Megaheart.com

2011-09-01T05:55:00.001-07:00

The September, 2011 Newsletter is now online. Visit http://www.megaheart.com/newsletter_september2011.html

Kaiser Foundation Hospitals

2011-02-10T14:18:00.000-08:00

On February 7, 2011 Maureen and I presented at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Sacramento, California spoke about salt/sodium, our books and site and my experiences since first diagnosis. The audience included R.D.s and nurses. We have been invited back for four more sessions, the next being March 22, 2011 at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Roseville, CA.

Spices

2010-09-08T15:29:00.000-07:00

We have added a new page to Megaheart.com. It goes along with our nutrient data section. You can find the page at http://www.megaheart.com/spices_top_twenty.html. Later we will add a page about the top twenty herbs. Right now we have pretty much covered all foods with listings at http:/./www.megaheart.com/sodium_all_about.html.

Dr. Trevor Beard

2010-09-03T10:02:00.000-07:00

Our friend and colleague, a man who has served as member of the Megaheart.com board since 1997, passed away last night, September 2, 2010 in Hobart, Australia. Trevor was the author of "Salt Matters," a book that covers the history of his research concerning the dangers of salt and sodium. He was a great mentor and guide for us in the early stages and stuck to us like glue right through this week. He is quoted in a few of our books.

Trevor had become a good friend and his sole concern was that everyone should discover the advantages of cutting salt out of their lives. He created the Australia Salt Skippers program and throughout the world those who paid attention to his work live much healthier lives.

Trevor was 90 when he passed on. Bon Voyage mon ami.

New Book Ready

2010-08-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

Our newest book, Living Well Without Salt, will be available for delivery September 21, 2010. You can learn all about the book at http://www.livingwellwithoutsalt.com. Books may be ordered either from that site or from Megaheart.com, or purchased in your local bookstore or within a few more weeks, downloaded as an ebook from your favorite download site. You may order the book now from http://www.livingwellwithoutsalt.com, but delivery may not be until the first or second week of September. It takes a bit longer for them to appear at Amazon and other book sites.

Our No Salt, Lowest Sodium cookbooks are always available online from amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, borders or in your local bookstore. Also you may visit http://www.megaheart.com/amazon_link.html for any of our books.

We hope you find this new book as useful as our no salt series. Living Well Without Salt discusses the first days of diagnosis and how to get through them. It also contains 134 no salt recipes with ratings for vegetarians and diabetics.

Cutting Salt Out Works

2010-06-07T11:07:00.000-07:00

Good Morning,

Most of you are aware that when the media reports about salt, they generally mean sodium. It’s the sodium that we are concerned about. Salt just has a lot of sodium in it.

That said, we must also remain alert to the lobbying efforts of the American Salt Institute (ASI), an organization of salt manufacturers that fights off all scientific research that proves that too much sodium (salt) is harmful to our health.

At Megaheart we have pretty much established through the past thirteen years that the added salt to processed foods is probably our biggest culprit. Salt manufacturers sell tons and tons of salt to food processors. Therefore, the news that some government bodies are about to “ban” salt, or demand less salt be used in processed foods and in restaurants, pretty much has the ASI up in arms with their own “reports.” I find most of these fascinating. I am not a “professional” researcher, but I am intelligent enough to have researched this subject extensively.

Salt harms humans and animals. Salt damages us. It does so caustically and with its sodium. It doesn’t matter if its table salt, sea salt, or Kosher salt or any of the newer artisanal salts.

For years now Meniere’s patients have verified that cutting salt out has stopped their dizziness. Congestive heart patients have reversed their disease and many have returned to full health, an unheard of “procedure” before we adopted our no-salt lifestyle. Others have actually been able to get themselves removed from the heart transplant list or at least avoid the list.

Many articles of late address this entire subject as pertaining only to “heart attacks,” which is generally a cardiovascular challenge, often exacerbated by high saturated fat diets, smoking and a lack of exercise.

Cutting salt out reduces body fluid retention. High levels of body fluid cause edema, pressure on our blood vessels, which causes high blood pressure, which is related to forcing the heart to work harder, which in turn often develops into dilated cardiomyopathy or CHF, congestive heart failure.

It’s is of course, more intricate than my description above, yet no media article is going to go into the physiological depth of exactly what happens.

Hypertension is therefore, a huge problem in the U.S. and in most countries of the world. The common thread is always salt.

Meniere’s Syndrome is not caused by high levels of sodium from salt, but its debilitating nature is sure reduced when cutting salt out.

Kidney patients also benefit when cutting salt out of their life.

And children and athletes and outdoor workers do not need salt and this has been proved by the United States Navy, although accidentally when they discovered that salt pills made their sailors ill instead of healthier. And it’s been proved unequivocally in Australia by Dr. Trevor Beard who, for more than forty years now, has spent full time researching salt and its affects on the human body. He has proved that athletes do not need such products as “energy” drinks while competing, that in fact their endurance rises when they drink just water, while it declines when consuming “salted” fluids.

The bottom line here is, caveat emptor when reading media reports from alleged experts that salt is not harmful. You will see these reports on the rise since salt has become the news of the day.

As how much sodium our body needs, the answer has been scribed by researchers for years. Just 8 to 10 mmoL. That’s about 144 to 180 mg a day.

However, we have learned that 500 mg a day is an excellent and doable target and that indeed, it reverses many chronic ailments. Another reason is that if we eat a balanced diet as suggested in the “food pyramid,” and if all those foods are natural or unsalted, we will pretty much hit the 500 mg a day, every day. We will also find that we meet all daily requirements for important nutrients, and we’ll meet weight standards that are just as important in protecting our health as is cutting salt out.

Keep up the good life if you’ve adopted a much lower salt regimen. It works, it’s worth it.

Donald Gazzaniga

Megaheart.com

Welcome

2010-06-07T10:59:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Megaheart.com's blog.

Please feel free to enter comments, requests for help, or other messages.
We hope you enjoy this addition to http://www.megaheart.com/.
Donald Gazzaniga (Chef Don)