You are wondering whether you would lose weight if you cut down on or give up the amitriptyline you take?

You are wondering whether you would lose weight if you cut down on or give up the amitriptyline you take? - Well the answer is that if you have gained weight as a side-effect of taking amitriptyline, you will almost certainly lose weight when you cut it down or gradually give it up. - But depending on how long you have been taking it and how high the dose, you may not be able to lose all the weight gained. - On the other hand, if you seriously reduce your intake of salt and salty food, it is actually possible to return to your previous weight or even lower! - Read about how amitriptyline causes weight gain, and about how to lose weight by eating less salt/sodium.

If you are going to start taking prescribed steroids, e.g. prednisone, or prescribed antidepressants, e.g. amitriptyline, you would be wise to avoid food containing added salt

If you are going to start taking prescribed HRT or steroids, e.g. prednisone, or prescribed antidepressants, e.g. amitriptyline, you would be wise to avoid food containing added salt/sodium. See my webpages http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/steroids.html and http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/ami.html. See also my webpage about salt/sodium in food.

The Queen: her feet look swollen

In this article in the Telegraph today, the photograph of the Queen's feet in patent leather shoes gives the impression that either the Queen is wearing shoes that are too small for her (unlikely) or that her feet must have swollen while she has been wearing them. It seems to me that she is experiencing that common problem of having feet that swell as the day goes on because of excess fluid gravitating downward.

The Queen was not overweight when she was younger, but her four pregnancies were probably a big factor in her developing excess fluid retention. I'll bet she's glad to get out of her court shoes at the end of her busy day and put her feet up!

The Queen's problem of fluid retention and swelling feet would be reduced if she were to cut down on salt/sodium and salty food. - If you too, dear Reader, suffer from swollen feet, I make the same suggestion to you. - You will feel sooo much better!

Two simple suggestions that could help to stem the worldwide increase in childhood asthma

A crucial dietary measure that would reduce the incidence and severity of childhood asthma is to avoid feeding children salty meals and snacks. - See this article, where you will read, "According to a new study published in the American Dietetic Association, high-salt foods and snacks are linked to lung changes that trigger asthma symptoms.," and that researchers in Greece found, using questionnaires, "Kids who ate high-salt foods more than three times a week saw their risk of asthma symptoms go up almost five times." 

 

We read in this Telegraph report of research in Rome, Italy, led by Dr Giuseppe Corbo. "The study of 20,000 six and seven-year-olds, published in the medical journal Epidemiology, confirmed a strong link with asthma and obesity, but found that salt was the biggest risk. Those with the highest intake were two and a half times more likely to develop asthma." (my emphasis) See also Salt/Sodium in Foods.

 

Another important precaution is to avoid dosing children with paracetamol/acetaminophen (aka Tylenol and Calpol). There is a wealth of statistical data on that webpage which suggests a link between acetaminophen and childhood asthma.

 

Since AsthmaUK suggested this week that a third of people with asthma are at a high risk of having a potentially fatal asthma attack (see this BBC report), I reckon AsthmaUK ought to do the decent thing and bring these simple precautionary measures to the attention of asthma sufferers and their relatives and carers. Surely it is a moral imperative.

How can eating salt and salty food when you are on certain medications cause weight gain?

Table salt is a chemical compound. Its chemical name is sodium chloride. It is present in the bloodstream in solution as sodium ions and chloride ions. It is the sodium ions that are involved in the fluid retention that causes weight gain. This webpage tells you more about sodium in food.

Amitriptyline does not contain salt. But amitriptyline weakens the walls of the blood vessels so that extra sodium ions and the water associated with them can distend the blood vessels so that they hold a greater blood volume than before. - The blood has been diluted a bit with the sodium ions and water. This is an example of fluid retention and an example of one of the many medications that cause it by weakening the walls of the blood vessels.

If you want to get the hang of it better, I suggest you read http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/lose_weight.html and http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/obesity_and_the_salt_connection.html

If you check the salt/sodium levels in the packets and cans in your food cupboards you may be surprised at how high they are

If you check the salt/sodium levels in the packets and cans in your food cupboards you may be surprised at how high they are. On labels, more than 0.5g of sodium (1.25g salt) per 100g is high, less than 0.2g sodium (0.5g salt) is low. To convert sodium content to salt content, multiply the sodium by 2.5
Find out more about Sodium in Food.

