocery store near me. If not, they do sell it online, but you might have to pay for shipping or buy it in bulk.

 

[Catherina]

thanks again

I will get them on-line, the only thing I found here was a substitute salt (and that in a large supermarket. specialised stuff is not easy to find here in Athens and IF they have something it costs much more than it should - it's usually cheaper to pay for shipping costs while you are more sure of quality and freshness like that.

 

[fribourg]

Shouldn't salt be avoided when taking Prednisone?

 

[Catherina]

yes

yes salt and sugar should be avoided when using prednisone. Avoided but, depending on yr age, organism and weight it causes more or less problems. I am skinny (almost underweight), have a low bloodpressure (always have) and a tendency to get easily dehydrated. I am also not 50 years of age yet. So ... I don't mind if my bloodpressure goes up a little, I also don't mind if I retain some more fluid or get a bit bloated and as far as gaining weight concerned, every kilo is welcome! However, the previous time I obviously overdid with the salt and that is not good.
Altogether things are going all right. I have not noticed any bloating or gaining of weight yet and my blood-pressure is normal 70-90.

 

[Grumbletum]

Interesting. Noone told me to avoid salt and sugar. I have honey now and cook and bake with it too cos sugar and sweeteners are big triggers for me.

 

[Miss Spencer]

Can I replace the sugar with fructose and the salt with Lo Salt???

I recently brought some Organic Coconut Sugar and it is really nice. It is promoted as being healthier than traditional brown and white sugar, and it can be used in place of traditional sugar in coffee, tea and baking. Also I use Himalayan Pink Crystal Salt, as it is meant to be packed full of 84 minerals and trace elements. Apart from iodine, normal table salt is devoid of nutrients, plus it often contains things like anti-caking chemical agents.

I have found sugar and artificial sweeteners to be very very very bad for my UC. I have recently read the following: "Sugar is one of the most toxic foods on the digestive lining. Studies have shown that sugar has been found to be a culprit in flare ups of Crohn's disease. A Western diet is high in refined carbohydrates, sugar, and saturated fats. Research has shown that Crohn's disease is increasing in countries where a Western diet is eaten".

Maybe best to swap that litre of coke for a litre of water. It is well known that C & UC sufferers have problems enough with nutritional deficiencies, so why make the problem worse by drinking so much coke? Water may not taste that nice but at least it is healing rather than harming. You can get some great water filters these days that can massively improve the taste of water, add some ice and a slice of lime or lemon, and it really is quite nice.

 

[kekemonster101]

Also I use Himalayan Pink Crystal Salt, as it is meant to be packed full of 84 minerals and trace elements. Apart from iodine, normal table salt is devoid of nutrients, plus it often contains things like anti-caking chemical agents.

Although I have an obsession with salt and love the stuff and I own several types of "gourmet" salts, I realize it for what it is - salt. That whole thing about it containing trace minerals is kind of a scam. Basically regular table salt is more nutritious because of the iodine. It contains usually 40% of your value of iodine. Now lets look at the gourmet salts. The highest mineral contents they claim are in the salt are potassium, magnesium, iodine, and of course sodium but we will count that one out.

The mineral content is SO low that you would have to eat an entire pound of salt just to get about half a bananas worth of potassium. We are dealing with parts per million here. It has about 3mg per serving. That means if you ate all your salt just coming from that product for the day, you would get about 15mg of potassium. Lets put that into perspective - 100mg is about 1% your daily value.

Its the same with all the other minerals magnesium, iodine, etc..yet they still market it as "healthier" and "doctor recommended" but this is really quite misleading and false advertising. Sure TECHNICALLY it has minerals in it but - the content is just way way too low to be actually beneficial. And since iodine isnt added, I say the table salt is actually more nutritious. I do prefer the taste of the sea salt though because of the texture. Its like saying tap water is healthier because it has "minerals" in it. Or that dasani is healthier then zephyrhills water because they add "minerals" for taste. Its in parts per million.. it wont help your body. In fact if you only consumed this sea salt "full of minerals" instead of table salt, you would develop an iodine deficiency. How ironic.

Sorry for the long explanation on salt but I had to say something when I saw it