Hello!
I am fairly new here, I just went pretty much all the way raw a month ago, hopefully for life (though I was mostly raw last summer for about 4 months as well). I’m not having any major problems, and am actually really really loving it and am really excited and happy to be raw. My only real problem at the moment is that I am having a bunch of salt cravings. It is not cravings for things like chips and fried salty things, which I would interpret more as a fat craving I think, it is more a craving for purely salty things. I have been eating seaweed salad whenever it gets unbearable and adding (celtic sea) salt to my salads and things but I would like to switch it up some. I read in David Wolfe’s book that if you eat too much potassium you really start to feel the need for salt. I haven’t cut down on my avocado intake (probably one a day) but I don’t eat a lot of bananas, which were the two big potassium-rich foods I remember. Also I work out for an hour or more 5+ times a week, so I think my salt cravings are pretty legit.
A little more info about my diet if it is helpful: Most days I eat fruit (peaches, grapes, etc) in the morning(-ish, I hate eating in the morning) or maybe a handful of nuts or some nut milk if I am wanting something thicker. I usually have a salad with things like sprouts, kale, spinach, tomatoes, avocados, lime, etc. that I eat on and off through the day. I also tend to eat lots of pesto (while basil’s still in season), tomatoes, sweet peppers, green beans, sugar snap peas, and cauliflower, and I drink lots of water. I also just got a dehydrator and have been experimenting with dessert things, usually some combination of cacao and coconut. I usually eat a little of those things every day. I’m still experimenting a lot, but I’d say salads and fruit are my staples right now.
So, if any of you have any helpful information about sodium in general or recommendations on what to eat for combating salt cravings (that isn’t olives…they kind of make me sick) that would be really helpful. I’m so glad to have found this website, there are SO many good recipes on here (nothing I have made from here has been anything short of delicious) and the forums have been really helpful. Thank you so much everyone!
Nora
Comments
Nora,
Same thing happens to me if I don’t get enough sodium in the foods I’m already eating. I’ll go after just about anything high in salt otherwise.
Celery is a great source of natural sodium. Your body does need sodium in order to function properly, and juicing celery or adding it to smoothies seems (to me) to be more ‘natural’ than adding a bunch of sea salt to my foods. Chard and spinach are also fairly high in sodium if you’re not a fan of celery. Personally, I’ll drink celery juice straight and I love it—but that’s just me! You can also cut it with apples and ginger if you want a sweeter and spicier juice.
Thanks everyone! I’ve been adding celery to things and eating my seaweed and feeling good. I don’t have a juicer but I added celery to a green smoothie i had the other day and didn’t feel salt cravings at all. And also, it was delicious.