In general, if you are overweight, then to improve health and lose weight you need to be eating and drinking food that is as natural as possible - cooking fresh meat and fish and vegetables, drinking plain water and tea, rather than choosing highly processed food containing high salt levels.

Would your illness be alleviated/made less severe, or its progress retarded, by lowering your salt intake?

Would your illness/suffering/symptoms be relieved by lowering your salt intake? - The answer is YES if you are in one of these groups that are vulnerable to salt. - Check it out!

There are suggestions about ways to reduce salt intake on this Sodium in Foods page. I urge you to give it a try: there are so many health benefits from cutting down on salt - including reducing fluid retention/excess weight/obesity.

Asthma sufferers benefit if they cut down on salt and salty food

I met an asthma sufferer today who didn't know that cutting down on salt/sodium is helpful for people with asthma, so I thought I'd draw attention to this again.

A crucial dietary measure that reduces the incidence and severity of childhood asthma is to avoid feeding children salty meals and snacks. - See this article, where you will read, "According to a new study published in the American Dietetic Association, high-salt foods and snacks are linked to lung changes that trigger asthma symptoms.," and that researchers in Greece found, using questionnaires, "Kids who ate high-salt foods more than three times a week saw their risk of asthma symptoms go up almost five times."

We read in this Telegraph report of research in Rome, Italy, led by Dr Giuseppe Corbo. "The study of 20,000 six and seven-year-olds, published in the medical journal Epidemiology, confirmed a strong link with asthma and obesity, but found that salt was the biggest risk. Those with the highest intake were two and a half times more likely to develop asthma." (My emphasis)

If an asthma sufferer uses or has ever used a steroid inhaler it is even more helpful to reduce salt intake. This is because prescribed steroids can, and usually do, cause salt sensitivity/sodium retention/water weight. - See Prescribed Steroids. And for information about the salt content of foods, see Sodium in Foods.

This Patient.co.uk webpage contains excellent comprehensive information about Inhalers for Asthma. Patient.co.uk is free from any commercial conflicts of interest.

Why do nutrition labels include sodium levels, do you reckon? - You CAN'T believe it's because sodium is good for you!

Why do nutrition labels include sodium levels, do you reckon? - You CAN'T believe it's because sodium is good for you! - You can check which foods are high in sodium/salt here.

There's a little rhyming mnemonic about the famous scientist who discovered sodium:

Sir Humphry Davy,
Who abominated gravy,
Lived in the odium
Of having discovered sodium.

I find it curious that although the noun 'odium' gives us the adjective 'odious', there is no parallel adjective 'sodious'. Maybe if Sir Humphry Davy were alive today, having coined sodium he would relish the chance of coining sodious too. It would be a useful word and might assist in warning unfortunate salt-sensitive individuals of the foods they need to avoid. In the meantime, we must be content with sodium-rich and high in sodium and such composites, and I offer sodious as a suggestion for a new word...(o:

Why do food companies put so much salt into their processed foods?

When more salt is added to the ingredients, this enables the product to absorb more water - for example, if the food company manages to get more salt into its bacon, it can sell excess moisture content (water) at the same price as bacon. - A nice little earner...

Extra added salt tends by its taste to disguise the taste of poor quality meat, thus cutting costs by reducing quality.

Salt increases thirst. This enables retailers to sell more drinks. Hence the widespread practice in fast food restaurants of sprinkling salt onto burgers and chips if it is permitted. Likewise in pubs it has been the custom to provide free salty snacks like crisps and salted peanuts, not as a generous gesture, but so as to ensure that more drinks are bought.

Lose weight by eating less salt. - Go on! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!

Are you sensitive to salt? - Red in the face after a salty meal? Overweight? Short of breath? Swollen feet? Tire easily? Sick of dieting?

You'll find some helpful information and advice on
my website.
Lose weight safely.
Sodium in foods.
Groups vulnerable to salt.
Obesity and the Salt Connection.

Sodium: do you need to cut down?

Check it out. - See Sodium in Foods.

To Reduce Belly Fat

Lose weight by eating less salt! Salt sensitivity is contributing to your excess weight and 'fat belly' and also to possible liver and kidney problems, etc.

If you are a drinker, you can lose further abdominal fluid retention by reducing your alcohol consumption. But the most important thing is to eat less salt. - So don't snack on salty crisps, salted nuts and the like.

See Sodium in foods

vulnerable groups

and also FAT RETENTION

Fed up of diets that don't work? Willing to try anything? - Are you willing yet to try the one method that will definitely work?

