Pass (on) the salt . . .

I dined at an Italian restaurant on Friday evening, 7-25-08. I had been taking Lasix for four days at that point. Chicken piccata, clams in broth . . . a truckload of salt. That night I couldn’t lie down without my lungs flooding. Which meant uncontrollable coughing. So I spent the entire night standing up. And pondering the implications . . .

Since that night I have done my best to eliminate sodium from my diet. It hasn’t been easy but it has had the desired effect. At least I can sleep at night. Maybe if my heart gets fixed someday I’ll be able to tolerate it again. But we’re talking a HUGE salt fan here. I’m shocked I never bought stock in Morton Salt – that’s a viable company based on my addiction alone.

But regardless of the outcome here, I’ll never go back to the indiscriminate use of salt. Because it is possible to eat well without sodium. Tonight I dined on salmon tacos, virtually sodium free:


0.28-lb Wild King Salmon
4-oz Baby Shiitake Mushrooms
Yellow onion
Green onion
Tomatoes
Seasoning (onion, ginger, paprika, jalapeno pepper, oregano, mustard, red pepper, parsley)
Avocado
Fresh-squeezed limes
3 tortillas (7-mg sodium total)
[Key ingredient: the lime juice – it takes the meal from bland to delicious]

Dandelion Root iced tea, freshly brewed, with honey

Dessert: fresh strawberries, naked (the strawberries, not me).