CF and salt

Casey_Wilson

New member
I was wondering me and my friend both have cf we are addicted to salt does everyone with cf have to have salt all the time or is it a symptom?Or is it just us?
 
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billiewoolley

Guest
Hell nooooo!
When I have food, I put a ton (no really I mean, a ton) of salt on my food, I think im slightly addicted. :( haha.

Your not aloneee! :)
 

Aboveallislove

Super Moderator
Our son eats and drinks it by the bottle and I'm just a carrier and will still eat a spoonful at times beyond doing on it on food. Our bodies crave what we need.
 

LittleLab4CF

Super Moderator
I am certainly not addicted to salt. In fact salt makes me sick. I enjoy a properly salted French fry as much as anybody else as long as I just have two or three. When I first tried salt on my food I looked around the table at my family, somewhat astonished that they willingly ruined their meals. Bleah!

I still am sensitive to salt and to that end it surprises me so many CFers gobble salt. For openers I haven’t seen evidence that CFers require more salt and nobody has ever suggested I increase my salt intake. The dangers of too much salt are well known and understood in terms of high blood pressure, coronary disease and diabetes. There are others as well but my concern is the heart and circulatory systems are not directly compromised by CF, however massive intake of salt will accelerate and exacerbate a host of conditions including those mentioned.

I honestly don’t know if massive amounts of salt are specially eliminated or utilized by people with CF. I would break this habit, or even excessively salty food until a specialist gives the go ahead to carry around a salt lick.

LL
 

Aboveallislove

Super Moderator
Our son's CF staff told us to add salt to his drinks/food and when I asked if too much was too much they said that if he wants more he needs it. I've learned the hard way though to temper how much he drinks at one time or he gets stomach aches. Myself--I crave huge amounts of salt and have very low blood pressure, etc.
 

nmw0615

New member
Like others have said, your body craves the things it needs.

In the summer, when I'm outside and sweating more, I crave salt to a crazy degree. I will put salt on nearly anything, going as far as just eating plain salt. In the winter, when I'm not really sweating and losing that salt, I don't find myself wanting it at all. I don't add salt to my fries and the idea of eating plain salt grosses me out.

I would suggest asking your doctor to do an electrolyte blood screening to see if all those levels are okay. My doctors recently ordered this for me to see if my levels were normal or not.
 

dmac

New member
Both my cf doctor and primary doc test my electrolytes a couple times a year to make sure sodium level doesn't fall below normal -- it's almost always at the bottom number of normal or just below. I salt my food but don't go crazy. It's a balancing act for me because my cardiologist doesn't want me to have too much. I'll be 62 next week. Like someone else said, we sweat alot in the summer and my cf clinic always sends a reminder for us to get more salt in us throughout the summer "sweating months." Do others on here get tested often for their electrolytes? Donna
 

Simba15

Member
I have to agree with LL. I never put salt on my food - even as a kid. Now that I'm perimenopausal I do sometimescrave chips (for the salt) for french fries but I have never added salt to my food. I jst asked at the CF clinic if CFers require more salt and they told me no. They also said, "The American diet has too much salt in it to begin with. You don't need more." I do notice if I eat salt my eyelids are all puffed up the next day.
I am certainly not addicted to salt. In fact salt makes me sick. I enjoy a properly salted French fry as much as anybody else as long as I just have two or three. When I first tried salt on my food I looked around the table at my family, somewhat astonished that they willingly ruined their meals. Bleah!

I still am sensitive to salt and to that end it surprises me so many CFers gobble salt. For openers I haven’t seen evidence that CFers require more salt and nobody has ever suggested I increase my salt intake. The dangers of too much salt are well known and understood in terms of high blood pressure, coronary disease and diabetes. There are others as well but my concern is the heart and circulatory systems are not directly compromised by CF, however massive intake of salt will accelerate and exacerbate a host of conditions including those mentioned.

I honestly don’t know if massive amounts of salt are specially eliminated or utilized by people with CF. I would break this habit, or even excessively salty food until a specialist gives the go ahead to carry around a salt lick.

LL
 

AH11201

New member
I looooove salt and put a ton of it on everything. It's to the point where it can be embarrassing eating with people who don't know I have CF. Sometimes I just give a brief disclaimer before I start--"I'm not killing myself, I'm actually supposed to eat this much salt."
 

kosdancer

Member
Losing salt quickly is kind of the hallmark of CF...our sweat is saltier than most people's (which is how they diagnose CF), meaning that we lose more salt than most people, and then crave it.
 

emacsurak

New member
Because of the salt loss... watch for dehydration in the summer time. Our docs told us that is how they first diagnosed CF as "something" It was really hot in New York and they had a bunch of kids with chronic lung problems come in to the ER with dehydration and really salty sweat! Gatorade up for the summer- keep those electrolytes!
 

epicurus

New member
Yes I put lots of salt on my food too! I always make sure it is good quality Himalayan salt with no flowing agents and additives.
 

JustaCFmom

New member
Our dietician said it's very important to add salt, especially in the summer. Dehydration is a big concern along with loss of electrolytes/salt. She said it could lead to a blockage. I checked my kids salt level in their blood test and it was in the low normal.

It definitely needs monitering.
 
K

Kaethe108

Guest
We added salt to our daughters food right from the beginning.
You can imagine the shocked looks of other mothers, seeing me putting quite a lot of salt into the babys milk bottle...
Our dietian told us: babys start with 0,5 gram salt each day, after six months 1 gram each day. When the child starts to eat from the table, you dont need to give them extra salt, just dont be too shy with it. So during the summer months I cook quite salty...
 
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