How to rid myself of salty cravings?

October 4, 2019 3:55 PM

I've been doing a super healthy clean eating plan for 8 weeks. I'm amazed at how easily my body adjusted to portion control, no processed food, no sugar outside of fruit, no additional salt, mostly plant-based choices, some fish and only a little chicken, whole grains, etc. I feel great and was incredulous at how quickly my legendarily massive sweet tooth seems to have completely disappeared. But I am still absolutely craving salty goodness. What gives?

Ordinarily I'm a sweets-aholic. But that's completely gone -- I'm not feeling any cravings for sweets of any kind, can look at sweets right in front of me and not want to eat them. Same for my usual carb-aholic tendencies (think potatoes, bread, pasta). But in their place my old #3 craving has rocketed to #1 and isn't budging. I want salty things all the time -- popcorn, pretzels, you name it, I want it, and in my brain I'm really thinking "I want salt!!" not "I want popcorn that just happens to have salt on it!"

What is this about? How can I make it stop? Will it eventually stop on its own?


(I am following this dietary plan because Reasons, at the direction of my doctor, and I'm working with a hospital-based nutritionist.)

posted by BlahLaLa to Health & Fitness (24 answers total)

Well, are you sure it's not a sodium deficiency? Or are you dehydrated? My other guess is that you are working so hard not to eat the sugar that you are sort of substituting another kind of treat in your head. So maybe this is your body's way of saying, "I'm working hard and deserve a reward!"

(I have no medical training, obviously.)
posted by bluedaisy at 4:05 PM on October 4, 2019 [3 favorites]

Eat a sour pickle and see if that makes the craving go away.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:08 PM on October 4, 2019

Literally zero salt? Even in rice or grains, or in cooking the fish or chicken?
Just guessing that consuming zero salt might make you crave it.
posted by mmf at 4:08 PM on October 4, 2019 [6 favorites]

Response by poster: I am paying attention to the amount of water I drink, so I don't think it's dehydration.
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:09 PM on October 4, 2019

If you really have cut out processed foods and are just eating raw or stuff you cook at home, your sodium intake has probably dropped massively. You may just be craving a healthy amount of salt. Any idea what your intake is?
posted by skewed at 4:09 PM on October 4, 2019 [12 favorites]

At the risk of sounding too obvious - how much salt is included in your healthy eating plan? Is it enough?

ETA: oops, I somehow skipped over your note in your description. Ignore this.
posted by mosst at 4:09 PM on October 4, 2019

In response to your note: the amount of water you drink is only one factor in your hydration. Another one is the electrolyte level in your body, which regulates how much water your body can actually hold onto.

Low sodium can cause serious health problems since sodium helps regulate your hydration, blood pressure, nerves, and muscles. Drinking excessive water (esp. without salt) can cause that.

We can't tell you exactly how much salt you should be eating, or what your sodium levels currently are, but those cravings are a signal from your body that you should talk to your nutritionist about it (also: is your nutritionist actually a dietician? If not, consider finding one.)
posted by mosst at 4:15 PM on October 4, 2019 [14 favorites]

When you cut down on carbs, your body begins to excrete more water and with it, electrolytes including sodium. Your sodium craving is your body telling you it is low on sodium.

Dangers of Underconsumption (half way down page)

Some evidence suggests that reducing sodium intakes to the recommended levels may be harmful.

In a review study comprising more than 133,000 people with and without high blood pressure from 49 countries across six continents, researchers examined how sodium intake affected the risk of heart disease and early death (20).

The review showed that — regardless of blood pressure — people who consumed less than 3,000 mg (3 grams) of sodium per day were more likely to have heart disease or die compared to people who consumed 4,000–5,000 mg (4–5 grams).

What’s more, those who consumed less than 3,000 mg (3 grams) of sodium per day had worse health outcomes than people consuming 7,000 mg (7 grams).

posted by Thella at 4:16 PM on October 4, 2019 [2 favorites]

To some extent, a salt craving may be a manifestation of neurohormonal feedback from your kidneys telling your body you need more salt. Worth discussing with your dietitian.
posted by chiquitita at 4:33 PM on October 4, 2019

Response by poster: My diet is currently low sodium, but it's not zero sodium. I am not adding salt to what I'm given, but it seems salty enough -- per my taste buds, and in terms of eating inherently salty things, like for example chicken with capers.
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:37 PM on October 4, 2019

but it seems salty enough -- per my taste buds

This is not a good indicator.

If you asked me a couple years ago how much salt I consume I would have told you oh man way way way too much. But then I had some bloodwork done and I am hyponatremic. Like, concerningly so, apparently. (I'm on a heavy diuretic to control an unrelated chronic condition, and I drink a LOT of water and am thirsty all the time.) My doctor told me to drink less water. When has a doctor ever told anyone to drink LESS water?! So I said what if I ate more salt instead. Sure, he said, let's try that for a while.

So I upped my salty food intake to an almost comic degree and drink the same amount and ever since my sodium levels have been in the perfectly healthy range.

This is just my little narrative cautionary tale to say mouths are dumb please don't trust yours. You don't wanna fuck with electrolytes!
posted by phunniemee at 4:51 PM on October 4, 2019 [18 favorites]

Will it eventually stop on its own?

