Salt and LOW blood pressure

[Heiferly]

I'm a 29 y.o. female who doesn't eat meat.  I also tend not to eat a lot of processed foods, and I grew up on a renal diet because my dad was in kidney failure and I got used to a lot of the same foods he ate.  Suffice it to say, I don't salt my food; I didn't own a salt shaker until I moved in with  my S.O.

I suffer from vasovagal syncope and they are having a *really* hard time getting my blood pressure to stay up in the normal range, even with vasoconstrictive medication.  They added a medicine to make me retain water because they weren't getting me to eat enough salt I guess (I was trying), which would be contraindicated by the other medicine in most people but my blood pressure isn't shooting through the roof or anything.  I drink the zero calorie electrolyte beverages because my general practitioner said that might help.

But my cardiologists say the best thing really would be for me to TRY to get some salt in my diet.  I guess I always have viewed salt as "the bad guy" when it comes to food, and to be quite honest, I hate the taste of salty foods.  Won't dumping a bunch of salt on my food be bad for me in the long run?  And if not, are there certain foods that have salt in them that could easily be added to the daily diet of someone who is kind of a health nut?

[Renee Radenberg]

I understand your frustration and it does seem to run counter to what we hear about salt, however, it is the most natural method to help increase your blood pressure. You have low blood pressure and need to bring it to a normal level. Most people have the opposite, high blood pressure and a good percentage of those people have a salt sensitive high blood pressure who need to watch their salt intake (Low sodium intake will keep blood pressure down). There are natural foods with higher levels of natural sodium in them - tomatoes, artichoke, swamp cabbage, sweet potato, turnip greens, and celery. Suggest drinking an electrolyte drink that has the most sodium in it, eating nuts and seeds with salt and add to salads, and eat natural cheese which is very high in sodium. Switch to seasonings that have salt in them, such as Garlic salt, Lemon salt to help you not have a “salty” taste to your food. Your intake of sodium needs to be on a daily basis. Hope this helped you.

[Heiferly]

Thank you so much for your help!  I will try to add some more of those higher sodium vegetables into my diet.  I already use nuts and seeds in my salads but will work on increasing the quantity to see if that helps.  I'll add lemon salt to my shopping list too.  

I really appreciate the tips!!  It's comforting to hear from a nutrition expert that increasing my salt intake is indeed the healthy thing to do for my body.  It just sounds so strange!  Thanks again!
-Heather!