jhsu802701
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2021
- Messages
- 2
The reason this post is off-topic is because it's about limiting my sodium intake at restaurants IN GENERAL. I haven't been to Disney World recently and have no imminent plans to do so. (If I ever go again, it won't be until AFTER the post-pandemic rush is over.)
I've been avoiding restaurants due to the pandemic and will continue to do so until it's over. However, I will be dining out again eventually (perhaps sometime this summer). For reason I'll explain later, my tastes in food will be fussier in the future than they were in the past. (Of course, I'll also likely be eating out less often than I ever did before the pandemic.)
When dining out, how do you limit sodium consumption? Excessive sodium is MUCH HARDER to avoid than excessive sugar and excessive bad fats. (Skipping dessert makes it relatively easy to limit sugar consumption. Avoiding deep-fried foods means avoiding the very worst fats.) I've looked at the nutritional information for several restaurants/chains, and it's SCARIER than the Haunted Mansion could ever hope to be. It's hard to eat an entire meal without blowing through the 1000 mg mark. Many meals exceed 2000 mg of sodium, and some even exceed 3000.
How many restaurants are willing and able to customize orders to skip adding the salt? Would they be willing and able to do this when flooded with a post-pandemic rush of customers? (I understand that most fast food chains cannot cut the salt content because the food arrives pre-salted.) Given that my request to skip the salt would be an unusual one, they'd have to deviate from their standard operating procedures.
BACK STORY:
Due to the pandemic, I've been avoiding not only restaurants but also take-out and junk food as well. I will continue to do so until the pandemic is over. Sugar, grease, and other unhealthy ingredients weaken the immune system and promote inflammation. At the same time, I've added or increased many healthy superfoods in my diet.
Eating a healthier diet also means my salt consumption has been limited. I have never before in my life avoided unhealthy foods for so long. By the time it becomes safe to eat restaurant foods and junk foods again, many of my old favorites won't taste as good anymore due to changes in my taste buds. Restaurants will NOT change their standard operating procedures to suit me, because the vast majority of people have maintained or increased their consumption of the unhealthy foods I've been shunning.
Additionally, the side effects I experienced from restaurant foods in the past will be more pronounced because my digestive system and gut microbiome have likely drifted away from them. Large greasy meals gave me a food coma in the past, and I suspect that it will take less greasy food to have that effect on me in the future. In the past, restaurant meals have made me so thirsty that it seemed that no amount of water could quench my thirst. I suspect that this effect will be even more pronounced for me in the future. (Given my interest in avoiding these side effects, I won't be eating at White Castle or The Cheesecake Factory again. Also, I'll never order French fries, fried chicken, or a crispy chicken sandwich again.)
I don't expect the food I eat in restaurants to be anything like what I normally eat at home. However, I'd like to make it through the rest of the day without feeling thirsty enough to drink up all of Lake Superior or feeling so sluggish that I need a nap.
In other words, my primary reasons for eating healthier foods (or the least unhealthy foods) are how the food tastes and how I'll feel afterwards. Believe it or not, I've never used an antacid or any of the acid reflux disease remedies that have been relentlessly advertised. I've never had an issue with high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, or excessive weight.
I've been avoiding restaurants due to the pandemic and will continue to do so until it's over. However, I will be dining out again eventually (perhaps sometime this summer). For reason I'll explain later, my tastes in food will be fussier in the future than they were in the past. (Of course, I'll also likely be eating out less often than I ever did before the pandemic.)
When dining out, how do you limit sodium consumption? Excessive sodium is MUCH HARDER to avoid than excessive sugar and excessive bad fats. (Skipping dessert makes it relatively easy to limit sugar consumption. Avoiding deep-fried foods means avoiding the very worst fats.) I've looked at the nutritional information for several restaurants/chains, and it's SCARIER than the Haunted Mansion could ever hope to be. It's hard to eat an entire meal without blowing through the 1000 mg mark. Many meals exceed 2000 mg of sodium, and some even exceed 3000.
How many restaurants are willing and able to customize orders to skip adding the salt? Would they be willing and able to do this when flooded with a post-pandemic rush of customers? (I understand that most fast food chains cannot cut the salt content because the food arrives pre-salted.) Given that my request to skip the salt would be an unusual one, they'd have to deviate from their standard operating procedures.
BACK STORY:
Due to the pandemic, I've been avoiding not only restaurants but also take-out and junk food as well. I will continue to do so until the pandemic is over. Sugar, grease, and other unhealthy ingredients weaken the immune system and promote inflammation. At the same time, I've added or increased many healthy superfoods in my diet.
Eating a healthier diet also means my salt consumption has been limited. I have never before in my life avoided unhealthy foods for so long. By the time it becomes safe to eat restaurant foods and junk foods again, many of my old favorites won't taste as good anymore due to changes in my taste buds. Restaurants will NOT change their standard operating procedures to suit me, because the vast majority of people have maintained or increased their consumption of the unhealthy foods I've been shunning.
Additionally, the side effects I experienced from restaurant foods in the past will be more pronounced because my digestive system and gut microbiome have likely drifted away from them. Large greasy meals gave me a food coma in the past, and I suspect that it will take less greasy food to have that effect on me in the future. In the past, restaurant meals have made me so thirsty that it seemed that no amount of water could quench my thirst. I suspect that this effect will be even more pronounced for me in the future. (Given my interest in avoiding these side effects, I won't be eating at White Castle or The Cheesecake Factory again. Also, I'll never order French fries, fried chicken, or a crispy chicken sandwich again.)
I don't expect the food I eat in restaurants to be anything like what I normally eat at home. However, I'd like to make it through the rest of the day without feeling thirsty enough to drink up all of Lake Superior or feeling so sluggish that I need a nap.
In other words, my primary reasons for eating healthier foods (or the least unhealthy foods) are how the food tastes and how I'll feel afterwards. Believe it or not, I've never used an antacid or any of the acid reflux disease remedies that have been relentlessly advertised. I've never had an issue with high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, or excessive weight.