Fed up of diets that don't work? Willing to try anything? - Are you willing yet to try the one method that will definitely work? - Cut down on salt and salty food! - You are sensitive to salt and it is salt that is causing your weight gain.

Lose weight safely, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

And see Sodium in foods

Sea salt will not help you to lose weight

Sea salt will not help you to lose weight, but using one of the low sodium salt substitutes instead of ordinary table salt really does help with weight loss. Read more details about salt substitutes, about sodium in foods and about how lowering salt/sodium intake reduces excess body weight:

Sodium in foods

Lose Weight

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

Fat retention and fat excretion: the importance of getting enough calcium.

Giving up something for Lent?

Why not consider doing a good turn for your health by giving up salt and salty food? - See Sodium in foods

Reluctant to bend down to pick something up because blood vessels in your head feel as though they will burst?

Reluctant to bend down to pick something up because blood vessels in you head feel as though they will burst? It's a problem of high blood pressure and delicate veins, i.e. it's a problem of excess fluid retention in the blood stream. You need to

lose weight

by cutting down on

sodium in foods.

More than 20% of children in England are starting school overweight or obese.

BBC News reports that more than 20% of children in England are starting school overweight or obese. There's unlikely to be any improvement in those figures, however, if the government agencies and obesity 'experts' keep on giving the wrong information and advice about the causes of obesity and the best ways to reduce it.

Child obesity is caused by eating salt and salty food because this results in fluid retention in the bloodstream, and the extra fluid (salt and water) in the bloodstream naturally weighs heavily and causes weight gain. Obesity is not caused by eating too much food or too much fat or by taking too little exercise, so forcing children to eat less/go hungry/take strenuous exercise will not help at all.

Cutting down drastically on salt and salty food, and eating unsalted food instead results in safe, rapid weight loss and feeling a lot better, and having a lot more energy very quickly indeed.

Don't let your children develop a taste for salty food. Eating salty food is very likely to set them on a lifetime course of being too heavy, too tired, very unhappy and with a lot of chronic health problems like high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, cancer and depression. They will not be able to achieve their full potential and their life chances will be fewer. Look on the labels and buy food with lower salt/sodium levels, or better still, cook fresh food from scratch and don't add salt to it. - Useful information is here: Sodium in foods

A fat child does not need to count calories and run away from butter and full cream milk...(o: - Just protect your child from salty food and watch him or her blossom into a healthier, happier child.

See Children and Obesity

Reduce Hypertension by Avoiding Salt and Salty Food:

You can reduce high blood pressure by seriously cutting down on salt and salty food. Especially if you would prefer to avoid taking drugs, then I do urge you to cut down on salt/sodium and salty food. - And I don't just mean sprinkle less onto your meal or use less in cooking; I mean try to eat fresh food, instead of processed food, takeaways and ready meals, because these processed foodstuffs have usually had a lot of salt added to them by the manufacturers. If you feel you have to buy some processed food, then look carefully at the labels to choose a pack/tin with lower salt/sodium level.

For fuller information about this, see Sodium in foods

I've been looking at Kellogg's Optivita. I see that it contains no added salt. - Hurray!

I've been looking at Kellogg's Optivita. I see that it contains no added salt. - Hurray!

It says on the pack "*Kellogg's Optivita can help lower cholesterol because it contains Oat Beta Glucan, the most effective part of the oat." - Well for all I know, that could well be true.

But the MOST IMPORTANT thing is that it contains no added salt/sodium - and lowering sodium intake DEFINITELY lowers cholesterol levels and reduces your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, etc.

I see they have added potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride. (Sodium chloride is the chemical name for common table salt.) - Why can't the Food Standards Agency get some bread manufacturers to make some bread products using potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride, to benefit most people's health? - And don't tell me that salt is necessary for the bread-making process, 'cos I don't believe that for one moment. - I make my own bread, in a bread-maker, and I don't add salt, and it doesn't stop the bread rising or anything. The bread just doesn't keep as long. But bread is better eaten fresh in any case.

Optivita still contains a helluva a lot of sugar though. (Rhetorical question: Why do breakfast cereal manufacturers think that consumers want cereals that are sickly sweet and rot their teeth?)

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver damage and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better! See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk

The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

Vulnerable groups

Sodium in foods

See also FAT RETENTION

advice for pregnant mothers

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/story.html - my 'political' page

Associated health conditions

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/socio.html - social and economic considerations

I can be contacted from my website if you need my help. My help is free.