Yeah, I think so. Salt expectations are pretty deep but also fairly malleable, in my experience. Take it slow and wean down and before you know it most restaurant foods will be way too salty for your palate!
posted by SaltySalticid at 4:54 PM on October 4, 2019

Commercial chicken is often surprisingly high in sodium because it’s injected with salt water in processing. I would not assume your salt cravings have anything to do with needing sodium any more than craving ice cream means you need calcium. Adding salt to food is another unnatural thing humans do, and it’s hard to get over salt cravings.

I would suggest trying raw celery, which tastes very salty if you’re not eating much salt. If you have trouble chewing it (I do), you can cut it into small pieces.

And congratulations on all of your positive changes!
posted by FencingGal at 4:55 PM on October 4, 2019

Worth checking with your doctor. I get this craving whenever I’m losing water weight.
posted by sallybrown at 4:57 PM on October 4, 2019 [1 favorite]

For what it's worth, the link between heart diseases and salt per se is sort of tenuous, given that most salt in North American diets is delivered via otherwise terrible food that needs to be made palatable somehow. If you're on a strict and healthy regimen, though, and you're drinking a lot of water, maybe the reason your body is craving salt is that your body is running short on salt. It's important, even healthy-regimen food tastes a lot better if you use it well.

It seems strange to say so, but one things a lot of people can do to moderate the amount of salt in their diets is... learn how and when to salt their food. Most people pour salt on food after they've cooked it, or when it's almost done, and by then it's way, way too late. A modest amount of salt added early while things are cooking, or even better to prepped ingredients beforehand, brings out the flavor in basically everything much more vividly than pouring salt on afterwards does.
posted by mhoye at 5:07 PM on October 4, 2019 [6 favorites]

Table Tasty Is an amazing salt substitute. It’s the only one I’ve ever liked. Not sure if it fits your “no processed food,” but if you want to try it, even my non-healthy eating friends like it.
posted by FencingGal at 5:28 PM on October 4, 2019 [1 favorite]

Yeah, raise with your dietician.

(Also, please, PLEASE reconsider applying the word "clean" to your diet. Do you realize that means applying the antonym to the eating habits of other people? Are you comfortable with that? YOU REALLY SHOULDN'T BE.)
posted by praemunire at 6:07 PM on October 4, 2019 [23 favorites]

I also have a legendary sweet tooth, and the few times I've managed to give up sugar for a time, I've noticed that the salty cravings then come to the fore. My theory is that my brain is well aware that simple carbs (aka carbs easily converted to glucose) often come as a package deal with salt. And also, it is intense flavors that trigger the dopamine release I would normally get from sugar. The salty things I crave are mostly not things like beef jerky and pickles. It's carby, flavorful things like salty popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, Doritos, etc. My craving mechanism has figured out a workaround of getting the next best thing to actual sugary foods, that it can work with to get my brain and body chemistry back to the way my brain likes the best, flooded with dopamine and glucose.

I have actually tried just snacking on a little pinch of salt when the craving hits, and it helps somewhat, sometimes. It kind of short-circuits the salty part of the cravings without actually giving in to the carby part of it. Eating a banana with a little salt on it helps too, sometimes, if I want sweet/salty. It's filling and somewhat satisfying. Not as much as crunching through a pile of salty pretzels, though.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 6:09 PM on October 4, 2019 [1 favorite]

Sodium is a problem when it comes from processed foods which contain very high levels. If you're making most of your own meals and are not adding any salt at all, you might not be consuming enough. I like to season my food with a small amount of iodised salt, since it can be hard to make sure I'm getting enough iodine from food sources alone.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 6:45 PM on October 4, 2019 [2 favorites]

Salt goes with my favorite textures - crunchy chips, pretzels - and tastes - savory. Try crunchy stuff like water chestnuts, celery, maybe chewy whole grain bread, and savory - miso, mushrooms, good chicken broth. It's probably an adjustment period, but make sure your health care providers are aware.
posted by theora55 at 8:35 PM on October 4, 2019

I want salty things all the time -- popcorn, pretzels, you name it, I want it, and in my brain I'm really thinking "I want salt!!" not "I want popcorn that just happens to have salt on it!"

Next time this happens, put a pinch of salt on the back of your hand and lick delicately at it until you don't want to do that any more.

One of two things will happen. Either you will find out that in fact what you're craving is popcorn that happens to have salt on it, in which case you've got a bit of internal CBT-style disputation ammunition to use against your lying liar of a brain, or you will find out exactly how much useful salt your anti-salt-propaganda-affected judgement about what's healthy is currently doing its helpful best to deprive your body chemistry of.

You might also want to do this experiment with one of the "lite" salts that are a mix of sodium and potassium chlorides (typically 50% each), to find out just which electrolytes you're currently short of if any.
posted by flabdablet at 10:47 PM on October 4, 2019 [2 favorites]

Just take care with the potassium chloride if you know you have kidney issues.
posted by flabdablet at 10:50 PM on October 4, 2019 [2 favorites]

If you have functional kidneys and you eat something a little bit salty and you didn't need it, your body will make you pee out the excess sodium. That's what the kidneys are for, kidneys are very clever and there's no need to try and be cleverer than a kidney.
posted by chiquitita at 12:59 AM on October 5, 2019 [6 favorites]

Best answer: You might consider that what you really want are the carbs in the salty snacks you used to have--and just associate them with salt. Salt may have reinforced your attraction to snacks--if you just want salt take a little bit and see what happens to your cravings. If it is quite strong and persistent you might want to have your electrolyte levels checked. Chers and congratulations
posted by rmhsinc at 1:59 PM on October 5, 2019